As part of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, I would like to submit my thoughts and memories of this day. In 1969, I was 12 years old and absolutely CRAZY about the space program. Like many kids my age, I wanted to become an astronaut and experience the amazing discoveries we were seeing month after month in the news. I built models of the Saturn V rocket (it was about 4 feet tall) and moon dioramas with the moon lander Eagle. In fact one of my science fair projects was all about NASA and the race to the moon.
I will never forget sitting on the edge of my Dad's bed and watching the television on top of his dresser as Neil Armstrong descended down the ladder. It was a moment very much like "do you remember where you were when JFK was shot?" My next door neighbor was much smarter than me, but he was also into the space race. He and I built an Apollo space capsule out of cardboard refrigerator boxes on their back patio. It was very realistic with gauges and toggle switches on the control panel.
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I have some memorabilia I have never thrown away. Every now and then, I pull this stuff out to remember those wonderful times as a young boy. I especially like the 75 RPM record that was narrated by Hugh Downs -- especially since Hugh Downs became a Phoenix resident. I also have a "First Day of Issue" envelope with the Apollo 11 landing stamp.
The book, Footprints on the Moon, I devoured and it covered the entire space program, from Mercury to Gemini to Apollo. One of my favorite astronauts was Tucsonan, Frank Borman. Knowing he was local and he went to Tucson High, made me think I could possibly follow in his footsteps to become an astronaut. I imagine I was not alone in this town who had Frank Borman as one of my heroes of the day.
Bob Logan
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