I was 4, and I remember it.  I remember looking around and seeing all of
the faces of my family looking so intensely at the TV screen.  That
struck me, and I remember thinking that this was something that I was
going to remember for a long time.  Little did I know the real
importance of the event.... hey, at 4, anything is possible, so why not
land on the moon?

Kevin

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Christian Lheureux [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Monday, July 19, 1999 1:18 AM
> To:   [log in to unmask]
> Subject:      Re: Off-topic: The trip to the Moon
>
> Hi HP3000-L !
>
> Even in France, the moon landing was very well covered. At that time,
> I was
> on holidays, with no TV in the trailer. No problem, we had a radio. I
> still
> remember staying up till about 4 am (hey, we're a few hours ahead of
> you
> Americans) to be part of the event, sort of.
>
> [Some historical contribution snipped]
>
> > I remember the launch, but I particularly remember the landing. It
> was
> > Saturday night, and I had just turned 13. My parents, as was their
> > regular Saturday habit, left to go out to dinner at about 7PM. I was
> > incredulous that anyone would voluntarily miss the event. I still
> am.
>
> Bruce, I beat you. I was about 9 when it happened. How old was
> everyone
> else?
>
> > >At the end of every millennium, there is always a great deal of
> reflection
> > >about what will be remember a thousand years from now. That first
> trip
> to the
> > >Moon will almost certainly rank among the very top few. All of the
> wars
> and
> > >all of the presidents and all of the kings will fade into a general
> blur, the
> > >mankind's first trip to the Moon in an amazingly rickety
> contraption
> will be
> > >remembered.
>
> I'm pretty sure this will be the case. It's hard to realize how much
> passion the trip to the moon could stir, especially for the younger
> generation, but it did. I remember watching EVERY Apollo launch on TV
> for
> about 5 years, and I would not miss a second of it, dinner or no
> dinner.
> Except for 11, since we did not have TV there.
>
> > I think that from the perspective of a thousand years, it will be
> the
> > discovery of the first extrasolar planets that will seem the most
> > important. In fact, I'll go out even farther on a limb and say that
> many
> > people will presume that the discovery of extrasolar planets
> preceded the
> > first flight to the moon, and provided the impetus for making the
> trip.
>
> Open to discussion. The extra-solar planets are almost abstractions
> for the
> person in the street. The moon conquest was live on TV, prime-time.
>
> > >The engineered in-service, useful lifetime of Boeing's new 777
> aircraft
> is
> > >specified at 70 years.
>
> Hey, wait, good ole' B52 might beat that ! I bet it's still gonna be
> flying
> in 2024. Anyone taking the bet ? And as far as I know (but I'm no
> aircraft
> guru), it was not designed for such an exceptionallyt long lifespan.
>
> Christian