It is with great sadness that the Babylon Podcast shares the news of Neil Armstrong’s passing on Saturday, August 25, 2012. A good, brief write-up about Neil can be found at Spaceflight Now.
His family released a statement, which reads in part, “”For those who may ask what they can do to honor Neil, we have a simple request. Honor his example of service, accomplishment and modesty, and the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink.”
If you happen to be near Wapakoneta, Ohio, visit the Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum. It is filled with artifacts and memorabilia from Neil’s entire life, and will give you a good sense of all the accomplishments he achieved before and after his One Small Step. I’ve visited, and it’s well-worth the trip.
For me, I will always remember sitting in a Howard Johnson’s motel stopover during a long family car trip, and watching Neil take that historic step, and the sense that the entire world had stopped to witness the greatest adventure ever.
He was the first famous Neil that I had ever heard about. That was a couple of months before we moved from Bethesda, MD to Darien, CT. I remember all the excitement about it when we started school that year.