Vietnam War protester guy and his fellow travelers are going to have to wait at least one more post, because with the lightning fast pace I keep, the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11 snuck up on me, and it merits some thoughts here.
Bob Costas is one of the greatest TV interviewers ever, and I still miss his NBC Later program from the early 1990s. Marilu Henner once guested, and was discussing with Costas that she can remember what she did on almost every day of her life. Costas listed a couple of dates, and sure enough, Henner could remember exactly what she did on those days. The segment concluded with Costas tossing off “July 20, 1969,” the day that men first landed on the moon. Henner was obviously taken aback and immediately asked whether someone had put him up to asking that. After Costas replied no, she eventually revealed that was the date she lost her virginity, unfortunately adding the unnecessary detail “standing up, in the shower.” Costas, in one of the greatest ad libs ever, replied, “Well at least we know it wasn’t Neil Armstrong.” I was busy too, of course, watching Neil and Buzz.
My short-term memory has turned to swiss cheese, but my long-term memory keeps hanging in there. The earliest thing I can remember is watching the 1968 Super Bowl with my Dad (Green Bay crushed Oakland), which would have been just a few days after Ron was born. I remember later that year giving Mom her Mother’s Day present. I remember watching Laugh In with Dad, although I believe he later stopped watching it on political grounds or something like that. I remember Dad putting a George Wallace for President sign in our yard later that year, and ultimately the Apollo 8 Christmas orbit of the moon. I remember these things exceptionally clearly. But mostly I remember anything having to do with the space program. Especially to a boy growing up in Houston, whose baseball team was named the “Astros” and whose city council had adopted the slogan “Space City,” the space race was totally absorbing. I followed every detail I possibly could learn, and watched every TV report of every mission I could.
Apollo 11 landed on the moon around 3 p.m. or so, Houston time, and Armstrong and Aldrin stepped foot on the lunar surface shortly before 10 p.m. Having the foresight to know it was something I’d always remember, Mom woke me up (apparently I used to go to bed a lot earlier back then) to watch the famous TV broadcasts. An estimated 600 million people worldwide were also watching. Though I was only 4 1/2, I knew exactly what was happening, and was so excited and fascinated I could hardly stand it. It was like watching ghosts, but I remember every bit of it. I remember the thrill of the moment, and the pride that it was Americans that had conquered the moon. Mom also saved the paper from the next day, which is still somewhere in Kingwood. You can see the New York Times front page from the next day here.
There’s plenty of candidates to choose from, but, at least so far, I would choose Apollo 11 as the most profound and important event occurring in my lifetime, as well as the high water mark of what de Tocqueville called the “American Experiment.” No single event better symbolizes American initiative, ambition, achievement, and success than the lunar landings. Its also one of the last universally shared moments in American history. Other than Super Bowls or 9/11, almost nothing since July 1969 has so totally captured this country’s complete attention. Except maybe Tom Cruise on Oprah.
The Apollo program was one of the most incredible achievements in human history, particularly when considering some relatively forgotten facts. Landing a man on the moon was challenging enough, but NASA did it six times, and within a year and a half after the Apollo 1 fire proved the capsule design fundamentally flawed. How long did it take to get the shuttle program going after Challenger? NASA’s overall accomplishments in the 1960s were remarkable. It went from mostly exploding rockets in 1959 to three lunar missions in 1969, and a fourth mission in earth orbit. It relied on a handful of captured Nazi rocket scientists and a bunch of kids. The average age of Apollo controllers was 26; NASA was pretty much the only non-Defense Department entity or contractor hiring engineers and mathematicians in the 1960s. Perhaps that youth contributed to NASA’s can-do attitude of the times, something extremely rare for a government organization. Or maybe it was that National Socialist work ethic. Anyway, from top to bottom, NASA in the 1960s boasted some of the best and brightest, and most driven individuals ever assembled on one program. At a client’s Christmas party, I once met Eugene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon. Even though he pretty much just stood there and talked, he absolutely controlled the room. Those guys really did have the right stuff.
