Have saved this newspaper in a scrapbook for forty years. For today and this post, I suppose. St. Paul Pioneer Press, July 21, 1969. The paper cost a dime. "U.S. Puts 1st Men ON MOON." On the flipside:
"Pleasant Day Due, at Least On Earth. Despite recent astro-achievements, there still is much to be said for such down-to-earth concerns as picnicking or sunbathing. At least the weatherman -- who ignores the moon because it has no atmosphere and, hence, no weather -- forecasts another pleasant day [of] variable cloudiness for the Twin Cities and the rest of Minnesota today . . ."
"Astronaut's Heart Jumps. . . Neil Armstrong's heart rate jumped from a normal 70-75 beats a minute to 110 when the Apollo 11 lunar lander started its descent toward the moon Sunday. At landing his heart rate was 156 beats a minute. Forty-five minutes later it had settled into the 90s."
[My sketch version of the lunar footprint headed July 20, 1969. Eight years old at the time].
"1/2 Billion See TV Coverage . . . Back on earth, President Richard Nixon and a half a billion other people watched the moon show on television, experts estimated. Another billion couldn't see it because it was not shown in the Soviet Union or Red China. The remaining two billion earthlings had no sets . . . Americans watched in homes, bars, night clubs, prisons, and on special sets or screens at race tracks, parks, plazas, airports and in one murder trial court-room . . . In Las Vegas, one casino announced it would have topless showgirls pour champagne from hundreds of bottles uncorked at the moment the moon module landed [clearly the place to be] . . ."
Today's Rune: Defense.
4 comments:
While the importance of history and the wonder of the accomplishment is not lost on me, I am sorry I think we need to quit sending people and shit into space until we learn how better to manage the resources we so blithely continue to fuck up on earth.
Cool post, it was a nice jump into the past. I think it would be neat to step foot on the moon, I've always had an obsession with it. It looks so pretty.
Not shown in Russia or China. a Statement on the days of the Cold War.
Erik, I, like WM, have a very limited use for the space program. I can think of so many more uses for that volume of money. However, that said, I remember my whole family watching on tv and outside and celebrating our advancement. Of course, Neil's heart rate went up. Why not-He was EXCITED!!
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