1
00:00:08,666 --> 00:00:11,208
Six, five, four,
2
00:00:11,291 --> 00:00:15,125
three, two, one, zero.
3
00:00:15,208 --> 00:00:16,666
All engine running.
4
00:00:17,166 --> 00:00:18,250
Liftoff.
5
00:00:42,875 --> 00:00:46,166
The time is spring 1969.
6
00:00:46,250 --> 00:00:50,166
The place is Ed White Elementary School
in El Lago, Texas,
7
00:00:50,250 --> 00:00:53,208
a South Houston suburb
right down the road from NASA.
8
00:00:53,291 --> 00:00:57,000
The occasion on this fateful day
that put everything in motion?
9
00:00:57,500 --> 00:00:59,083
Fourth grade recess.
10
00:00:59,666 --> 00:01:00,791
No, that's not me.
11
00:01:00,875 --> 00:01:04,416
That's Ricky Rodriguez,
one of my many ne'er-do-well buddies.
12
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They had changed the rules,
13
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so you weren't supposed
to throw the ball at people,
14
00:01:08,416 --> 00:01:11,083
which was kind of the most fun thing
about kickball.
15
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It was taking some gettin' used to.
16
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And that's Mr. St. George, our PE coach,
walking Ricky over to the wall.
17
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He was a very specific disciplinarian,
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00:01:22,125 --> 00:01:24,750
drawing you a little circle
on the nearest wall.
19
00:01:25,250 --> 00:01:27,541
Here. Put your nose in there
and keep it in there.
20
00:01:28,125 --> 00:01:30,833
And it was always just a little higher
than was comfortable,
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00:01:30,916 --> 00:01:34,458
so you'd be up on your tippy-toes
until the end of the class.
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00:01:37,250 --> 00:01:41,041
The one time he was sticking my nose
to the wall, I was ready for him.
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00:01:41,541 --> 00:01:44,958
The key, I figured,
was to imperceptibly spread your stance
24
00:01:45,041 --> 00:01:49,375
and slump ever so slightly lower
at the crucial moment of his calculation.
25
00:01:50,666 --> 00:01:51,625
Put your nose there.
26
00:01:52,458 --> 00:01:54,333
So that's me. Stanley.
27
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Everyone just called me Stan,
unless I was in trouble, of course,
28
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or on the first day of class
when they read roll.
29
00:02:01,958 --> 00:02:04,875
In kickball, I was kind of a shortstop
and general field rover,
30
00:02:04,958 --> 00:02:08,250
instructed by teammates
to try and catch everything I could.
31
00:02:08,333 --> 00:02:11,666
And, you know,
I was a pretty impressive kicker as well.
32
00:02:11,750 --> 00:02:13,583
But back to how it all got started.
33
00:02:13,666 --> 00:02:17,500
It was those guys
that changed my life forever.
34
00:02:17,583 --> 00:02:18,833
There's our kid.
35
00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:37,000
We scouted you on the kickball field,
we spoke with your teachers.
36
00:02:37,083 --> 00:02:38,041
We're impressed with…
37
00:02:39,416 --> 00:02:42,458
a few of your science reports,
and we like that you've earned
38
00:02:42,541 --> 00:02:45,791
a Presidential Physical Fitness Award
three years running.
39
00:02:45,875 --> 00:02:48,958
We've selected you
as the perfect candidate for this mission.
40
00:02:49,041 --> 00:02:51,000
Mission? For what?
41
00:02:51,500 --> 00:02:54,416
Listen, time's a factor here,
so we're gonna be very blunt.
42
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We accidentally built the lunar module
43
00:02:58,166 --> 00:02:59,291
a little too small.
44
00:02:59,875 --> 00:03:01,791
But we're not gonna let that set us back.
45
00:03:01,875 --> 00:03:03,500
How'd that happen?
46
00:03:03,583 --> 00:03:04,583
Are you good at math?
47
00:03:05,166 --> 00:03:07,875
-Yeah.
-Do you get a perfect 100 on every test?
48
00:03:08,541 --> 00:03:09,833
-No.
-Okay.
49
00:03:11,458 --> 00:03:14,583
We are this close,
but we need to test this…
50
00:03:15,333 --> 00:03:19,583
…accidentally smaller version
on the lunar surface, and soon.
51
00:03:19,666 --> 00:03:22,458
And we need a kid like you to help us out,
52
00:03:22,541 --> 00:03:24,708
so we can beat those damn Russians
to the moon.
53
00:03:24,791 --> 00:03:26,708
Why don't you just send a chimpanzee?
54
00:03:26,791 --> 00:03:30,750
Because you speak
more actual words of the English language.
55
00:03:31,500 --> 00:03:33,458
Stan, you're our only hope.
56
00:03:33,541 --> 00:03:36,291
Come on. What do you say?
Do it for your country.
57
00:03:36,375 --> 00:03:38,541
Do it for the free world!
58
00:03:41,583 --> 00:03:42,500
Okay.
59
00:03:43,708 --> 00:03:46,791
Great. Secret training starts
end of school year.
60
00:03:47,458 --> 00:03:48,625
Secret?
61
00:03:48,708 --> 00:03:51,083
Top secret, Stan.
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00:03:51,166 --> 00:03:53,625
This is a covert operation.
It does not exist. Get it?
63
00:03:54,458 --> 00:03:56,791
This meeting? This never happened.
64
00:03:57,291 --> 00:03:58,541
No one can know about this.
65
00:03:58,625 --> 00:04:01,458
Not your parents.
Not your brothers. Not your sisters.
66
00:04:01,958 --> 00:04:03,916
-No one.
-Wait.
67
00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:06,458
How will we get away with this?
68
00:04:06,541 --> 00:04:08,375
Where will everyone think I am?
69
00:04:08,458 --> 00:04:11,166
Summer camp.
You were recommended, accepted,
70
00:04:11,250 --> 00:04:14,416
and received a scholarship
to Camp Grizzly,
71
00:04:14,500 --> 00:04:17,625
a special outdoor camp
just outside of Lake Traverse, Michigan.
72
00:04:18,291 --> 00:04:21,541
You went up in late May
and stayed through almost all of June.
73
00:04:22,875 --> 00:04:27,708
I'm not gonna lie, the weather and bugs
were arduous, but you had a great time.
74
00:04:27,791 --> 00:04:29,000
Hmm.
75
00:04:30,083 --> 00:04:32,875
-A great time indeed.
76
00:04:33,500 --> 00:04:35,125
Some things you never forget, Stan.
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00:05:14,750 --> 00:05:16,125
Okay, pause!
78
00:05:16,208 --> 00:05:19,916
Let's forget about all this for now.
We'll come back to this part later.
79
00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:22,708
First, let me tell you about
life back then.
80
00:05:22,791 --> 00:05:25,083
It was a great time and place to be a kid.
81
00:05:25,166 --> 00:05:27,750
Living in the Houston area
in the late '60s,
82
00:05:27,833 --> 00:05:29,583
and especially near NASA,
83
00:05:29,666 --> 00:05:32,333
was like being
where science fiction was coming to life.
84
00:05:32,416 --> 00:05:35,875
The optimistic technological future
was now,
85
00:05:35,958 --> 00:05:39,250
and we were at the absolute center
of everything new and better.
86
00:05:39,750 --> 00:05:42,583
Leading the way was,
of course, the space program.
87
00:05:44,333 --> 00:05:46,291
The goal of going to the moon
had been declared
88
00:05:46,375 --> 00:05:50,375
when President Kennedy gave his speech
at Rice University in Houston.
89
00:05:50,458 --> 00:05:52,541
But why, some say, the moon?
90
00:05:53,166 --> 00:05:55,291
Why choose this as our goal?
91
00:05:56,083 --> 00:05:57,583
And they may well ask,
92
00:05:58,083 --> 00:06:00,041
"Why climb the highest mountain?"
93
00:06:00,625 --> 00:06:04,041
"Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic?"
94
00:06:04,541 --> 00:06:06,625
"Why does Rice play Texas?"
95
00:06:06,708 --> 00:06:08,625
We choose to go to the moon.
96
00:06:10,916 --> 00:06:15,500
We choose to go to the moon in this decade
and do the other things,
97
00:06:15,583 --> 00:06:19,041
not because they are easy,
but because they are hard.
98
00:06:20,375 --> 00:06:24,083
The Space Center was relocated
to the outskirts of town in 1962.
99
00:06:25,458 --> 00:06:27,541
That same year, Houston started to build
100
00:06:27,625 --> 00:06:29,750
the world's first dome stadium.
101
00:06:29,833 --> 00:06:31,958
The eighth wonder of the world.
102
00:06:32,041 --> 00:06:33,375
The Astrodome.
103
00:06:34,458 --> 00:06:36,000
When they did the groundbreaking,
104
00:06:36,083 --> 00:06:38,708
instead of ceremonial digs
in the earth with shovels,
105
00:06:38,791 --> 00:06:42,458
all the officials shot Colt .45 pistols
into the ground instead.
106
00:06:43,583 --> 00:06:45,916
And the dome
had the first animated scoreboard
107
00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:48,500
with all kinds of fun, lit-up graphics.
108
00:06:48,583 --> 00:06:50,958
But the best
was when an Astro hit a home run,
109
00:06:51,041 --> 00:06:54,666
or, as they like to say,
put the ball into Astro orbit,
110
00:06:54,750 --> 00:06:58,291
which set off this huge,
electronic fireworks display.
111
00:07:01,625 --> 00:07:04,541
And this was the place
that first had Astroturf.
112
00:07:05,041 --> 00:07:08,416
The artificial surface would need
no watering, mowing, or weeding,
113
00:07:08,500 --> 00:07:10,375
and be the perfect expression of this era
114
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when everything was new
and man-made and therefore better.
