Where were you 40 years ago today?
I remember we were glued to the television set as we watched Buzz Aldrin step down at Tranquility Base on the moon, and say his famous words, “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” President Kennedy had said in his inaugural speech in 1961 that we would do it in that decade and we did. It was a thrilling time. I had the opportunity to visit Cape Canaveral several years ago. My children were not impressed and could not understand what I thought was so fascinating. Then when they saw the movie Apollo 13 they understood, and I realized they had had no idea about the early days of our space program.
So for those of you too young to remember or before you were born, here’s a little video from that great day… courtesy of NASA. It’s not great video, but it’s exactly as we saw it 40 years ago today, July 20, 1969.
I hope it inspires some of you to dream big and to reach for things well beyond your imagination.
Photo: Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin Jr. the Apollo 11 crew. Image from NASA.gov
