One Small Step For (A) Man

   One giant leap for mankind. Those were the first words spoken from the surface of the moon on July 20, 1969. And the man who spoke them, Neil Armstrong, has died at age 82. He'd had heart bypass surgery earlier this month, and died of complications from that.
   Armstrong made 3 trips into space, on Gemini 8 and 11, then the historic Apollo 11 moon landing. Gemini 8 nearly ended in tragedy when the spacecraft started tumbling out of control, and the mission had to end early. Gemini 11 was successful.
   Armstrong also dodged death training for the Apollo missions after the lunar module trainer went out of control and he had to eject from what they called the "flying bedstead" which simulated the moons gravity.
   And then there was the Apollo 11 landing itself. I was in my teens that year, glued to the T.V as Armstrong and "Buzz" Aldrin made their way down toward the lunar surface. And I remember the tension when they nearly landed in a boulder field. They avoided that, and touched down safely. With less than 30 seconds of fuel left.
   Then there was the moon walk, and Armstrong's historic words. They spent a total of 2 and a half hours setting up experiments, some of which are still working, and planting the American Flag (which was blown over by the exhaust of the ascent module). In total, they spent 21 hours on the lunar surface before rejoining Mike Collins in the command module for the flight home. With plenty of rocks and soil samples.
   With his passing the world, not just the U.S.A, has lost an icon and hero.
   'Nuff said, except R.I.P Neil Armstrong!