Another remarkable thing about Apollo 11 is the times in which it occurred. Simply put, 1968 was one of the worst years ever. Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King had been assassinated within months of each other. One assassination derailed a political movement that likely would have captured the Presidency and potentially worked a sea change in American government. The other marked the end of the initial phase of the civil rights movement, and sparked nationwide urban rioting. Raging protests over Vietnam brought down Johnson, and riots at the 1968 Democratic Convention (and petulance of the protest movement in not embracing Humphrey) tipped the election to Nixon, elected on a law and order platform. Hmm…my brother Ron was born in 1968 too. Well, I’d call that a bright spot shining through the darkness. Though the country by comparison took a deep breath in 1969, we were still experiencing 1968’s aftershocks in ways both momentous and subtle when Apollo 11 blasted off. Reagan had Berkeley put under martial law, Midnight Cowboy was released, the Stonewall riots marked the birth of the gay rights movement, the Tate/LaBianca murders occurred, and US troop levels reached their absolute peak before the Apollo 11 liftoff. A few weeks after splashdown, Woodstock took place, only to be followed within months by the death of the Love Generation at Altamont. Sesame Street debuted on PBS, the New York Times reported on the civilian killings at My Lai, and the very first internet message was sent. So America was experiencing incredible and unprecedented social change when Apollo 11 reached the moon. That turbulence could easily have set the Apollo program adrift. Yet, that's one government program that actually worked as intended.
Apollo 11 also bailed out a US senator over something that happened at a little place called Chappaquiddick. Talk about a scandal having the greatest timing ever. Ted Kennedy’s “mistake” happened August 18, 1969, two days before the moon landing, which would totally blow it off the front page and temporarily take the heat off. Just like 9/11 blew all Gary Condit, all the time off the cable news shows, Apollo 11 took away just enough heat to stop the scandal from ruining Kennedy’s senate career. Imagine a United States Senator of today driving away, drunk, from an event with a 28 year old female worker for his brother's presidential campaign, who asked for a ride "back to her hotel" but who left her purse and hotel key at the party, plowing his car off a bridge and into the water, leaving the girl trapped in the car, leaving the scene, and not reporting it to the police until nearly a day later. And only getting a two month suspended sentence. The House post office scandal found that hard to believe. How did that guy get off so light, and get re-elected to the Senate for 40 more years? If he had been named Ted Smith, something tells me it might have gone a little differently.
One other fascinating thing about the Apollo program, and Apollo 11 specifically—None of those guys cashed in on their fame. These days, they’d have hired a PR firm, gone on a world tour, and endorsed everything from cereal to Tang (or as we learned in Jerry Maguire, the big four, “shoe, car, clothing line, soft drink”). After the ticker tape parade, those guys fell off the face of the earth (no pun intended). Armstrong practically became a recluse; he pretty much turned into the engineer version of the mean old lady in To Kill A Mockingbird whose camellias Atticus called the finest he’d ever seen, and who kept a Confederate pistol under her shawl). Collins and Aldrin wrote books, and Aldrin occasionally does interviews, but for the most part none of them earned much for their trip other than their NASA pay. In fact, almost none of the astronauts traded off their time in space for big-time dollars. Frank Borman became chairman of Eastern Airlines. John Glenn got elected to the Senate. Fred Haise was elected to the House. But by and large they mostly returned to obscurity.
From its Olympian heights, NASA’s post-Apollo record has been mixed. The Hubble telescope, international space station, and Skylab all count as successes. The Shuttle failed to pay for itself as originally advertised and we've lost half the fleet during operations, but it has contributed much through basic science and satellite deployment. But most people can only remember that whack job, diaper wearing astronaut, on the road to off the bitch that took her man. Sort of like Cops in space. Yikes. That really wasn’t a small step for man. Hopefully Obama and future administrations will implement President Bush's commitment to return to the moon by 2020 and to land on Mars.
But today, lets all celebrate one of mankind's greatest achievements, with admiration for our past triumphs and hunger for even greater accomplishments in the days to come.
Next—okay Hanoi Jane, your time is gonna come.
Bob Costas is one of the greatest TV interviewers ever, and I still miss his NBC Later program from the early 1990s. Marilu Henner once guested, and was discussing with Costas that she can remember what she did on almost every day of her life. Costas listed a couple of dates, and sure enough, Henner could remember exactly what she did on those days. The segment concluded with Costas tossing off “July 20, 1969,” the day that men first landed on the moon. Henner was obviously taken aback and immediately asked whether someone had put him up to asking that. After Costas replied no, she eventually revealed that was the date she lost her virginity, unfortunately adding the unnecessary detail “standing up, in the shower.” Costas, in one of the greatest ad libs ever, replied, “Well at least we know it wasn’t Neil Armstrong.” I was busy too, of course, watching Neil and Buzz.
