den | 21 July 2004

I know the history books say they landed on the moon on July 20th, but because of the changes in time-zones it was it was July 21st here. About 7am, actually.

It was my 8th birthday. I got up to watch the landing on the old black&white HMV television. There wasn't a lot to see, actually. Wide shots of Mission Control with a large number or white-shirted men sitting in front of lines of consoles, their voices coming through the speakers, and a few close-ups of various news casters I didn't know since they were in the US. I knew James Dibble and Brian Henderson, and these guys weren't them.

"Dad? Why did they say '30 seconds'?"

"I don't know."

The seconds ticked by as the the voices called out numbers. Finally there was a moment of silence.

"Houston, this is Tranquility Base. The Eagle has landed."

Dad and I looked at each other and said "Wow."

Then he handed me a Hot Wheels gravity drag track and 2 cars.

A moon landing and loot. Not a bad haul for an 8th birthday.

Something I learned while watching The Dish again was that Michael Collins didn't have a telly in the command module. He had to wait until they got back to Earth before he saw any of the moonwalk.

Michael Collins in my hero.