115
00:07:13,291 --> 00:07:16,000
Even though Joe Namath said
it was like playing on concrete,
116
00:07:16,083 --> 00:07:18,500
it felt like nature
and all her earthly restrictions
117
00:07:18,583 --> 00:07:19,625
were being conquered.
118
00:07:19,708 --> 00:07:21,958
And no one doubted that, in our lifetimes,
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00:07:22,041 --> 00:07:25,000
we'd have the option to live on the moon,
or maybe a nearby planet,
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00:07:25,083 --> 00:07:27,750
probably in some kinda domed space colony.
121
00:07:27,833 --> 00:07:30,375
And, given the rate
of all this technological innovation,
122
00:07:30,458 --> 00:07:31,958
it was easy to imagine
123
00:07:32,041 --> 00:07:35,250
that we'd all probably be livin'
well past the age of a hundred.
124
00:07:35,333 --> 00:07:37,333
For example,
just over at the medical center,
125
00:07:37,916 --> 00:07:41,041
DeBakey and Cooley
were perfecting the heart transplant.
126
00:07:41,125 --> 00:07:42,583
And even closer to home,
127
00:07:42,666 --> 00:07:47,125
we were one of the first regions
in the country to get push-button phones.
128
00:07:47,208 --> 00:07:48,458
Y'all, listen to this.
129
00:07:48,541 --> 00:07:51,166
It was the coolest. No more dialing.
130
00:07:51,250 --> 00:07:53,375
-And you could play songs with the tones.
131
00:07:53,458 --> 00:07:56,041
My sister Vicky
was the musical one in the family.
132
00:07:56,125 --> 00:07:58,583
She was the oldest, followed by Steve,
133
00:07:59,166 --> 00:08:02,583
then Jana, Greg, Stephanie, and then me.
134
00:08:03,625 --> 00:08:04,625
Okay. Show your moves.
135
00:08:06,291 --> 00:08:07,125
Okay, good.
136
00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:13,500
Hello? Hello?
137
00:08:23,333 --> 00:08:24,916
Sure, our country was at war.
138
00:08:25,416 --> 00:08:26,750
Cities were on fire,
139
00:08:26,833 --> 00:08:28,833
and all hell was breaking loose
everywhere.
140
00:08:31,291 --> 00:08:34,000
But from a kid's perspective,
out in the suburbs,
141
00:08:34,083 --> 00:08:36,083
it was all confined to the television.
142
00:08:36,583 --> 00:08:39,250
And as a kid,
you just figure it's all normal.
143
00:08:39,833 --> 00:08:41,041
Another riot.
144
00:08:41,541 --> 00:08:43,083
Another famous leader assassinated.
145
00:08:43,791 --> 00:08:45,708
I guess that's just how adults act.
146
00:08:46,208 --> 00:08:48,541
In our family, it seemed
that only Vicky embodied
147
00:08:48,625 --> 00:08:50,666
the so-called generation gap of the time.
148
00:08:50,750 --> 00:08:53,916
She was the only one of us who seemed
o know or care very much
149
00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:55,625
about what was going on in the world.
150
00:08:56,416 --> 00:08:59,875
The closest we ever got to the action
was when we were in Houston with Mom
151
00:08:59,958 --> 00:09:03,875
near the college where it seemed she was
forever in grad school during this time.
152
00:09:07,750 --> 00:09:09,625
-Look at how they're dressed.
-Those?
153
00:09:09,708 --> 00:09:12,333
See, kids,
this is why we moved to the suburbs.
154
00:09:12,416 --> 00:09:14,791
To get away from these kinds of people.
155
00:09:14,875 --> 00:09:16,541
The squares are scared.
156
00:09:16,625 --> 00:09:18,916
No. Your sister is full of crap.
157
00:09:20,125 --> 00:09:22,666
-We moved here because of your dad's job.
-Mm-hmm.
158
00:09:22,750 --> 00:09:25,875
He was sick of commuting an hour each way.
Got it?
159
00:09:25,958 --> 00:09:27,500
-Okay. Okay, Mom.
-Got it.
160
00:09:27,583 --> 00:09:30,916
Got it. Um, Mom, is that one a hippie?
161
00:09:32,750 --> 00:09:34,750
Yeah. Yeah, that's a hippie.
162
00:09:34,833 --> 00:09:36,125
How about that one?
163
00:09:37,333 --> 00:09:39,000
No. His hair's not long enough.
164
00:09:39,750 --> 00:09:42,500
But he's wearing bell-bottoms.
165
00:09:43,708 --> 00:09:44,583
Oh.
166
00:09:45,083 --> 00:09:47,375
Okay. Yeah. Yeah, that's a hippie.
167
00:09:48,625 --> 00:09:50,000
I think I like hippies.
168
00:09:52,625 --> 00:09:55,541
And in those new suburbs
expanding south of Houston,
169
00:09:55,625 --> 00:09:58,333
housing divisions were springin' up
all over the place.
170
00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:01,333
Our neighborhood
was full of houses under construction.
171
00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:03,750
The land was totally flat.
172
00:10:03,833 --> 00:10:07,875
The only thing remotely resembling a hill
was the overpass out on the interstate.
173
00:10:07,958 --> 00:10:12,708
We're talking coastal plains,
a mere 30 or so feet above sea level.
174
00:10:12,791 --> 00:10:14,833
Of course,
they hadn't put in enough drainage,
175
00:10:14,916 --> 00:10:17,916
so every time it rained for
any length of time, everything flooded.
176
00:10:18,416 --> 00:10:20,458
-Look! It's a water moccasin!
177
00:10:20,541 --> 00:10:22,583
Every time!
178
00:10:23,541 --> 00:10:25,625
There was no sense of history here,
179
00:10:25,708 --> 00:10:28,541
for everything as far as you could see
was brand new.
180
00:10:28,625 --> 00:10:30,375
New and endless shopping centers
181
00:10:30,458 --> 00:10:33,083
with grocery stores, burger restaurants,
182
00:10:33,166 --> 00:10:34,708
and, best of all,
183
00:10:34,791 --> 00:10:36,791
a bowling alley and arcade.
184
00:10:37,375 --> 00:10:40,416
At least once a week, we'd walk
or ride bikes over to the bowling alley.
185
00:10:41,875 --> 00:10:44,625
We'd bowl when our parents were paying,
but on our own,
186
00:10:44,708 --> 00:10:46,916
the arcade was where the action was.
187
00:10:47,500 --> 00:10:51,500
We developed a self-sustaining system
that extended our meager allowance.
188
00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:55,708
For an investment of a quarter each,
we could get an RC Cola for 15 cents
189
00:10:55,791 --> 00:10:57,666
and a pinball game for a dime.
190
00:11:00,916 --> 00:11:03,833
We'd concentrate on the games
we'd mastered, like Aquarius.
191
00:11:04,375 --> 00:11:07,125
All the pressure would,
of course, be on the first game.
192
00:11:07,625 --> 00:11:10,166
Immediately winning,
not only to keep playing,
193
00:11:10,250 --> 00:11:13,166
but to eventually
fill up the machine with free games.
194
00:11:13,791 --> 00:11:16,041
Then when it was time to go home,
195
00:11:16,125 --> 00:11:19,125
we could usually sell them off
for 50 cents to some older person
196
00:11:19,208 --> 00:11:20,750
who thought that was a good deal.
197
00:11:28,166 --> 00:11:30,291
Maybe part of the allure
of the bowling alley
198
00:11:30,375 --> 00:11:32,416
was it was
where the local hoodlums hung out.
199
00:11:33,083 --> 00:11:34,666
We would marvel at their swagger
200
00:11:34,750 --> 00:11:37,000
and the methods they used
to beat the system,
201
00:11:37,083 --> 00:11:40,125
whether crudely lessening
the gravitational pull of the machine
202
00:11:40,208 --> 00:11:43,041
or deftly getting a game
without putting in any money.
203
00:11:43,541 --> 00:11:48,250
When done just right, the machine would
apparently start a new game.
204
00:11:48,750 --> 00:11:50,250
It was masterful.
205
00:11:51,041 --> 00:11:53,375
I tried that maneuver
for the next several years
206
00:11:53,458 --> 00:11:54,750
but never figured it out.
207
00:11:58,500 --> 00:12:01,375
We'd been one of the first houses
completed on our street,
208
00:12:01,875 --> 00:12:05,541
and it felt like the entire neighborhood
was a construction site and up for grabs.
209
00:12:06,500 --> 00:12:09,250
You could build a whole fort
out of the throwaway wood piles.
210
00:12:10,291 --> 00:12:11,458
That would have to suffice,
211
00:12:11,541 --> 00:12:14,791
because tree houses
were probably a couple decades away.
212
00:12:15,750 --> 00:12:17,833
Dad, isn't this stealing?
213
00:12:17,916 --> 00:12:19,875
Well, the way I figure it,
214
00:12:19,958 --> 00:12:22,125
they charged us way too much
for the house,
215
00:12:22,208 --> 00:12:24,416
so technically, they owe us.
216
00:12:25,125 --> 00:12:27,875
It's just a piece of plywood.
They'll never miss it.
217
00:12:27,958 --> 00:12:30,041
I'm still not sure
if my dad was in the frugal,
218
00:12:30,125 --> 00:12:33,125
struggling-to-make-ends-meet category
219
00:12:33,208 --> 00:12:34,833
or closer to a scam artist.
220
00:12:34,916 --> 00:12:37,125
Pull it back. Tighten the net. There.
221
00:12:37,208 --> 00:12:41,333
But it was clear our family's sole mission
was to save as much money as possible.
222
00:12:41,833 --> 00:12:42,875
Nice.