My short-term memory has turned to swiss cheese, but my long-term memory keeps hanging in there. The earliest thing I can remember is watching the 1968 Super Bowl with my Dad (Green Bay crushed Oakland), which would have been just a few days after Ron was born. I remember later that year giving Mom her Mother’s Day present. I remember watching Laugh In with Dad, although I believe he later stopped watching it on political grounds or something like that. I remember Dad putting a George Wallace for President sign in our yard later that year, and ultimately the Apollo 8 Christmas orbit of the moon. I remember these things exceptionally clearly. But mostly I remember anything having to do with the space program. Especially to a boy growing up in Houston, whose baseball team was named the “Astros” and whose city council had adopted the slogan “Space City,” the space race was totally absorbing. I followed every detail I possibly could learn, and watched every TV report of every mission I could.
Apollo 11 landed on the moon around 3 p.m. or so, Houston time, and Armstrong and Aldrin stepped foot on the lunar surface shortly before 10 p.m. Having the foresight to know it was something I’d always remember, Mom woke me up (apparently I used to go to bed a lot earlier back then) to watch the famous TV broadcasts. An estimated 600 million people worldwide were also watching. Though I was only 4 1/2, I knew exactly what was happening, and was so excited and fascinated I could hardly stand it. It was like watching ghosts, but I remember every bit of it. I remember the thrill of the moment, and the pride that it was Americans that had conquered the moon. Mom also saved the paper from the next day, which is still somewhere in Kingwood. You can see the New York Times front page from the next day here.
There’s plenty of candidates to choose from, but, at least so far, I would choose Apollo 11 as the most profound and important event occurring in my lifetime, as well as the high water mark of what de Tocqueville called the “American Experiment.” No single event better symbolizes American initiative, ambition, achievement, and success than the lunar landings. Its also one of the last universally shared moments in American history. Other than Super Bowls or 9/11, almost nothing since July 1969 has so totally captured this country’s complete attention. Except maybe Tom Cruise on Oprah.
The Apollo program was one of the most incredible achievements in human history, particularly when considering some relatively forgotten facts. Landing a man on the moon was challenging enough, but NASA did it six times, and within a year and a half after the Apollo 1 fire proved the capsule design fundamentally flawed. How long did it take to get the shuttle program going after Challenger? NASA’s overall accomplishments in the 1960s were remarkable. It went from mostly exploding rockets in 1959 to three lunar missions in 1969, and a fourth mission in earth orbit. It relied on a handful of captured Nazi rocket scientists and a bunch of kids. The average age of Apollo controllers was 26; NASA was pretty much the only non-Defense Department entity or contractor hiring engineers and mathematicians in the 1960s. Perhaps that youth contributed to NASA’s can-do attitude of the times, something extremely rare for a government organization. Or maybe it was that National Socialist work ethic. Anyway, from top to bottom, NASA in the 1960s boasted some of the best and brightest, and most driven individuals ever assembled on one program. At a client’s Christmas party, I once met Eugene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon. Even though he pretty much just stood there and talked, he absolutely controlled the room. Those guys really did have the right stuff.
Another remarkable thing about Apollo 11 is the times in which it occurred. Simply put, 1968 was one of the worst years ever. Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King had been assassinated within months of each other. One assassination derailed a political movement that likely would have captured the Presidency and potentially worked a sea change in American government. The other marked the end of the initial phase of the civil rights movement, and sparked nationwide urban rioting. Raging protests over Vietnam brought down Johnson, and riots at the 1968 Democratic Convention (and petulance of the protest movement in not embracing Humphrey) tipped the election to Nixon, elected on a law and order platform. Hmm…my brother Ron was born in 1968 too. Well, I’d call that a bright spot shining through the darkness. Though the country by comparison took a deep breath in 1969, we were still experiencing 1968’s aftershocks in ways both momentous and subtle when Apollo 11 blasted off. Reagan had Berkeley put under martial law, Midnight Cowboy was released, the Stonewall riots marked the birth of the gay rights movement, the Tate/LaBianca murders occurred, and US troop levels reached their absolute peak before the Apollo 11 liftoff. A few weeks after splashdown, Woodstock took place, only to be followed within months by the death of the Love Generation at Altamont. Sesame Street debuted on PBS, the New York Times reported on the civilian killings at My Lai, and the very first internet message was sent. So America was experiencing incredible and unprecedented social change when Apollo 11 reached the moon. That turbulence could easily have set the Apollo program adrift. Yet, that's one government program that actually worked as intended.
