Wednesday, July 20, 2005

The Moon

The moon landing may have been scheduled for the afternoon in the US, but I was in Liberia.

We crowded into Dad's office straining to make out the voices on the shortwave radio. If I concentrated I could make out 3/4 of the words through the hiss and squeal. The alien delay was a blessing, giving me time to puzzle out what was just said. We were holding our breath too, trying to be as quiet as we could until Armstrong told us "The Eagle has landed."

After the smiles came a little disappointment--the wait between the landing and stepping out. Our parents sat in the kitchen awhile, and then went to bed, but I sat by the shortwave staring at nothing as I listened and waited. Then came excitement again as their checklist was done and Neil climbed down the ladder. His "One small step" didn't make sense, but I knew what he meant. Our dream had come to life. I listened through the hiss for a few more minutes, and then went outside and stared at the moon between the clouds in the cool tropical night until I was too sleepy to stand.

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