Neil Armstrong: We Need More Like Him

With apologies to a friend of mine if the story doesn't come out correctly. I have a story about the recently deceased Neil Armstrong which I'll get to later. It's hard to believe it's been since July 20, 1969 that Armstrong first walked on the moon. That date is significant to me because at the very instant he was doing his moon walk I became engaged to Lizzie. It's not that I wasn't interested in this event but we didn't own a television. Anyway, since that great piece of exploration took place slightly over 43 years ago there are literally millions of Americans for whom the moon landing is a piece of history found only in a book. It's difficult to understand the impact of something of such magnitude if one wasn't alive when it took place. That's why the bombing of Pearl Harbor means the same to me.
Yesterday, Rush Limbaugh gave a few minutes of his show talking about Armstrong. He gave him the proper accolades but focused on the man and how he desired to come back home as a private citizen, not someone to be admired and feted at every opportunity. He lived out his 82 years in a quaint little community, Lebanon, Ohio, just up the road from Cincinnati.According to Limbaugh when Armstrong found out people were getting his autograph then selling it he stopped signing. You see, the moon landing was about America, not about Neil Armstrong. Furthermore, Limbaugh stated that Armstrong fully expected that he would not survive the mission but that the exploration by he and his two partners would open the door for others to take his place. Armstrong was a private man and wished to live out his days in privacy. That's a quality many of our leaders of today should practice.
It might have been ten years ago that my friend, George, was telling me he was in an airport and sitting across from him was Mr. Armstrong. George looked up knowingly and Armstrong recognized his glance. Whereas many people would get up and shake his hand or ask for an autograph or announce out loud, "Hey, you're Neil Armstrong", my friend went back to doing what he was doing. After awhile Armstrong got up to leave, approached my friend, and in a low voice said, "Thank you". He had been allowed to have maintain his anonymity. Both men should be commended; one for good manners and the other for being allowed to keep his dignity on his own terms.
America lost a true hero and legend last week. It's too bad people don't know more about him but, then again, he didn't want it to be about himself. He wanted his accomplishment to be about the United States of America.

There's a much better piece of writing than could come from me. It's written by a fella called IowaHawk and gives one pause about Armstrong and another person who's ego won't allow him to give credit to others; only to himself. IowaHawk is normally a humorous writer but, in this case, his writing takes on a more serious tone. http://iowahawk.typepad.com/iowahawk/2012/08/stars-get-in-your-eyes.html