Apollo 11 also bailed out a US senator over something that happened at a little place called Chappaquiddick. Talk about a scandal having the greatest timing ever. Ted Kennedy’s “mistake” happened August 18, 1969, two days before the moon landing, which would totally blow it off the front page and temporarily take the heat off. Just like 9/11 blew all Gary Condit, all the time off the cable news shows, Apollo 11 took away just enough heat to stop the scandal from ruining Kennedy’s senate career. Imagine a United States Senator of today driving away, drunk, from an event with a 28 year old female worker for his brother's presidential campaign, who asked for a ride "back to her hotel" but who left her purse and hotel key at the party, plowing his car off a bridge and into the water, leaving the girl trapped in the car, leaving the scene, and not reporting it to the police until nearly a day later. And only getting a two month suspended sentence. The House post office scandal found that hard to believe. How did that guy get off so light, and get re-elected to the Senate for 40 more years? If he had been named Ted Smith, something tells me it might have gone a little differently.
One other fascinating thing about the Apollo program, and Apollo 11 specifically—None of those guys cashed in on their fame. These days, they’d have hired a PR firm, gone on a world tour, and endorsed everything from cereal to Tang (or as we learned in Jerry Maguire, the big four, “shoe, car, clothing line, soft drink”). After the ticker tape parade, those guys fell off the face of the earth (no pun intended). Armstrong practically became a recluse; he pretty much turned into the engineer version of the mean old lady in To Kill A Mockingbird whose camellias Atticus called the finest he’d ever seen, and who kept a Confederate pistol under her shawl). Collins and Aldrin wrote books, and Aldrin occasionally does interviews, but for the most part none of them earned much for their trip other than their NASA pay. In fact, almost none of the astronauts traded off their time in space for big-time dollars. Frank Borman became chairman of Eastern Airlines. John Glenn got elected to the Senate. Fred Haise was elected to the House. But by and large they mostly returned to obscurity.
From its Olympian heights, NASA’s post-Apollo record has been mixed. The Hubble telescope, international space station, and Skylab all count as successes. The Shuttle failed to pay for itself as originally advertised and we've lost half the fleet during operations, but it has contributed much through basic science and satellite deployment. But most people can only remember that whack job, diaper wearing astronaut, on the road to off the bitch that took her man. Sort of like Cops in space. Yikes. That really wasn’t a small step for man. Hopefully Obama and future administrations will implement President Bush's commitment to return to the moon by 2020 and to land on Mars.
But today, lets all celebrate one of mankind's greatest achievements, with admiration for our past triumphs and hunger for even greater accomplishments in the days to come.
Next—okay Hanoi Jane, your time is gonna come.
2 comments:
Man, I don't remember a thing about the moon landing. I know it was summer, so I am sure I was with my grandmother and great aunt in Ohio. They were certainly watching. I must have watched too, but just did not know what was happening. Frankly, I am sick of the moon walk talk. I am more broken up about Walter Cronkite. His death might as well be the tombstone inscription for journalism as we know it. Next it'll all be bloggers. Like you. Scary.
Wait a minute. Dad supported George Wallace in 1968? And not Nixon? I never knew that. Maybe that explains why he's seemed so interested in my support for Ralph Nader these last few elections.
Also, regarding your point about NASA's can-do attitude in the 60s painting a stark contrast with federal programs overall, NPR suggested earlier today that bringing in hard core test pilots literally changed the agency's culture, making it more "cowboy" and willing to part with conventional wisdom. It's hard for me to not be attracted to such an idea. Especially because I just watched the scene from The Right Stuff where Yeager steals that test plane.
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