The Launch of Apollo 11

As a boy, I tried never to miss a rocket launch at Cape Canaveral. Whether at home or at school, every blast off was a big event. Every astronaut was a hero. They were the best that America could produce. I remember more than one of my teachers leading the class in prayer for the Astronaut's safety. It was a different time and place. The country was more innocent and so was I. As I watch the old telecast of the launch of Apollo 11, I feel the same excitement that I did when I was a kid.I remember sitting under a shelter at Twin Lakes Park on July 20th 1969. I was attending a family reunion. But instead of riding the roller coaster I was sitting on my Daddy Ray;s  lap watching Walter Cronkite describe the lunar landing as it happened. Someone had brought a old black and white portable television. The picture was grainy, but it didn't matter. We were watching history. We were excited and at the same time scared that something would go wrong and the men would be stranded on the moon. But everything went according to plan and the men all splashed down safely a few days later. Fast forward to 2015. We have no astronauts. Who  do the young boys have to look up to now? You would think with all of the money that the government wastes, that there should be enough to send a a man to the moon every now and then for appearance sake. Every generation needs their heros.