A great Neil Armstrong tribute.
We are, by nature, competitive and somewhat obsessed by firsts. Whether it is Olympic gold, the first man in space, the first man on the moon or the first person to climb Everest, to be first is culturally a crowning achievement.
Somewhat ironically, though, those that have been “first” are among the few who see through this illusion. When asked who first stepped foot on the summit of Mt Everest, Sir Edmund Hillaryrefused to answer, noting it was a joint-effort, that he could not have accomplished the feat without Tenzing Norgay. Expedition leader, Colonel Hunt, also noted, “They reached it together, as a team.” In the same way, Neil Armstrong shunned the notion that he was “the first man on the moon” or the “first man to walk on the moon” noting that whether it was the thin hull of the Eagle or…
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August 27th, 2012 at 5:00 pm
I’m not sure if you’re a soccer fan or not, but there’s a great overlay someone’s put together showing the Apollo 11 landing site and the EVA activities of Neil and Buzz relative to a soccer pitch.
I’ve been to a few soccer games that haven’t lived up to expectations and, in the quieter moments, I’ve imagined a two-story Eagle touching down on the edge of the penalty box and a couple of astronauts climbing out and bouncing around the field. They wouldn’t straying too far, never leaving the sidelines of the pitch, but one of them would wander over halfway, bouncing down to the other end of the field to look at a crater near the far goal.
Wow… what a trip that must have been, standing there in the magnificent desolation, the sun reflecting off the grey lunar surface while the sky is as black as coal.
August 27th, 2012 at 5:47 pm
I do love soccer, in fact one of my favorite players of all time is Mark Viduka of Austrailia.
I can’t say I am loyal to any club, I follow several, I prefer the EPL or the Italian A-Serie. I follow most closely the LFC, Roma, MUFC and where ever there may be an American playing.
I am actually impressed the landing and surveillance site was so compact. I would have thought they explored much further away. But considering the technology they probably did not have the oxygen supply to handle that type of exploration.
August 27th, 2012 at 6:59 pm
NASA was conservative with the first lunar EVA. It was a case of, take a quick look around, set up some instruments, and get the hell out of there. They kept it short and sweet to minimize any possibility of complications. In that respect, Neil and Buzz drew the short straw, as others got to spend several days on the moon, doing multiple EVAs, driving buggies around the place, etc, so the later teams got to do some serious exploration.
I’ve saw Mark Viduka play for the socceroos years ago (the Australian soccer team). He, Harry Kewell and Tim Cahill are quite something to watch. Brisbane doesn’t get any of the big matches, but we’ve had a few “friendlies” against the likes of China and Indonesia.
August 29th, 2012 at 12:32 am
You did an amazing job with this!