It was forty years ago this week that man first walked on the moon. It doesn't seem that long ago that I sat and watched this event on TV. Now I don't remember much that happened forty years ago, but I remember this event. It is exciting for me to realize that now, living in Houston, I actually know an astronaut personally. For some reason the idea of space exploration and astronauts fascinated me as a child. I still have the newspaper articles I saved about different trips to the moon. I also remember a regrettable decision I made around that time.
The idea of astronauts intrigued. I discovered that some had been Air Force pilots, so when I got my hands on an Air Force recruiting brochure one day I didn't give it any thought to fill it out. The regret came as soon as I dropped it in the mail. I remember riding my bike back and forth in the path of the mailbox, staring at it, almost hoping it would magically shoot back out knowing my mistake. I finally confessed it to my parents who assured me the Air Force would not recruit a ten year old. It was then I made the other confession - I lied about my age on the application. More angst. Another trip to the mailbox.
I'm not sure when I stopped worrying that the Air Force would force me to my commitment, or arrest me for falsifying a document. But I did. Now it is a fond memory of a more innocent time.
