Do you remember the Apollo 11 landing? Where you were, what you thought?
I don’t remember the landing that clearly, because so much was happening at that time. I was 14 1/2, recently moved to Seattle, feeling lost in the city but connected to the times—getting caught up in both the anti-war and flower power movements. The moon landing was part of the blur that seemed to be around all of us, made up of equal parts scientific miracle, and hits of acid.
It’s only been in these later, quieter years that I’ve come to appreciate the Apollo program, in general, and the Apollo 11 moon landing, specifically. When you consider that computers were primitive, room size, and prone to failure, I’m still amazed we made it to the moon. The effort was as much an act of human perseverance, as an act of technology. Perhaps that’s why the Apollo 11 mission still fascinates, all these years later.
If you’re looking for something Apollo 11 related to watch this weekend, I recommend the movie “The Dish”. Read more about the movie, and access a clutch of links about Apollo 11 that I’ve been collecting at Secret of Signals.