The first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong has died. It is hard for
young people today to identify with the impact of this accomplishment
by him, his fellow crewmates, and many thousands of others. CBS and
anchor Walter Cronkite were the “space network” to watch this truly
awesome event. CBS had reporters in various locations: the Goddard
Space Center, Cape Canaveral and Tomorrowland in Disneyland! It wasn't
as frivolous as might first appear. Most people knew of Tomorrowland
and the rocket ride and other space-themed rides and attractions
looking to the future. Only tomorrowland was starting that day,
todayland. We would never look at the TWA rocket and other attractions
the same way again. Heywood Hale Brouin was the Tomorrowland news
reporter and his being there in a fantasy future pointed up how much
more imagination-inspiring the real thing was and how things would
from now on be different. I was expecting the actual stepping onto the moon would be the great
moment, but it turned out to be a touch anticlimactic. Far more
awesome was the actual landing on the moon, to my surprise. As they
counted out the diminishing number of feet left to landing, time
stopped and our world changed and when it landed (and didn't sink into
the surface of the moon) we sat stunned. Now THAT was truly awesome.
Hours later, Armstrong went down to the surface, a thrilling moment
but less momentous than the landing, the actual first contact between
two worlds. DID YOU KNOW: What Neil Armstrong really said (as he later confirmed)
as he stepped off the ladder onto the surface was :That's one small
step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” The transmission was
cutting in and out a bit, and the word “a” was not heard. Listen to
the transmission and you'll hear that that the first part of “mankind”
is almost lost in the same way. To leave out “a” makes it meaningless,
and it needs “a man” in relation to “mankind” to give the sentence any
meaning.
young people today to identify with the impact of this accomplishment
by him, his fellow crewmates, and many thousands of others. CBS and
anchor Walter Cronkite were the “space network” to watch this truly
awesome event. CBS had reporters in various locations: the Goddard
Space Center, Cape Canaveral and Tomorrowland in Disneyland! It wasn't
as frivolous as might first appear. Most people knew of Tomorrowland
and the rocket ride and other space-themed rides and attractions
looking to the future. Only tomorrowland was starting that day,
todayland. We would never look at the TWA rocket and other attractions
the same way again. Heywood Hale Brouin was the Tomorrowland news
reporter and his being there in a fantasy future pointed up how much
more imagination-inspiring the real thing was and how things would
from now on be different. I was expecting the actual stepping onto the moon would be the great
moment, but it turned out to be a touch anticlimactic. Far more
awesome was the actual landing on the moon, to my surprise. As they
counted out the diminishing number of feet left to landing, time
stopped and our world changed and when it landed (and didn't sink into
the surface of the moon) we sat stunned. Now THAT was truly awesome.
Hours later, Armstrong went down to the surface, a thrilling moment
but less momentous than the landing, the actual first contact between
two worlds. DID YOU KNOW: What Neil Armstrong really said (as he later confirmed)
as he stepped off the ladder onto the surface was :That's one small
step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” The transmission was
cutting in and out a bit, and the word “a” was not heard. Listen to
the transmission and you'll hear that that the first part of “mankind”
is almost lost in the same way. To leave out “a” makes it meaningless,
and it needs “a man” in relation to “mankind” to give the sentence any
meaning.
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