July, 20, 1969. Where was I? I was at my house on 7 Constitution drive, in Cold Spring NY. It was my mother’s birthday weekend-her birthday on July 19th and her brother’s birthday on July 21st. My mother was thrilled beyond words that the moon landing happened in between her and her brother’s birthdays. Her step brother-in-law invented the seismograph that went to the moon. Yes, it was hot on that weekend. We all gathered around our black and white television set in the newly built family room that my father recently finished with all of our help of course! We were watching it all with very little if any sleep; it was the first time I remember being up for over 24 hours. All of us were in awe of something so extraordinary happening right before our eyes. Even looking up at that moon with humans on it at that moment was something you could not believe actually was happening.

The moon, the TV, Walter Cronkite, NASA, Nixon, eight days of live TV coverage, and all of America and the world putting aside differences, politics, the Vietnam war, and more that day was momentous. And that was where I was 50 years ago that summer before I was a senior in high school-16 years old and just getting my driver’s permit. And eating birthday cake left over from my mom’s birthday the day before to celebrate something bigger, momentous and memorable than mankind ever witnessed.