223
00:12:47,833 --> 00:12:49,708
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!
224
00:12:49,791 --> 00:12:53,083
You're not finished.
Put the nozzle back in my gas tank.
225
00:12:55,708 --> 00:12:57,416
Now squeeze the handle completely open.
226
00:12:58,500 --> 00:13:00,250
Now lift the hose from back to front.
227
00:13:04,250 --> 00:13:05,750
That's my gas in the hose.
228
00:13:05,833 --> 00:13:06,958
-I paid for it.
-Dad…
229
00:13:07,041 --> 00:13:07,875
He knows that.
230
00:13:08,791 --> 00:13:12,125
Even though my dad was in charge
of shipping and receiving at NASA…
231
00:13:12,208 --> 00:13:14,291
You go beat those Russkies.
232
00:13:14,375 --> 00:13:15,958
Roger that, comrade.
233
00:13:16,041 --> 00:13:17,916
…and apparently made a good enough living
234
00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:20,250
to more or less raise a family
with six kids,
235
00:13:20,750 --> 00:13:23,083
I was embarrassed
he was more of a paper pusher
236
00:13:23,166 --> 00:13:25,583
than someone who had
anything to do with the missions.
237
00:13:25,666 --> 00:13:28,291
There is and there isn't
a possibility of advancement…
238
00:13:28,375 --> 00:13:31,333
He felt as far away from being
an astronaut as you could get.
239
00:13:31,416 --> 00:13:33,208
My dad targets the coordinates
240
00:13:33,291 --> 00:13:36,708
so that when the astronauts
splashdown in the ocean,
241
00:13:37,208 --> 00:13:39,375
the navy can come pick them up.
242
00:13:39,458 --> 00:13:42,833
He's the guy that when the countdown
finally gets to blast off,
243
00:13:42,916 --> 00:13:47,250
my dad's the one actually
pushing a button launching everything.
244
00:13:47,333 --> 00:13:49,000
When I was walking home from school…
245
00:13:49,083 --> 00:13:51,125
I guess I was
what you'd call a fabulist,
246
00:13:51,208 --> 00:13:53,958
which is just a nicer way of saying
"persistent liar."
247
00:13:54,041 --> 00:13:55,666
So I got a little closer.
248
00:13:55,750 --> 00:13:57,166
That's when I realized
249
00:13:57,250 --> 00:13:59,375
there were wires attached to him,
250
00:13:59,458 --> 00:14:01,750
stretching up to, like, outer space.
251
00:14:01,833 --> 00:14:04,000
He was some kind of robot.
252
00:14:04,916 --> 00:14:07,375
I was hoping I could bring him here today,
253
00:14:07,458 --> 00:14:10,583
but suddenly,
he just got pulled up by the wires.
254
00:14:13,416 --> 00:14:16,208
Mrs. Ulrich said you didn't bring
anything to show and tell.
255
00:14:16,291 --> 00:14:20,166
You know, I just did the "tell" part,
hoping they'd imagine the "show" part.
256
00:14:20,250 --> 00:14:22,250
She says you told the entire class
257
00:14:22,333 --> 00:14:26,000
that your father's scheduled to go
on Apollo 14 or 15 in 1972.
258
00:14:26,083 --> 00:14:28,041
Honey. Honey, is that true?
259
00:14:28,708 --> 00:14:31,708
Why can't Dad do something important
at NASA?
260
00:14:31,791 --> 00:14:34,458
-It's a little bit embarrassing.
-Stan.
261
00:14:35,291 --> 00:14:39,500
Your father has worked very hard
to make it to the top of his department.
262
00:14:39,583 --> 00:14:42,041
He's in charge of everything
that goes into that place,
263
00:14:42,125 --> 00:14:43,625
from a pen to a space suit.
264
00:14:43,708 --> 00:14:45,541
He is important. Okay?
265
00:14:45,625 --> 00:14:46,458
Okay.
266
00:14:47,083 --> 00:14:51,291
I was just wondering why he couldn't be
an astronaut or something actually cool.
267
00:14:51,375 --> 00:14:55,250
Honey,
not everyone gets to be an astronaut.
268
00:14:55,333 --> 00:14:58,583
Everyone does their part,
and it takes a lot of people.
269
00:14:58,666 --> 00:15:00,458
Including your father. Got it?
270
00:15:00,541 --> 00:15:02,083
-Got it.
-Good.
271
00:15:02,166 --> 00:15:05,708
It was true. A neighbor behind us
worked on the helmets.
272
00:15:05,791 --> 00:15:08,041
Several friends' dads
were engineers at NASA.
273
00:15:08,125 --> 00:15:10,666
A girl in my class's mom
helped make the suits.
274
00:15:10,750 --> 00:15:13,708
It was like everyone was doin'
somethin' for NASA one way or another.
275
00:15:13,791 --> 00:15:17,583
My dad was doin' his part, too,
however meager in my eyes.
276
00:15:18,750 --> 00:15:21,083
Like I said, I was the last of six
277
00:15:21,166 --> 00:15:23,333
in our own
Brady Bunch configuration of a family,
278
00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:26,250
-and the only one born in the '60s.
279
00:15:26,333 --> 00:15:28,083
By the time I came around,
280
00:15:28,166 --> 00:15:31,666
my parents were largely done with
documenting everything their kids did.
281
00:15:31,750 --> 00:15:33,375
Aw!
282
00:15:33,458 --> 00:15:35,916
I was incorporated into
the existing system,
283
00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:37,166
but that was about it.
284
00:15:37,666 --> 00:15:40,666
I'm hardly in any family photos
or home movies.
285
00:15:40,750 --> 00:15:43,041
My siblings used to mess with me about it.
286
00:15:43,541 --> 00:15:46,250
See?
See how you're not in any of these?
287
00:15:46,916 --> 00:15:49,875
They're afraid to tell you,
but you were adopted.
288
00:15:50,541 --> 00:15:54,000
Mom and Dad are too broken to tell you,
but we got you in an orphanage.
289
00:15:54,083 --> 00:15:56,666
They picked you
out of a crowd of screaming babies.
290
00:15:56,750 --> 00:15:58,083
Har-di-har-har. Very funny.
291
00:15:58,166 --> 00:16:00,041
I learned later that after I was born,
292
00:16:00,125 --> 00:16:02,666
my mom got on this new thing
called the pill
293
00:16:02,750 --> 00:16:05,875
but never told our priest,
for fear of being excommunicated.
294
00:16:07,500 --> 00:16:08,958
-Dad, you're it.
-You're it!
295
00:16:09,041 --> 00:16:10,000
Gotcha!
296
00:16:11,083 --> 00:16:12,583
-Aah!
-Got you. You're it!
297
00:16:13,750 --> 00:16:16,708
Then there were
our next-door neighbors, the Pateks,
298
00:16:16,791 --> 00:16:18,666
who were clearly not using contraception
299
00:16:18,750 --> 00:16:21,458
because they were still kickin' out
a kid about every year.
300
00:16:21,958 --> 00:16:23,625
Their mother was so overworked,
301
00:16:23,708 --> 00:16:27,750
she'd sometimes just give the kids
rubber bands to chew on between meals.
302
00:16:28,750 --> 00:16:30,958
And she was obsessed with cleanliness.
303
00:16:31,541 --> 00:16:33,541
She kept their house spick and span,
304
00:16:33,625 --> 00:16:37,000
and to aid in this, she'd put
all her kids outside almost all day long.
305
00:16:37,083 --> 00:16:38,833
Except the newborn, of course.
306
00:16:38,916 --> 00:16:40,000
No!
307
00:16:40,083 --> 00:16:42,916
She'd put the next-to-youngest outside
in the care of the older kids
308
00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:45,708
while she stayed inside
with the youngest and cleaned.
309
00:16:47,166 --> 00:16:49,791
Every now and then,
somethin' like this would happen.
310
00:16:52,291 --> 00:16:53,291
But we all seemed
311
00:16:53,375 --> 00:16:55,583
-to somehow survive our childhoods.
-Stop, stop!
312
00:16:55,666 --> 00:16:56,666
Wait, wait, wait!
313
00:16:59,166 --> 00:17:00,875
After the Pateks' dad got off work,
314
00:17:00,958 --> 00:17:05,000
he'd usually just sit in the open garage
most of the evenin' smokin' cigars.
315
00:17:05,625 --> 00:17:08,833
I guess he was also doin' his part
in keepin' the house clean.
316
00:17:11,958 --> 00:17:14,375
The six of us
formed quite an army of workers,
317
00:17:15,291 --> 00:17:18,958
keepin' the house and yard clean
and executing our systems with precision.
318
00:17:20,708 --> 00:17:22,541
In addition to endless outdoor work,
319
00:17:22,625 --> 00:17:25,750
my biggest indoor job
was to empty all the trash cans.
320
00:17:26,250 --> 00:17:28,625
I'm not even sure
if they had plastic trash bags yet,
321
00:17:28,708 --> 00:17:32,375
but it wouldn't have mattered,
because we only used old grocery bags
322
00:17:32,458 --> 00:17:33,750
which were prone to leaking,
323
00:17:33,833 --> 00:17:36,625
depending on whatever liquid-y crap
everyone threw away.
324
00:17:37,125 --> 00:17:40,208
And, of course, it was my job
to clean up the floor after.
325
00:17:41,041 --> 00:17:44,708
Maybe because we couldn't afford it,
we hardly ever went out to a restaurant.
326
00:17:44,791 --> 00:17:49,291
Mom was a genius at conjuring up meals
and carryin' 'em out for days.
327
00:17:49,375 --> 00:17:52,875
The canned ham would have brown sugar
and pineapple on it Sunday.
