The man who was named as the most famous man of the 20th Century died overnight. Neil Armstrong the first human to walk on the moon died from complications of heart surgery and another part of world history and my personal history went with him.
A man who had travelled the heavens has now been called back.
In July 1969 I was a gawky, buck toothed, skinny, short (I was in my 4'4" stage that I would stay in for a couple of years awaitng a growth spurt) 12 year old at Wangaratta Tech. In March of that year I had unsuccessfully attempted a form of acrobatics in which I would narrowly avoid being struck by a slightly speeding Falcon as I rode in front of it as I crossed the Hume Highway. Death beckoned as I flew through the air. If it hadn't been for some defensive driving and skilful navigation of a culvert I would have rolled under the car and been driven over the top of and no doubt died. Only back at school for a few weeks I was one of many kids gathered around a black and white tv in our classroom waiting for the Eagle to land on the Sea of Tranquility. Eventually it did but wait for the dismount was interminable and we were eventually sent home. My memory is that it was still an hour or two before we saw Neil walk down those stairs and set foot on the soil.
My memory of the timings is as hazy as some of the shots of the moment but the memory of the momentousness is strong. It is simply one of the great images in my brain and for god's sake I saw it!!!!
By all accounts Mr Armstrong was a humble bloke and frankly he had every right to be otherwise, this was a magnificent achievement and he deserved to be proud of his part in it. Imagine the first attempt of this feat damnedwell worked. He will evr be a hero to me and many others, to be way 'out there', one of two men in a tiny module dependent on the skills of people thousands of miles away in Houston, Parkes and Honeysuckle Creek. Talk about alone and a breath away from eternity - literally...astonishing.
This year one of the gret writers of our time Gore Vidal died, the best stand up comic Phyllis Diller died and now the leader of all astronauts and the caretaker of many young people's dreams has died.
Entering the sixth decade of my life the loss of my childhood 'familiars' becomes a norm. I feel each loss as a part of me goes with them. I know the sadness of our times is that too many young people are coming to know tragedy and sadness when they ought be only fighting the good fight to get through each day and experiencing the adventure. I hope they still have their heroes and role models. I'd like to think they are not just 'celebrities' but classmates, family and friends. Wherever or whoever they are I pray they are always positive ones.
Neil Armstrong, you are my hero and you are simply amazing. Thank you for raising our eyes to the skies, our dreams to beyond where they were previoulsy and for having been most of all Neil Armstrong, the right man in the right job with the right stuff.
