Space Men

Neil Armstrong died today. I feel the loss; he was a good man, an unassuming homebody who lived on a farm in Ohio. Yet he did such an amazing thing. I will never forget the night of July 20, 1969, gazing up at the moon, thinking "there is really a man up there". I, too, grew up in Ohio, not that far from his farm in Lebanon. It's a quiet town and he was a quiet man. I found a quote from him that was part of a speech he gave in 2000: "I am, and ever will be, a white socks, pocket protector, nerdy engineer." My own father could have said that about himself; it sounds like him, too.

I've also been thinking about Ray Bradbury. Last week I was thrilled to see the successful landing of Curiosity on Mars. They named the landing sight for Ray Bradbury. This was so fitting, as he wrote The Martian Chronicles. If only he had lived long enough to see it.

p.s. Ray Bradbury's cat looks just like my Munchkin.