328
00:17:52,958 --> 00:17:54,708
Monday, there'd be ham casserole.
329
00:17:54,791 --> 00:17:56,250
Tuesday, ham sandwiches,
330
00:17:56,333 --> 00:17:59,500
and Wednesday's navy bean soup
would have the rest of the ham in it.
331
00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:03,291
Other staples included
tomato soup and grilled cheese,
332
00:18:03,375 --> 00:18:05,541
tuna casserole with potato chips,
333
00:18:06,166 --> 00:18:08,000
pot pies, meatloaf,
334
00:18:08,583 --> 00:18:12,875
endless variations of chicken,
and, of course, a lot of creamed corn.
335
00:18:12,958 --> 00:18:15,166
The fun stuff was deviled eggs,
336
00:18:15,250 --> 00:18:17,708
homemade Popsicles, Vienna sausages,
337
00:18:17,791 --> 00:18:21,041
-and on special occasions, Jiffy Pop.
338
00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:24,875
It was also the first wave
of the Jello mold craze.
339
00:18:26,166 --> 00:18:27,375
Aah!
340
00:18:28,583 --> 00:18:30,833
School lunches were their own production.
341
00:18:30,916 --> 00:18:33,000
Every Sunday night,
we'd all be Mom's helpers
342
00:18:33,083 --> 00:18:37,333
as we'd systematically make a week's worth
of sandwiches for school lunches,
343
00:18:37,416 --> 00:18:40,083
and then freeze 'em
to be thawed out overnight
344
00:18:40,166 --> 00:18:42,083
before each day of the school week.
345
00:18:48,208 --> 00:18:50,333
Sometimes the thawing wasn't complete,
346
00:18:50,833 --> 00:18:55,041
and you'd end up with a half-frozen,
soggy white bread bologna sandwich.
347
00:19:01,416 --> 00:19:03,958
My dad's parents lived in
an old neighborhood in Houston,
348
00:19:04,041 --> 00:19:06,583
-and we'd go visit on weekends.
349
00:19:07,083 --> 00:19:09,333
You just keep tappin' it lightly…
350
00:19:13,958 --> 00:19:15,333
until it straightens out.
351
00:19:15,833 --> 00:19:16,666
See there?
352
00:19:16,750 --> 00:19:19,791
A nail will last forever,
so you don't ever want to throw 'em away.
353
00:19:19,875 --> 00:19:22,000
Just make sure
you got a good place to store 'em.
354
00:19:22,083 --> 00:19:24,500
-Mm-hmm.
-My grandparents' reaction
355
00:19:24,583 --> 00:19:26,083
to havin' lived through the Depression
356
00:19:26,166 --> 00:19:28,583
was to feel it was goin' to happen again
at any moment.
357
00:19:28,666 --> 00:19:29,708
Don't hit your fingers.
358
00:19:32,166 --> 00:19:34,958
They saved everything
that had the slightest value
359
00:19:35,041 --> 00:19:38,041
-and reused everything they could.
-See? I think you got it.
360
00:19:39,750 --> 00:19:43,416
They even reused paper towels,
which begged the question,
361
00:19:43,500 --> 00:19:47,333
what the hell's the point of a paper towel
as opposed to, like, a rag?
362
00:19:47,416 --> 00:19:50,041
But none of us
ever said anything.
363
00:19:50,541 --> 00:19:51,666
We're not going to…
364
00:19:51,750 --> 00:19:54,708
And I swear my grandmother took us
to see The Sound Of Music
365
00:19:54,791 --> 00:19:56,208
about every six months.
366
00:20:03,166 --> 00:20:06,000
I'm not sure if the movie
was playing for years and years
367
00:20:06,083 --> 00:20:07,916
-or if they kept bringin' it back.
368
00:20:08,000 --> 00:20:10,916
-It was just another outing with Grandma…
369
00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:14,083
-…who, like her movie choices,
370
00:20:14,166 --> 00:20:16,708
was a very sweet lady
you couldn't find much fault in.
371
00:20:18,791 --> 00:20:22,500
My other grandmother
was much more edgy and paranoid,
372
00:20:22,583 --> 00:20:24,041
but very entertaining.
373
00:20:24,750 --> 00:20:26,833
She would stay with us for long stretches
374
00:20:26,916 --> 00:20:29,541
and regale us
with various conspiracy theories
375
00:20:29,625 --> 00:20:31,458
and doom and gloom scenarios.
376
00:20:31,541 --> 00:20:36,250
We now know
JFK didn't die that day in Dallas.
377
00:20:36,333 --> 00:20:37,375
Mm-mm.
378
00:20:38,208 --> 00:20:39,958
Poor man was rendered a vegetable
379
00:20:40,041 --> 00:20:42,666
due to the severe brain trauma
from the bullets.
380
00:20:43,166 --> 00:20:49,125
But they are keepin' him alive
in seclusion on a Greek island.
381
00:20:50,250 --> 00:20:53,375
They didn't think we could handle
seeing the president as a vegetable,
382
00:20:53,458 --> 00:20:56,875
so they are shieldin' us
from the true facts.
383
00:20:57,583 --> 00:20:59,875
It's Aristotle Onassis's
island.
384
00:21:00,416 --> 00:21:02,708
Which explains his marriage to Jackie.
385
00:21:05,333 --> 00:21:07,958
To her,
the world was goin' down the tubes,
386
00:21:08,041 --> 00:21:09,375
and fast.
387
00:21:11,041 --> 00:21:14,416
Overpopulation is chokin' the planet.
388
00:21:15,458 --> 00:21:16,708
And within a few years,
389
00:21:16,791 --> 00:21:19,916
we are gonna be past
the point of no return.
390
00:21:20,708 --> 00:21:24,291
Scientists say
that the Earth cannot technically handle
391
00:21:24,375 --> 00:21:28,875
more than 3.5 billion people,
and at some point in the '70s,
392
00:21:28,958 --> 00:21:33,041
food supply's just gonna collapse
for most of the world's inhabitants,
393
00:21:33,125 --> 00:21:36,833
which leads to mass starvation
and war and famine.
394
00:21:37,708 --> 00:21:39,916
Don't know how they'll keep up
with the dead bodies--
395
00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:43,333
Enough already, Mom.
You gotta stop with the paranoia talk.
396
00:21:43,416 --> 00:21:45,750
You're scarin' the kids.
You're drivin' me nuts.
397
00:21:45,833 --> 00:21:47,625
You won't shut up. Please stop.
398
00:21:47,708 --> 00:21:49,500
Stop. Stop.
399
00:21:51,291 --> 00:21:55,291
It costs over $4.5 billion
every year to cart the mess away…
400
00:21:55,375 --> 00:21:59,583
Yes, with such threats looming,
the future was often terrifying.
401
00:21:59,666 --> 00:22:02,125
We were told
if everything continued as it was going,
402
00:22:02,208 --> 00:22:06,208
we'd be knee-deep in trash
and wearing gas masks just to breathe.
403
00:22:06,291 --> 00:22:09,375
They did a great job
of scarin' the hell out of everyone.
404
00:22:09,458 --> 00:22:10,916
It must've worked.
405
00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:15,291
President Nixon signed the Clean Air Act
and the Clean Water Act,
406
00:22:15,375 --> 00:22:18,000
and it soon became unacceptable to litter.
407
00:22:22,791 --> 00:22:27,291
Now, that, young Steven, is the difference
between a redneck and white trash.
408
00:22:27,916 --> 00:22:31,916
A redneck's gonna throw his cans on the
floor of his car, the back of his truck.
409
00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:34,750
White trash,
he's gonna throw his cans out the window
410
00:22:34,833 --> 00:22:35,833
and be a litterbug.
411
00:22:36,333 --> 00:22:37,250
That's no good.
412
00:22:38,500 --> 00:22:40,166
So we're rednecks?
413
00:22:40,250 --> 00:22:41,625
Oh, no, no, no, no, no.
414
00:22:42,125 --> 00:22:45,250
A redneck would just leave the cans
just laying there.
415
00:22:45,833 --> 00:22:48,041
You're gonna clean those up
when we get back to the house.
416
00:22:48,125 --> 00:22:49,541
-Sh!
417
00:22:49,625 --> 00:22:50,541
Oh.
418
00:22:50,625 --> 00:22:51,541
Take the wheel.
419
00:22:52,208 --> 00:22:53,250
-What?
-Drive.
420
00:22:55,166 --> 00:22:56,416
That's right.
421
00:22:56,500 --> 00:22:58,958
It wasn't against the law
to drink and drive back then.
422
00:22:59,041 --> 00:23:01,083
You just couldn't be legally intoxicated.
423
00:23:01,166 --> 00:23:02,208
Make a wish.
424
00:23:02,291 --> 00:23:03,333
Dad, I just--
425
00:23:03,416 --> 00:23:06,041
I remember how he'd drop the tab
into the beer itself.
426
00:23:06,708 --> 00:23:11,708
And I wasn't sure if it was a ritual
or if it was Dad's anti-littering effort.
427
00:23:11,791 --> 00:23:13,583
Either way, it was appreciated,
428
00:23:14,166 --> 00:23:18,041
'cause those tabs are on the ground,
and they could really slice up your feet.
429
00:23:18,625 --> 00:23:20,250
-However, I heard…
-How'd you do?
430
00:23:20,333 --> 00:23:22,166
…that six people a year died by choking
431
00:23:22,250 --> 00:23:24,958
when the tab came back out
and they swallowed it.
432
00:23:25,458 --> 00:23:28,083
I would always think that
maybe this could be the day.
433
00:23:28,583 --> 00:23:31,041
But like so many
of the doomsday scenarios,
434
00:23:31,125 --> 00:23:32,833
it thankfully never happened.
