I remember it well. In the summer of my 15th year, on a hot July evening, my parents & I went to friends' house because they had a bigger & better & color television (although the broadcast was in B&W). I recall that the entire affair made me horny somehow & solidified my life long astronaut fetish. Now it gives me pause that the majority of Americans were not even born yet; they live in a world where a human having walked on the moon is a given. On July 20th, 1969- 93% of the population watched as Neil Armstrong (38) & Buzz Aldrin (39), in Apollo 11's lunar module, touched down on the surface of the moon, as Michael Collins (38) circled above in the Apollo 11 craft. All 3 Apollo 11 astronauts have now lived most of their lives since that major achievement of a lifetime. Buzz Aldrin: "It has been a challenge to carry on with the rest of your life. There is this uneasiness & this uncertainty as to what I really ought to be doing". Aldrin has battled depression & alcoholism. Armstrong has never weighed in on matters of politics, but he was a spokesman for Chrysler starting in 1979. Trivia: Armstrong had the only still camera & so most of the photos are of Aldrin. When Aldrin was given the camera for short time he mainly took shots of rocks. He took one photo of Armstrong. I would love to leave this planet & look back it from space in my lifetime.
"There is no strife, no prejudice, no national conflict in outer space as yet. Its hazards are hostile to us all. Its conquest deserves the best of all mankind, & its opportunity for peaceful cooperation many never come again." JFK
Stephen's favorite Moon Tunes:
Blue Moon- Ella Fitzgerald
Fly Me To The Moon - Tony Bennett
Walking On The Moon- The Police
Space Oddity- David Bowie
Rocket Man- Elton John
Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft - The Carpenters
Apollo Atmospheres & Soundtracks- Brian Eno
It's Only A Paper Moon- Leon Redbone
Man On The Moon- REM
Moon At The Window- Joni Mitchell
Song About The Moon- Paul Simon
Moondance- Van Morrison
Moon On My Shoulder- Lyle Lovett
Moonshadow- Cat Stevens
Harvest Moon - Neil Young
Moon River- Andy Williams
Moon Over Bourbon Street - Sting
There's A Moon In The Sky (Called The Moon) - The B-52s
Bad Moon Rising - Creedence Clearwater Revival
Drunk on the Moon - Tom Waits
Moonlight In Vermont- the Andrew Sisters
Moonglow- Stephen Rutledge
Old Devil Moon- Frank Sinatra
Polka Dots & Moonbeams- Sarah Vaughn
How High The Moon- Chet Baker
Moon Of Alabama- Lotte Lenya
"If you want to write a song about the moon
Walk along the craters in the afternoon
When the shadows are deep & the light is alien
& gravity leaps like a knife off the pavement . . ."
Paul Simon
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