Liftoff! We Have Liftoff!

Fifty years ago today something magical started in action. . . liftoff of the Apollo Eleven mission to the moon. I wasn't anywhere near the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, but I can imagine. I've never felt the ground shake from a man-made monster such as this, but I can imagine. I've never heard the roar of Saturn V rocket engines, but I can imagine. Or maybe I can't, since this power was unimaginable to those of us merely watching on TV.

I can picture the crowds shading their eyes, watching from the distance. I can see the birds rousted from their nests as liftoff grew louder and louder and even louder.

We weren't just idle bystanders. We didn't say, "They are going to the moon." We said, "We are going to the moon." Big difference. We were caught up in the drama, in the possibilities, and deep inside, maybe in the fear that something could go wrong.

But it didn't, and now fifty years later we review and relive the experience. My heart still thumps extra hard just imagining.

Catch of the day,

Gretchen