435
00:23:33,541 --> 00:23:36,958
But all the dissonance
was a lot to process for a young mind.
436
00:23:37,041 --> 00:23:40,333
On the one hand, okay,
the world was goin' to hell.
437
00:23:43,541 --> 00:23:45,208
We were in a war in Vietnam,
438
00:23:45,291 --> 00:23:49,125
but even more scary was the Cold War
we were in with the Soviet Union,
439
00:23:49,208 --> 00:23:53,083
who we were told at any minute
could be dropping a hydrogen bomb on us.
440
00:23:53,666 --> 00:23:56,875
Anyway, we were the last
of the duck-and-cover generation.
441
00:24:00,416 --> 00:24:02,708
-It's a bomb. Duck and cover.
442
00:24:02,791 --> 00:24:04,791
-I thought bein' under a desk
443
00:24:04,875 --> 00:24:08,625
wasn't gonna do much good
on the vaporization or radiation front.
444
00:24:08,708 --> 00:24:10,291
-But what the hell.
445
00:24:10,791 --> 00:24:11,875
You did the drill.
446
00:24:14,125 --> 00:24:17,791
But on the other hand,
the future was so cool and optimistic.
447
00:24:17,875 --> 00:24:20,458
-We were heading to the moon and beyond.
448
00:24:21,333 --> 00:24:23,833
It was easy to be swept up
in the promise of the future
449
00:24:23,916 --> 00:24:25,833
and the thought
that science and technology
450
00:24:25,916 --> 00:24:28,541
-would ultimately fix almost everything.
451
00:24:28,625 --> 00:24:32,583
At the top of the heap, the embodiment
of all these positive feelings was NASA
452
00:24:32,666 --> 00:24:34,833
and, of course, the astronauts themselves.
453
00:24:36,750 --> 00:24:39,291
-The names still roll off the tongue.
454
00:24:39,375 --> 00:24:40,666
The original Mercury guys,
455
00:24:40,750 --> 00:24:43,916
John Glenn, Scott Carpenter, Alan Shepard,
456
00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:45,833
Walter Schirra, Gordon Cooper,
457
00:24:45,916 --> 00:24:48,208
Gus Grissom, Deke Slayton.
458
00:24:48,291 --> 00:24:50,375
Then the Apollo names became familiar.
459
00:24:50,458 --> 00:24:53,125
Pete Conrad, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin,
460
00:24:53,208 --> 00:24:55,125
Michael Collins, Frank Borman,
461
00:24:55,208 --> 00:24:56,875
James Lovell, Gene Cernan,
462
00:24:56,958 --> 00:24:58,791
John Young, Alan Bean.
463
00:24:58,875 --> 00:25:01,083
They were the bravest. The best.
464
00:25:01,166 --> 00:25:04,541
This is a CBS News
special report.
465
00:25:05,125 --> 00:25:09,916
America's first three Apollo astronauts
were trapped and killed by a flash fire
466
00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:13,166
that swept their moon ship early tonight
during a launch pad test…
467
00:25:13,250 --> 00:25:14,208
When Gus Grissom,
468
00:25:14,291 --> 00:25:17,791
Roger Chaffee, and Ed White died
during a test for Apollo 1,
469
00:25:18,416 --> 00:25:20,791
-I remember my mom crying.
Oh my God.
470
00:25:20,875 --> 00:25:24,125
Our school was named Ed White Elementary
even before the tragedy.
471
00:25:25,125 --> 00:25:27,250
After, it became kind of a memorial.
472
00:25:28,333 --> 00:25:31,500
But the world was changing,
and so was how we saw ourselves in it.
473
00:25:32,583 --> 00:25:35,041
When Apollo 8 snapped
the famous Earthrise photo
474
00:25:35,125 --> 00:25:36,958
over the moon on Christmas Eve,
475
00:25:37,541 --> 00:25:40,500
it gave us Earthlings
a perspective we'd never had.
476
00:25:41,875 --> 00:25:46,875
There we were, all together
on this floating blue ball in space.
477
00:25:46,958 --> 00:25:50,666
It was said that someday soon,
when humans fully grasped what this meant,
478
00:25:50,750 --> 00:25:54,458
there would be a shift in consciousness,
and there would be no more wars.
479
00:26:14,750 --> 00:26:17,125
And back in our little part
of that blue ball,
480
00:26:17,208 --> 00:26:18,875
everywhere you looked,
481
00:26:18,958 --> 00:26:22,125
there were reminders of NASA
and the manned space program.
482
00:26:23,375 --> 00:26:25,291
On our playground,
there was a rocket slide
483
00:26:25,375 --> 00:26:26,750
you could climb up and pilot.
484
00:26:27,250 --> 00:26:30,041
I think everyone knew
spaceships didn't have steering wheels,
485
00:26:30,125 --> 00:26:31,250
but no matter.
486
00:26:31,958 --> 00:26:34,875
The space race was such
an all-pervasive element of our culture.
487
00:26:34,958 --> 00:26:36,750
It found its way into everything,
488
00:26:37,250 --> 00:26:41,208
including advertising and promotion,
however ridiculous.
489
00:26:41,291 --> 00:26:43,041
Howdy, folks! I'm Sam the Rocket Man!
490
00:26:43,125 --> 00:26:45,750
We're shootin' the moon
with out-of-this-world savings!
491
00:26:45,833 --> 00:26:48,916
The closer they get to the moon,
the lower our prices are.
492
00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:50,416
We'll trade anything.
493
00:26:50,500 --> 00:26:54,000
Used spaceships,
lunar modules, or even used cars!
494
00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:03,125
At school on launch days,
it was always the same ritual.
495
00:27:03,625 --> 00:27:05,583
The teacher would wheel in a TV.
496
00:27:06,916 --> 00:27:08,750
We'd watch the rocket on the launchpad
497
00:27:08,833 --> 00:27:10,500
-for five minutes…
-Fifteen…
498
00:27:10,583 --> 00:27:14,541
…and then all count down in unison
with the TV for the last ten seconds.
499
00:27:14,625 --> 00:27:18,708
-Ten, nine, eight, seven…
-Ignition sequence started.
500
00:27:18,791 --> 00:27:21,375
Six, five, four…
501
00:27:21,458 --> 00:27:26,333
-We have ignition.
-Three, two, one, blastoff!
502
00:27:26,833 --> 00:27:30,416
-We have liftoff. We have liftoff.
503
00:27:32,875 --> 00:27:36,791
And then just stare at the screen
as the rocket took off into the sky.
504
00:27:37,333 --> 00:27:40,916
Science class was so exciting,
because it felt like current events.
505
00:27:41,416 --> 00:27:44,750
It was all astronomy,
cosmology, and Apollo related.
506
00:27:44,833 --> 00:27:48,291
Until Edwin Hubble
proved otherwise in 1922,
507
00:27:48,375 --> 00:27:52,916
humans thought the entire universe
might only consist of our galaxy.
508
00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:57,666
Now we know we are
but one of 100 billion galaxies.
509
00:27:58,916 --> 00:28:02,125
As of yet,
we have no proof of other solar systems
510
00:28:02,208 --> 00:28:06,083
revolving around distant stars
or planets outside our nine.
511
00:28:06,916 --> 00:28:10,125
But the odds that we're
the only nine planets in the universe
512
00:28:10,208 --> 00:28:12,333
and that we're
the only one with life on it,
513
00:28:12,416 --> 00:28:17,125
we've calculated out
at ten billion trillion to one.
514
00:28:17,208 --> 00:28:21,250
Yes, whatever was going on
in the formation of our solar system
515
00:28:21,333 --> 00:28:24,083
is undoubtedly going on in others, right?
516
00:28:24,166 --> 00:28:28,250
It's the same material,
gravity, and conditions everywhere.
517
00:28:28,333 --> 00:28:30,875
In other words,
there's just no way that we're alone.
518
00:28:30,958 --> 00:28:34,083
It's just a matter of time
before we have an encounter
519
00:28:34,166 --> 00:28:38,708
with other beings from other places
in the universe, if we haven't already.
520
00:28:44,625 --> 00:28:48,000
We'd already gone to Jupiter
and beyond in the movie 2001,
521
00:28:48,583 --> 00:28:51,083
and there was no doubt
we'd be there soon enough.
522
00:28:56,583 --> 00:28:58,375
I remember bein' so entranced by the film,
523
00:28:58,458 --> 00:29:00,666
I would try to describe
the deeper meaning of it
524
00:29:00,750 --> 00:29:02,166
to anyone who would listen.
525
00:29:03,541 --> 00:29:05,541
And then as he goes past Jupiter,
526
00:29:05,625 --> 00:29:08,166
he goes through
this kind of crazy time warp.
527
00:29:08,250 --> 00:29:10,791
There are
all these bright lights flashing by,
528
00:29:10,875 --> 00:29:13,500
and suddenly he's in this old room,
529
00:29:13,583 --> 00:29:16,458
and then he's this old man.
530
00:29:16,541 --> 00:29:19,250
Then he sees the black slab,
531
00:29:19,333 --> 00:29:21,500
the same one from Jupiter,
532
00:29:21,583 --> 00:29:23,666
at the foot of his deathbed.
533
00:29:24,500 --> 00:29:25,416
Or is it?
534
00:29:25,916 --> 00:29:28,291
He reaches out, trying to touch it,
535
00:29:28,375 --> 00:29:31,833
and then he turns into a baby
that hasn't even been born yet!
536
00:29:34,125 --> 00:29:35,625
Go back, go back!
537
00:29:35,708 --> 00:29:38,208
-No, it's going-- Run, run!
-Back, back, back, back!
538
00:29:38,958 --> 00:29:41,333
Well, like I said,
it was all around us.
