"That's one small step for man..."
The complete quote by Neil Armstrong on this date in 1969 was: "That's one small step for man, one great leap for mankind". With those words, the astronaut fulfilled JFK's pledge of getting a man to the moon before the end of the decade. We all stared in awe as we watched Neil and fellow astronaut, Buzz Aldren plant the stars and stripes on the surface of the moon as they roamed around in slow motion steps, finally hitting a golf ball into eternity for good measure...
I hate to disappoint the skeptics who thought the whole event was staged in a TV studio but we really did go to the moon. There have been 6 other moon landings since man first set foot on the moon on July 20, 1969...
More July 20 Memories...
1940) Billboard Magazine publishes 1st listing of top 10 best-selling singles...
1965) Bob Dylan's "Like A Rolling Stone" is released...
1965) The Lovin' Spoonful debut with "Do You Believe In Magic"...
1968) Heavy metal makes the pop charts as Iron Butterfly and "In-a-gadda-da-vida" debuts...
1975) Little Steven (Van Zandt) performs for the first time in concert as a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band...
1976) Hank Aaron hits 755th and last home run...
1988) Boston's Michael Dukakis is chosen Democratic presidential nominee...
Happy Birthday to...
1930) Sally Ann Howes...
1933) NBA Hall of Fame coach, Chuck Daly...
1938) Diana ("Avengers") Rigg...
1943) John ("Moody Blues") Lodge...
1946) Kim Carnes...
1957) Donna ("Bosom Buddies") Dixon...
1969) Josh ("Lost") Holloway...
Commentary...
When we touched down on the moon, 8 years had passed since JFK presented his "special message on urgent national needs" to Congress...
In his address, he covered several subjects including the space race. He believed that "we possessed all the resources and talent necessary to win that race". He also added, "I believe we should go to the moon"...
While America applauded our new President's enthusiasm, few believed we could achieve that lofty goal until Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldren accomplished what many thought to be impossible. It happened on July 20, 1969. It's just too bad JFK was not around to see it...
