Many of us remember exactly where we were on July 20, 1969 when man first walked on the moon -- the same way we remember exactly where we were when we found out JFK had died. Of course, I also know that some of you weren't born yet, so it probably seems like ancient history to you.
I was in Manhattan, Kansas on a family trip staying at the Ramada Inn next to the campus. My brother was going through K-State orientation with my parents, and I spent the day sitting at the pool working on my tan, amazed that soldiers from Fort Riley were trying to flirt with me. I was 15 and shocked to have that kind of attention! One even gave me a room key. I took it, never used it, and saved it in my desk drawer as a souvenir! (And of course I didn't tell my parents!) That night, we sat by the television in the motel room and watched the moonwalk. Here's the Wikipedia background on Apollo 11. We all remember Armstrong's famous words as he placed his left foot on the surface of the moon: That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.
I'd swear that evening we also went to Aggieville and watched The Graduate. But that movie was released in 1967? I don't think it took that long to get to Kansas! Maybe they were showing older movies? It's plausible that my memory's correct because back then, I doubt my parents would have let me watch that movie at the age of 13 (in 1967)!
Anyway, where were you?
And now, Walter Cronkite, the man who reported the moonwalk, is dead. Kind of interesting that he died this weekend on the run up to the 40th anniversary of the first man on the moon!
