It Didn't Happen!

I had the occasion the other day to meet an extraordinary person. I'd like to say he was one of a kind, but like the 650 dues paying members of the Flat Earth Society, he was far from unique, but just as out there. I liken his kind to a rare and expensive Ming vase, few and far between. It's a rare occasion to run into a member of this cult, but well worth the time to unravel the twisted thought process they possess. This man my friends, was a member of those who are convinced, that man has never walked on the moon. The sect that believes it was all staged.

Now one thing I've noticed about most of these people, and I hate to generalize, but I've yet to meet one that was born and old enough to remember 1969. The second thing they all share in common is the have extremely liberal beliefs. I take it as my personal responsibility to enlighten them and continue their education when it comes to history.

Now I vividly remember 1969, I was just about to become a teenager, so it was a special and memorable time. The two most outstanding events of that year were the Woodstock concert, and man's first step on the moon, fulfilling JFK's challenge made less than a decade earlier. They happened within a couple of weeks of each other. One was a gathering of spoiled rotten brats, protesting everything they could imagine, while reinforcing the notion they were immature and irresponsible by abusing drugs. It was quite a statement of hypocrisy, but I did like the music. (Just a side note here, most of our aging members of Washington were of that generation). The moonwalk, on the other hand, was a celebration of our technological advancements, and our response to a challenge, proving a free capitalistic society could out produce the tyranny of a communist Soviet Union, by being the first on the moon. It was quite a contrast.

But let's get back to our nonbeliever! Did I mention above he wasn't but a gleam in his parents Woodstock attending eye when this all happened? So he didn't have a grasp on what the technology was way back in 1969. I had to enlighten him, as most of this cult are certain it was all staged on a movie set. So first thing I do is point out the incredible movie technology in 1969. You see they all believe the same Spielberg animation existed back then that does today, hardly. The movies in the theaters in 1969 were as follows...
Easy Rider
True Grit
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
And The Wild Bunch
Now if you've had the pleasure to view any of these classics, your well aware Hollywood didn't have the technology to support his argument. In fact society was quite different then, so I enlightened him. You'd be amazed to know what he didn't realize. There was no satellite or cable TV, we had no microwaves, no cell phones, no computers, cars didn't even have electronic ignition. There were no I-pods, no I-pads, no CD's, nor cassettes. Cars were made of metal, and anything made from plastic was considered cheap. We considered Tang, an innovation. That's why the moonwalk was such a special event, it inspired the technology that created most of the items I listed above.

So I invited Mr. non believer to rent a couple of those classics, or catch them on the History Channel, to make my point. I'm not sure I changed his point of view, but I am sure he has a different perspective!

God Bless!
Capt. Bill