- Joined
- Apr 14, 2006
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- 23,183
I'm sure a lot of us remember all the thrilling space explorations in our youth!
I remember the Apollo 8 astronauts circling the Moon and reading from Genesis at Christmas 1968. And the famous picture of "Earthrise". It had been a bad year in the USA and we really needed that.
I remember even better watching the Apollo 11 landing on July 20, 1969. We were living in Hawaii and it was late morning. I was at my neighbor's house, where all the kids (and our moms) were glued to the TV watching the final approach. We were holding our collective breath, and when the words "Houston, Tranquility Base here..." came over the air, we all ran outside, jumping up and down, cheering like crazy. Looking up and down the street, we saw the same thing happening at all the other houses on the block.
It's hard to envision what event today could evoke the same spontaneous outburst of joy among everyone in our country. I wish that we could somehow recapture that spirit of collective effort and pride.