539
00:29:42,083 --> 00:29:43,958
We were being told that people our age
540
00:29:44,041 --> 00:29:46,583
would one day be able
to have our honeymoons on the moon.
541
00:29:47,166 --> 00:29:48,625
And by the end of the century,
542
00:29:48,708 --> 00:29:52,000
we could be a paying customer
on the six-month flight to Mars.
543
00:29:52,500 --> 00:29:54,291
It was all so close.
544
00:29:54,791 --> 00:29:58,208
We literally had the astronauts themselves
buzzing above us in jets
545
00:29:58,291 --> 00:30:00,500
because Ellington Air Force Base
was down the road.
546
00:30:00,583 --> 00:30:02,416
-It wasn't at all unusual
547
00:30:02,500 --> 00:30:05,041
to suddenly hear a whoosh low in the sky,
548
00:30:05,125 --> 00:30:08,125
see a jet streak by and disappear quickly,
549
00:30:08,750 --> 00:30:12,500
and then hear the sonic boom
of the sound barrier bein' broken.
550
00:30:17,208 --> 00:30:19,583
We'd run home as quickly
as we could from school
551
00:30:19,666 --> 00:30:23,416
to watch Dark Shadows,
a show we all got obsessed with.
552
00:30:25,583 --> 00:30:27,458
It was a truly bizarre and scary tale
553
00:30:27,541 --> 00:30:30,958
of an old patrician family
livin' in a castle by the sea
554
00:30:31,041 --> 00:30:32,625
and one ageless vampire…
555
00:30:32,708 --> 00:30:34,833
-Ugh!
-…Barnabas Collins.
556
00:30:42,500 --> 00:30:44,833
TV itself felt like an ongoing battle.
557
00:30:44,916 --> 00:30:46,750
First off, just gettin' decent reception
558
00:30:46,833 --> 00:30:50,166
in this era of antennas
and three major networks was a challenge.
559
00:30:50,666 --> 00:30:54,166
Then, in our family at least,
you had to stake out your territory
560
00:30:54,250 --> 00:30:57,000
and often bodily defend
what would be coming out of the tube
561
00:30:57,083 --> 00:30:58,291
for the next 30 minutes.
562
00:30:58,875 --> 00:31:01,166
There were so many great shows
going all evening.
563
00:31:01,250 --> 00:31:03,791
It was often hard to choose,
and they never let you down.
564
00:31:03,875 --> 00:31:06,250
-The Beverly Hillbillies,
565
00:31:06,333 --> 00:31:07,333
Gunsmoke,
566
00:31:07,416 --> 00:31:08,541
My Three Sons,
567
00:31:08,625 --> 00:31:10,333
The Munsters, Bonanza,
568
00:31:10,416 --> 00:31:11,250
Bewitched,
569
00:31:11,333 --> 00:31:12,333
Star Trek,
570
00:31:12,416 --> 00:31:14,250
Adam-12,Get Smart,
571
00:31:14,333 --> 00:31:15,750
Gomer Pyle, Batman,
572
00:31:15,833 --> 00:31:17,333
-Gilligan, Flipper…
573
00:31:17,416 --> 00:31:19,666
…Petticoat Junction, Andy Griffith,
574
00:31:19,750 --> 00:31:21,833
I Dream of Jeannie, The Addams Family,
575
00:31:21,916 --> 00:31:23,000
Dick Van Dyke,
576
00:31:23,083 --> 00:31:24,833
The Green Hornet, McHale's Navy,
577
00:31:24,916 --> 00:31:26,083
Impossible,
578
00:31:26,166 --> 00:31:27,750
Green Acres, Hogan's Heroes,
579
00:31:27,833 --> 00:31:31,000
Dragnet and Hawaii Five-O,
to name but a few.
580
00:31:31,083 --> 00:31:34,000
Then there were the shows
that never made it past one season
581
00:31:34,083 --> 00:31:36,833
and are mostly forgotten, but not by me.
582
00:31:36,916 --> 00:31:40,250
In The Time Tunnel,
two scientists are lost in time,
583
00:31:40,333 --> 00:31:42,708
always landing
at choice moments in history.
584
00:31:42,791 --> 00:31:45,375
The Titanic,
Little Bighorn, Ford's Theatre.
585
00:31:46,500 --> 00:31:49,000
Then there was a show called
It's About Time,
586
00:31:49,083 --> 00:31:52,208
a comedy about two astronauts
that, upon reentry,
587
00:31:52,291 --> 00:31:54,041
find themselves in a time warp,
588
00:31:54,666 --> 00:31:56,083
now living in prehistoric times
589
00:31:56,166 --> 00:31:58,416
-with cavemen and dinosaurs.
-I don't believe it!
590
00:31:59,708 --> 00:32:01,500
-I believe it!
-I do too!
591
00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:05,541
It was also
the first wave of syndication…
592
00:32:05,625 --> 00:32:07,750
-It's so tasty!
-…where shows from slightly earlier eras
593
00:32:07,833 --> 00:32:09,625
-were also on all the time.
-I'm Mister Ed.
594
00:32:09,708 --> 00:32:11,333
And late at night, there would still be
595
00:32:11,416 --> 00:32:13,541
Twilight Zone episodes.
596
00:32:13,625 --> 00:32:16,000
When I was really little,
before I knew what it was,
597
00:32:16,083 --> 00:32:19,000
I called it The Scary Flying Eyeball Show.
598
00:32:19,083 --> 00:32:22,458
A dimension of sight.
A dimension of mind.
599
00:32:23,125 --> 00:32:27,666
You're moving into a land of both shadow
and substance, of things and ideas.
600
00:32:27,750 --> 00:32:29,958
-Then there were Saturday mornings.
601
00:32:30,041 --> 00:32:32,375
We'd get up early
and stare at the test patterns
602
00:32:32,458 --> 00:32:34,208
and wait for the fun to begin.
603
00:32:36,833 --> 00:32:40,333
Late on Saturday nights,
there was a local show called Weird
604
00:32:40,416 --> 00:32:42,833
-that opened with a creepy theremin piece.
605
00:32:42,916 --> 00:32:46,166
Welcome to Weird.
606
00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:50,208
They showed movies like the
Attack of the 50 Foot Woman,
607
00:32:50,791 --> 00:32:52,541
-The Incredible Shrinking Man…
608
00:32:53,125 --> 00:32:55,458
…The Thing, The Beginning of The End…
609
00:32:55,541 --> 00:32:57,000
-…The Blob,
610
00:32:57,708 --> 00:32:59,541
-Attack of the Mushroom People.
611
00:32:59,625 --> 00:33:02,666
Basically, anything
with atomic bomb-induced mutations.
612
00:33:03,750 --> 00:33:06,250
-This concludes our broadcasting.
-Good night.
613
00:33:06,333 --> 00:33:08,958
-And now our national anthem.
614
00:33:09,041 --> 00:33:11,333
-It would come to an end around midnight…
-Hey.
615
00:33:11,416 --> 00:33:14,458
-…and the stations would go off the air.
-Hey. Turn everything off.
616
00:33:15,375 --> 00:33:19,458
By Sunday nights during the school year,
a feeling of outright dread set in.
617
00:33:19,541 --> 00:33:21,916
-The Wonderful World of Color,
618
00:33:22,000 --> 00:33:25,416
which is what it was called before it was
The Wonderful World of Disney,
619
00:33:25,916 --> 00:33:28,458
was lathered in this melancholy feeling.
620
00:33:29,083 --> 00:33:30,875
With school looming the next morning,
621
00:33:30,958 --> 00:33:33,125
-no matter how good that particular show…
-Hey.
622
00:33:33,708 --> 00:33:37,041
…the freedom and fun of the weekend
was coming to a close.
623
00:33:37,958 --> 00:33:39,208
And then, once a year,
624
00:33:39,291 --> 00:33:42,416
there would be a special screening
of The Wizard of Oz on TV.
625
00:33:43,375 --> 00:33:45,333
We would all gather around and watch.
626
00:33:46,708 --> 00:33:48,875
-It's gonna go to color real soon, and it…
-No!
627
00:33:48,958 --> 00:33:50,916
It was so much more than a movie.
628
00:33:52,291 --> 00:33:55,375
Until we got a color TV,
everything had been in black and white,
629
00:33:55,458 --> 00:33:56,458
even Oz.
630
00:33:58,833 --> 00:34:00,958
But whether in color or black and white,
631
00:34:01,041 --> 00:34:03,416
the flying monkeys
always sent my sister Stephanie…
632
00:34:03,500 --> 00:34:04,791
-…either under the covers
633
00:34:04,875 --> 00:34:06,708
-or out the door.
-Now fly! Fly!
634
00:34:08,750 --> 00:34:09,583
Fly!
635
00:34:09,666 --> 00:34:11,666
-The latest casualties…
-On the news,
636
00:34:11,750 --> 00:34:13,625
the war in Vietnam was a constant,
637
00:34:13,708 --> 00:34:16,125
and found its way
into almost everything goin' on.
638
00:34:16,208 --> 00:34:20,083
The US Command reports
148 Americans killed in the war last week…
639
00:34:20,166 --> 00:34:21,958
For a kid, it was confusing.
640
00:34:22,500 --> 00:34:24,541
Adults were always guilt-tripping us.
641
00:34:24,625 --> 00:34:28,416
Everyone, finish every bite on your plate.
There are starving kids in Vietnam.
642
00:34:31,000 --> 00:34:33,625
We were at war with them, bombing them,
643
00:34:33,708 --> 00:34:35,791
but we cared about
their starving children?
644
00:34:38,083 --> 00:34:39,583
-Pass, pass!
-Go, go, go.
