Pat Bean's blog

 “I think we’re going to the moon because it’s in the nature of the human being to face challenges It’s by the nature of his deep inner soul … we’re required to do these things just as salmon swim upstream.” – Neil Armstrong

Taking a Step Back to the Past

This sunset is my favorite shot of the moon. It just seemed appropriate to run it as part of my tribute to Neil Armstrong. — Photo by Pat Bean

I doubt if there are many Americans my age out there who weren’t glued in front of the television on July 21, 1969, when Neil Armstrong put the first human footprint on the moon.

I watched it with my five children, who then ranged in age from four to 13. In my opinion, that was the most significant event that’s happened in my life time.

Flowers for Neil — Photo by Pat Bean

The moon landing was especially sweet to me because of a geometry teacher I had in junior high school who said man would never get to the moon.  He was the same macho piece of manure who didn’t want girls taking his class, and said so in class, because they would never need to use geometry.

My granddaughters don’t know what they missed.

The words Armstrong spoke when he bounded on the surface of the moon – I can still see that grainy black and white image — are probably familiar even to those who aren’t my age:

“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” If ever someone said the perfect thing at the perfect time, those were the words.

But he also said these words as well: “I think we’re going to the moon because it’s in the nature of the human being to face challenges It’s by the nature of his deep inner soul … we’re required to do these things just as salmon swim upstream.”

I hope these are words we will not just never forget, but will also take to heart and act upon.

We’ll miss you Neil Armstrong. May there still be challenges ahead for you in the afterlife.

Book Report: Travels with Maggie is now at 39,592 words. Things are going so much slower than I expected, but it’s going good. Part of the slowness is because of some extra research I’ve been doing to add a bit more depth to the book, and because I’ve been double checking facts.

The wondering wanderer’s blog pick of the day.

Bean’s Pat Uprooted Magnolia http://tinyurl.com/9tc5pcd Photos of a monarch butterfly to brighten your day. These beauties go through several stages before turning into butterflies. I wonder how many stages we humans get to improve ourselves.