posted 08-25-2012 09:07 PM               

My wife and I took our daughter, then only 6 years old, to the ASF Apollo 12 Gala dinner. We were quite surprised and thrilled when Neil Armstrong spoke before the dinner.

posted 08-25-2012 10:38 PM            

The loss of this great and inspiring man will be felt in my heart forever, as it will in the hearts of everyone who like up at the sky and wonders, and wishes, and is emboldened to achieve their dreams.

My thoughts go out to his Family, his colleagues and Friends who have had the good fortune to share in his journey. He will never be forgotten.

posted 08-25-2012 11:48 PM               

I learned of his passing today via text from my girlfriend, moments after throwing my golf clubs into the trunk of my car after yet another thoroughly mediocre round of 91. It's these insignificant but specific things we remember when we recall where we were and what we were doing when we got historic news.

We talked on the phone a bit ago, and the subject came up. My girlfriend has no particular interest in space, but valiantly puts up with my enthusiasms. Regarding Armstrong, she said offhand..."He was kind of a hermit, wasn't he? I mean, someone that famous and you never hear about him until now? Isn't that weird?"

I suspect that there were a lot of similar conversational exchanges today regarding Neil Armstrong.

I answered her the best I could: Neil Armstrong occupies a singular place in human history, and chose not to exploit it. He was not a hermit or an eccentric; he simply chose to give of himself only to causes and occasions he deemed worthy.

This is very difficult for those of us who are products of the late 20th and early 21st centuries to understand, because the currency of fame today has been devalued to nearly nothing. You don't really need to accomplish anything to be famous today, and so it's inconceivable to us that an individual occupying an utterly unique place in history would actually choose not to get paid to put his face everywhere you look.

posted 08-26-2012 01:39 AM               

I recall the wonderous anticipation of the time and on the night of the landing was allowed to stay up to watch the events unfold with my 76 year old grandfather, who always quizzed me on the latest developments in space exploration. It was cool to see the first moon walk as it happened reported on British TV, and to stay up all night as a teenager was pretty neat too!

That event (and all the other landings)has stayed clear in my mind ever since. Though I never met Neil I heard from him after sending him a copy of my Apollo 11 book (published by Ian Allan) in 1989 - he sent a personally signed photo to me and a appreciative comment (via his secretary). That was good enough for me.

It is so sad that the passing, only a couple of weeks after his birthday, comes so soon after the loss of Sally Ride.

Looking up at the moon will never be the same again...but at least you can imagine a little bit of Neil looking back and smiling at us all.One small step for Neil has become a giant leap into unforgettable human history...

posted 08-26-2012 01:52 AM               

In tribute I watched, for the umpteenth time, the Apollo 11 episode of From The Earth To The Moon. Tonight I went into my yard, looked at the Moon and winked.

While we all knew the day would come that Neil, Buzz or Mike would leave us I'd hoped that they'd still be here to celebrate the 50th anniv. in 2019.