645
00:34:39,666 --> 00:34:41,041
-Gimme!
-Here!
646
00:34:41,833 --> 00:34:43,416
-Pass, pass!
-Here! Throw it!
647
00:34:44,791 --> 00:34:47,000
What made it
a perfect neighborhood to grow up in
648
00:34:47,083 --> 00:34:50,083
was there were a ton of young families
with kids in our age range.
649
00:34:50,666 --> 00:34:52,166
It was no problem gettin' a game goin'.
650
00:34:52,875 --> 00:34:56,958
We'd play in someone's front yard,
the street, or, for some things,
651
00:34:57,458 --> 00:34:59,833
we'd go down
to where the housing development ended,
652
00:34:59,916 --> 00:35:03,041
and there was a big field
with a water treatment plant.
653
00:35:03,125 --> 00:35:05,208
We called it Sewer Park.
654
00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:07,458
When it was raining or at night,
655
00:35:07,541 --> 00:35:09,708
my brother Greg and I invented
a baseball game
656
00:35:09,791 --> 00:35:11,458
we could play in the garage.
657
00:35:12,833 --> 00:35:15,958
Astros superstar Jim Wynn is up to bat.
658
00:35:17,500 --> 00:35:19,041
Home run!
659
00:35:19,625 --> 00:35:21,750
The Toy Cannon!
660
00:35:22,791 --> 00:35:27,166
And the scoreboard is going crazy
on the line drive!
661
00:35:28,375 --> 00:35:31,333
We'd have a baseball card draft
and create a team,
662
00:35:31,416 --> 00:35:34,166
with all roads
leading to our own World Series.
663
00:35:35,833 --> 00:35:39,500
This was just before the Nerf ball
was invented and changed everything.
664
00:35:41,666 --> 00:35:43,833
Occasionally,
there'd be a bench-clearing brawl.
665
00:35:43,916 --> 00:35:49,500
Next up, Boog Powell!
666
00:35:52,125 --> 00:35:53,666
That's it!
667
00:35:55,958 --> 00:35:57,541
-Charge!
-Aah!
668
00:35:57,625 --> 00:36:00,208
I'll never forget
all the kids in the neighborhood.
669
00:36:00,291 --> 00:36:03,541
There was Larry,
who had a severe case of ringworm.
670
00:36:04,541 --> 00:36:07,125
It seemed like everyone
in the neighborhood took turns
671
00:36:07,208 --> 00:36:08,833
bein' the kid with a cast on.
672
00:36:10,541 --> 00:36:13,333
Of course, there was Byron,
the son of a NASA scientist
673
00:36:13,416 --> 00:36:16,166
and the local pyromaniac chemistry set kid
674
00:36:16,875 --> 00:36:20,458
who was always building
little rocket-like propulsion devices.
675
00:36:20,541 --> 00:36:23,375
Occasionally,
he'd put a grasshopper in the pilot seat.
676
00:36:23,458 --> 00:36:27,083
-Three, two, one!
677
00:36:33,791 --> 00:36:37,333
Then there was Tony, the witty
smart aleck who would get you in trouble.
678
00:36:37,416 --> 00:36:41,000
-He specialized in changing the lyrics
679
00:36:41,083 --> 00:36:43,208
-to songs in music class…
-Now to page 24.
680
00:36:43,291 --> 00:36:46,250
…from traditional to, of course, dirty.
-Old Dan Tucker.
681
00:36:57,625 --> 00:36:58,458
Balls!
682
00:36:58,541 --> 00:37:01,083
Stan, Tony,go stand out in the hall.
683
00:37:03,166 --> 00:37:05,458
One of the downsides
of bein' a kid during this era
684
00:37:05,541 --> 00:37:09,250
was they still thought it was a great idea
to train children like they were animals,
685
00:37:09,333 --> 00:37:13,208
which required constant reminders
of what was incorrect conduct.
686
00:37:13,791 --> 00:37:16,333
You were always one little screw-up
away from a beating
687
00:37:16,416 --> 00:37:18,333
from any number
of the adults in your life.
688
00:37:18,958 --> 00:37:20,875
Parents, principals, coaches,
689
00:37:20,958 --> 00:37:23,583
even your friends' parents
who had these convenient
690
00:37:23,666 --> 00:37:26,291
"You can paddle my kid
and I can paddle yours" agreements.
691
00:37:27,250 --> 00:37:30,458
But nobody was more scary
than our principal,
692
00:37:30,541 --> 00:37:32,208
the Grim Reaper himself,
693
00:37:32,708 --> 00:37:33,625
Mr. Cowan.
694
00:37:36,125 --> 00:37:38,958
Are you boys out here
for disciplinary reasons?
695
00:37:43,791 --> 00:37:44,875
Again.
696
00:37:46,708 --> 00:37:47,583
Follow me.
697
00:37:57,166 --> 00:37:59,875
-No. No, no, no, no.
-All right. Get back to class.
698
00:38:10,708 --> 00:38:12,666
Tony, Stan,
699
00:38:13,375 --> 00:38:14,625
get in here.
700
00:38:14,708 --> 00:38:16,333
I guess it fit the times.
701
00:38:16,416 --> 00:38:17,666
Life was cheaper.
702
00:38:17,750 --> 00:38:19,416
We were all more expendable,
703
00:38:19,500 --> 00:38:22,000
and no one thought too deeply
about safety.
704
00:38:26,333 --> 00:38:31,041
For instance, there we are, drivin' down
the Gulf Freeway at 70 miles an hour,
705
00:38:31,541 --> 00:38:34,166
with a truck bed full of kids
on the way to the beach.
706
00:38:34,666 --> 00:38:36,166
It never crossed anyone's mind
707
00:38:36,250 --> 00:38:40,375
that we were all just one slight collision
or rollover away from being roadkill.
708
00:38:43,541 --> 00:38:47,333
Just all of us gettin' Popsicles
at the pool could turn into a disaster.
709
00:38:47,416 --> 00:38:49,291
-Aah… Aah! Aah!
710
00:38:49,375 --> 00:38:52,708
Something about the way they were frozen
had turned them into dry ice,
711
00:38:52,791 --> 00:38:54,791
-and they stuck to all of our tongues.
712
00:38:55,583 --> 00:38:58,833
Also, our neighborhood swimming pool
was routinely over chlorinated,
713
00:38:58,916 --> 00:39:01,291
absolutely roasting everyone's eyes.
714
00:39:02,583 --> 00:39:05,666
They just hadn't perfected
the chemical thing yet,
715
00:39:05,750 --> 00:39:09,291
and it hadn't entered our minds that
anything they were doing could be harmful.
716
00:39:09,375 --> 00:39:12,250
And we were definitely the last
of maybe two generations of kids
717
00:39:12,333 --> 00:39:13,625
who thought it was great fun
718
00:39:13,708 --> 00:39:16,708
to chase after
those DDT-spewing mosquito trucks.
719
00:39:17,208 --> 00:39:19,416
And it wasn't at all uncommon
to return home
720
00:39:19,500 --> 00:39:22,416
to find they'd nerve-gassed
the entire house with poison
721
00:39:22,500 --> 00:39:25,083
to kill that occasional roach
that had been spotted.
722
00:39:26,708 --> 00:39:30,458
And check out my Little League coach's
unique motivational technique.
723
00:39:30,541 --> 00:39:33,625
For every error you committed
in the previous game,
724
00:39:33,708 --> 00:39:35,916
you had to stand
before three of your teammates,
725
00:39:36,000 --> 00:39:39,291
firing squad style,
trying to peg you with the ball.
726
00:39:41,750 --> 00:39:45,541
My strategy was to try and catch
the one from the most accurate thrower,
727
00:39:45,625 --> 00:39:48,750
dodge one,
and just hope the other guy missed.
728
00:39:48,833 --> 00:39:50,875
You might just get out alive.
729
00:39:50,958 --> 00:39:52,708
Yep. Amongst all the fun,
730
00:39:52,791 --> 00:39:57,041
it always seemed like punishment,
pain, or injury were never too far away.
731
00:39:57,583 --> 00:39:59,750
Like this game we used to play
called Red Rover.
732
00:39:59,833 --> 00:40:04,458
Red rover, red rover
Let Stan come over
733
00:40:07,916 --> 00:40:13,208
Red rover, red rover
Let Ronnie come over
734
00:40:13,708 --> 00:40:16,708
We'd keep playin' certain games
until somethin' like this happened.
735
00:40:19,458 --> 00:40:22,291
That simply meant
we'd now matured to a new level,
736
00:40:22,375 --> 00:40:25,750
and it was time to quit playin' that game
and pick up a new one.
737
00:40:26,333 --> 00:40:28,750
If it wasn't baseball,
football, or basketball,
738
00:40:28,833 --> 00:40:30,875
it was goin' off on a big bike adventure.
739
00:40:35,708 --> 00:40:37,958
We all got good at bike repair,
740
00:40:38,041 --> 00:40:40,125
especially fixing flat tires.
741
00:40:41,458 --> 00:40:43,791
And it seemed like
every longer car ride anywhere
742
00:40:43,875 --> 00:40:46,416
included an obligatory changing of a flat.
743
00:40:47,375 --> 00:40:50,375
It might have been that we were
in the pre-steel-belted radial era,
744
00:40:50,458 --> 00:40:52,458
and they just
weren't very good at tires yet,
745
00:40:53,041 --> 00:40:55,666
or the fact that Dad had
a penchant for buying used tires.
746
00:40:55,750 --> 00:40:58,958
-Come on.
-Ever thought about gettin' a new tire?
747
00:40:59,458 --> 00:41:03,041
Then it wouldn't match the other three,
and it would look funny, Steven.
