One small step for humanity
“If anything goes wrong here, it’s not going to be my fault”
“There can be no great accomplishment without risk.” — Neil Armstrong (August 5, 1930 — August 25, 2012)
Two score and nine years ago today, I slept late and woke up with a renewed perspective on humanity. My parents had let me stay up late the night before and watch TV with them. The event was televised live and set a world record — 600 million viewers — that lasted for decades. There wasn’t really that much to see, but it was absolutely worth the wait. It made me more hopeful for our future. In spite of all the bad news of the time, it showed me that humans are also capable of some pretty amazing accomplishments.
As a child, the six hour wait between the moon landing and Neil Armstrong climbing down the ladder on the lunar lander to step foot on the surface of the Moon seemed like an eternity. I’m not sure how my parents put up with me the whole time, asking repeatedly “Are they coming out NOW?” Finally, at 10:56…
