Friday, July 19, 2019

That small step... half a century later

It happened in July.
I didn't see it at the time; I was living in Mombasa. We did not get American television. (Yes, Virginia, there was life before Youtube.)
But eventually the video made its way to a Mombasa movie theatre, and I grabbed one of my Swahili friends and headed to the theatre to watch what would prove to be the greatest show of my life. I don't remember, half a century on, whether we got to see a full-length video or (what was more likely) selected clips crammed into a newsreel-length feature. I just remember two moments clearly: the thrill of seeing a man step onto the surface of the moon... and my friend's reaction.
She was snoring gently.
For Amina, real people on the moon were no match for her preferred fare of Bollywood actors cavorting against a painted backdrop of Alpine scenery. And why should they be? She didn't believe the moon landing was any more real than Shashi Kapoor almost kissing his latest costar, and it wasn't anywhere near as colorful.
And even for me, it's receding into the past. There are now very few people I know who for whom that day is anything more than a childhood memory, if even that.
Sometimes the future seems like a very lonely country.


  1. I do remember that day...Walter Cronkite talking....yep, I remember it well. Didn't know you were in Africa? Or where. How cool is that!!! I did a quilt several years ago depicting a woman from Africa. Her name was Aisha, which means 'she is life'. I really enjoyed making that piece and it still hangs in my sewing room. I learned a lot that year in researching Africa.

  2. I remember it too, but sadly, not very distinctly. My one over-riding memory is of my mother fussing over the tv - b&w of course - and that we all be in our places (just her, dad and me) so we didn't miss the big step onto the moon. AND there'd been much to do by the media about how to capture that moment with your own camera - yes, taking a photo of the tv screen - to forever commemorate your seeing it - the closest to "I was there" I suppose. I was in charge of the Instamatic camera, yes with mom fussing that I not miss the shot, so I don't remember about Walter Cronkite's narrative or much else that we watched. And now I have no idea where that photo is - probably among the albums my dad burned before he died.

    I am forever grateful for the many specials on PBS, CNN and CBS who have dug out footage and stills from the files, some never broadcast before, and I can truly marvel now at what a stupendous and dangerous feat it was. I'm just stunned at the quality of the photos and from where many of them were taken so we could see the stages separating and falling away, and the two ships docking.

    And one of the best parts for anyone who sews (and particular has sewn clothing) has been the special hats off to the seamstresses that toiled over those spacesuits. The interviews with those surviving have been great. They were all employees of the Playtex company used to sewing bras in production fashion. Now they were sewing bigger things at a much slower pace with plenty of reminders that a life was at stake should they forget to remove a pin, or inadvertently poke a hole in the fabric somewhere (which could cause a leak) or have a stitch pop while the astronaut was cavorting around on the moon surface (as Aldrin did - that whole team held their breath that he would not fall and rip his suit or that the stitching would give way under stress!) It's all a wonder to me. :-)


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