Funnily enough, if you'd asked me a week ago as I pen these words, I would have told you that the first moon landing occurred in the wee hours of the morning, because I remember my dad shaking me awake and telling me that I had to come downstairs because something historic was happening.
When we entered the front room, we watched the landing, and heard the words: "Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed" (even now, I get shivers down my spine when I see a replay of this video). I was only 12 years old, but my dad gave me a tiny tot of his whiskey and we toasted humankind in general and the astronauts in particular.
As I mentioned, until recently I would have guessed that this occurred at something like 3:00 a.m., but just a few days ago I discovered that the landing actually took place at around 8:17 p.m. UK time (this was on the evening of Sunday 20 July, 1969). So what was I doing in bed at this early hour?
Sadly, my dear old dad passed away some time ago, so I can't ask him any questions. I mentioned this conundrum to my mom, and she called back a little later with a solution. She doesn’t remember this happening at all, which means she must have been away on business.
Mu mom thinks that I would have headed off to bed around 9:00 p.m. My father, who didn’t pay much attention to technology-related stuff like space, would have been watching the television when News at Ten came on. Hearing about the landing and that they were about to show a replay (and knowing my interest in all things technical) he would have raced up the stairs to wake me ... I'm so glad he did, because being with him at that time is a memory that will stay with me for the rest of my life.
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