July 20, 2024 marks the 55th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. I wasn’t old enough to fully appreciate the significance of that feat, but the occasion was memorable enough to serve as my earliest memory as a child. I was lying on the floor, asleep in front of the small black and white TV in our living room. Mom and dad woke me up to watch Neil Armstrong step off the ladder and onto the moon. While I remember being awake and watching it occur, I don’t remember what I supposedly said when it happened, but I’ve been told it was something to the tune of, “It isn’t really the moon. It’s just TV.” Cynical, even as a toddler.
As time went forward, however, I remember being very interested in astronauts and the solar system in general. Dad got me up early (or let me stay up late, depending,) to watch whatever particular meteor shower was coming, or go to the observatory for events or viewings. In school, I made a presentation on the overhead projector, using black paper and different sized pin holes to show different constellations. I even drank Tang, because the astronauts did. (Something we later learned that, while true-ish, was a bit of a misrepresentation, but that’s a topic for a different story.)
Space still holds fascination for me. I love the movie “The Right Stuff.” I still like to go out at night to catch a glimpse of the Leonid shower, or check out the lunar ellipse. I still think it’s pretty cool to look up, and pick out Venus or Mars among the other little lights.
And I still think Tang is way better than Kool-Ade.
-Toph