748
00:41:04,500 --> 00:41:07,833
We had all kinds of neighborhood games,
depending on who was playing.
749
00:41:08,333 --> 00:41:11,916
If there were a lot of girls around,
all the guys' sisters, usually,
750
00:41:12,000 --> 00:41:14,500
there was this game we played
called Statue Maker…
751
00:41:14,583 --> 00:41:16,000
Watch out.
752
00:41:16,083 --> 00:41:18,666
…where you'd have to say
what you were a statue of.
753
00:41:20,125 --> 00:41:21,083
Pancake.
754
00:41:21,166 --> 00:41:22,083
A phoenix.
755
00:41:22,166 --> 00:41:23,208
A wave.
756
00:41:23,291 --> 00:41:24,500
Astronaut.
757
00:41:25,333 --> 00:41:27,791
At night, the games moved indoors
758
00:41:28,375 --> 00:41:29,666
or on the back porch.
759
00:41:30,291 --> 00:41:32,375
So many classic board games.
760
00:41:32,500 --> 00:41:34,333
-Five…
-Five, six, seven…
761
00:41:34,416 --> 00:41:36,416
Sometimes when my folks
would be entertaining
762
00:41:36,500 --> 00:41:38,458
and other families would be visiting,
763
00:41:38,541 --> 00:41:41,791
we'd get all elaborate and set up
other games like bobbing for apples.
764
00:41:41,875 --> 00:41:43,333
Watch and learn.
765
00:41:43,416 --> 00:41:46,000
New world record right now.
766
00:41:46,083 --> 00:41:47,458
Three, two, one, go.
767
00:41:47,541 --> 00:41:51,166
At some point, Greg came up with
a foolproof way to win every time.
768
00:41:52,125 --> 00:41:56,333
He was so dominant and adamant about it,
we all just sort of quit playing.
769
00:41:56,416 --> 00:41:57,666
That's how you do it!
770
00:42:01,416 --> 00:42:04,041
While my three sisters were,
for the most part, the opposition,
771
00:42:04,708 --> 00:42:06,833
they weren't without some advantages.
772
00:42:07,333 --> 00:42:09,750
Vicky had gotten a job at Baskin-Robbins…
773
00:42:09,833 --> 00:42:11,583
-All right.
-…the revolutionary ice-cream shop
774
00:42:11,666 --> 00:42:14,833
that offered a mind-blowing
31 different flavors,
775
00:42:14,916 --> 00:42:17,000
and she got two free scoops a shift.
776
00:42:17,083 --> 00:42:19,583
I think I'll have the banana nut fudge.
777
00:42:20,416 --> 00:42:21,250
Good choice.
778
00:42:21,333 --> 00:42:25,083
For the first two or three months
she worked there, she ate them herself.
779
00:42:25,583 --> 00:42:28,791
But eventually, she got sick of ice cream
and started givin' 'em away,
780
00:42:28,875 --> 00:42:31,666
so you wanted to be there
when she was gettin' off work.
781
00:42:32,333 --> 00:42:33,166
Thank you.
782
00:42:34,791 --> 00:42:38,041
Need I guess what flavor I must serve up
to earn my ride home?
783
00:42:39,333 --> 00:42:40,166
Just…
784
00:42:40,958 --> 00:42:42,291
You can say it.
785
00:42:42,375 --> 00:42:43,208
Vanilla, please.
786
00:42:43,291 --> 00:42:44,541
-Vanilla?
Yeah, vanilla.
787
00:42:44,625 --> 00:42:45,958
-You want vanilla?
-Yes.
788
00:42:46,041 --> 00:42:48,083
-Of all these flavors, you want--
-Yes.
789
00:42:48,166 --> 00:42:49,000
Just scoop it.
790
00:42:49,083 --> 00:42:50,291
Okay.
791
00:42:50,375 --> 00:42:51,208
Yeah.
792
00:42:51,708 --> 00:42:55,583
I don't remember my brother Steve
ever getting a flavor besides vanilla.
793
00:42:55,666 --> 00:42:58,875
A waste of all those exotic flavors,
obviously,
794
00:42:58,958 --> 00:43:02,208
but I guess I admired
his contentment and consistency.
795
00:43:04,083 --> 00:43:07,125
My sisters also seemed to set the tone
musically in the house,
796
00:43:07,208 --> 00:43:10,041
and between them,
they covered a lot of ground.
797
00:43:10,125 --> 00:43:13,166
The youngest, Stephanie,
liked whatever was popular.
798
00:43:13,250 --> 00:43:16,791
I remember her listening to her 45
of The Archies' "Sugar Sugar"
799
00:43:16,875 --> 00:43:19,333
over and over again.
800
00:43:19,416 --> 00:43:21,666
The Archies were characters
out of a comic book,
801
00:43:21,750 --> 00:43:24,708
but that didn't keep 'em
from havin' the biggest hit of 1969.
802
00:43:32,750 --> 00:43:33,583
All right.
803
00:43:34,083 --> 00:43:36,291
-Last time, all right?
804
00:43:36,375 --> 00:43:38,208
-Fine.
-I've had enough of this.
805
00:43:39,708 --> 00:43:43,958
My middle sister, Jana, loved The Monkees
and, come to think of it,
806
00:43:44,041 --> 00:43:46,416
pretty much any group
that had cute guys in it.
807
00:43:48,958 --> 00:43:51,291
My tastes were, let's say, maturing.
808
00:43:51,375 --> 00:43:53,333
To Herb Alpert, for instance.
809
00:43:53,416 --> 00:43:56,625
Or at least
one particular album cover of his.
810
00:43:59,125 --> 00:44:01,666
Vicky had
the coolest taste in music, of course,
811
00:44:01,750 --> 00:44:05,291
and would happily lecture us
on the deeper meanings of songs.
812
00:44:08,958 --> 00:44:11,041
It's like the true meanings
are snuck in there,
813
00:44:11,125 --> 00:44:15,833
and we have to decipher them,
like "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds."
814
00:44:17,458 --> 00:44:18,500
LSD.
815
00:44:20,458 --> 00:44:23,041
It's right there for those who are
tuned in, but the straights…
816
00:44:23,625 --> 00:44:24,833
they don't get it.
817
00:44:27,333 --> 00:44:29,583
Oh God! Turn it off,
turn it off, turn it off!
818
00:44:31,666 --> 00:44:33,125
-Oh no!
-Breathe. Okay.
819
00:44:33,833 --> 00:44:35,166
Oh, Jana!
820
00:44:35,250 --> 00:44:37,583
-Jana was always having mishaps.
-Stop, stop. I'm pulling it.
821
00:44:37,666 --> 00:44:41,333
She was the first to have to get stitches,
the first to break a bone.
822
00:44:41,416 --> 00:44:42,875
-Oh!
-Stuff just happened to her.
823
00:44:42,958 --> 00:44:45,791
And it seemed like a lot of extra work
bein' a girl.
824
00:44:46,291 --> 00:44:49,291
Straight hair was the look
everyone was goin' for at the time,
825
00:44:49,375 --> 00:44:52,125
but it was so difficult
in the humidity of Houston.
826
00:44:52,625 --> 00:44:55,375
And this was before
all the hair products and blow dryers.
827
00:44:56,458 --> 00:45:00,250
The curlers were so small back then,
they took to usin' orange juice cans.
828
00:45:00,333 --> 00:45:04,083
My sisters were not only more resourceful
but much more dramatic.
829
00:45:04,750 --> 00:45:06,166
Ouija, are you with us?
830
00:45:13,250 --> 00:45:14,625
-Yes!
-Oh my gosh!
831
00:45:14,708 --> 00:45:15,750
Shh.
832
00:45:17,000 --> 00:45:18,125
That's good.
833
00:45:18,708 --> 00:45:20,458
Does Robert have a crush on me?
834
00:45:25,416 --> 00:45:27,750
-Yes!
835
00:45:27,833 --> 00:45:30,583
In our bedroom, Steve, Greg,
and I were in agreement
836
00:45:30,666 --> 00:45:32,916
that the ultimate woman was Raquel Welch,
837
00:45:33,000 --> 00:45:36,166
as seen in such movies as
One Million Years BC,
838
00:45:36,250 --> 00:45:38,916
Fantastic Voyage, and Bandolero!
839
00:45:39,000 --> 00:45:42,041
Steve had a stash of Playboys
hidden under the desk.
840
00:46:02,583 --> 00:46:05,333
We never found out
which sister ratted us out.
841
00:46:05,833 --> 00:46:08,083
-The radio was always on,
842
00:46:08,166 --> 00:46:10,083
-playing the hits.
843
00:46:10,166 --> 00:46:15,750
One of my favorites was "In The Year 2525"
with its ominous dystopian future.
844
00:46:19,083 --> 00:46:22,208
I noticed a lot of girls I knew
had songs with their names in them.
845
00:46:43,250 --> 00:46:45,791
There was one notable song
with a guy's name in it,
846
00:46:45,875 --> 00:46:47,083
but his name was Sue.
847
00:46:55,666 --> 00:46:58,958
We loved the ending
where they had to bleep out a curse word.
848
00:47:06,333 --> 00:47:10,083
It has to be said that this was
the height of the prank call era,
849
00:47:10,166 --> 00:47:12,083
more than a decade before caller ID.
850
00:47:12,166 --> 00:47:14,166
We ranged from the basics, like…
851
00:47:14,250 --> 00:47:15,833
Do you have Prince Albert in the can?
852
00:47:16,958 --> 00:47:18,833
Well, you'd better let him out.
853
00:47:21,125 --> 00:47:22,500
To the much more elaborate…
854
00:47:22,583 --> 00:47:26,791
Hello. It's Tommy O at KRB
and Name That Tune.
855
00:47:26,875 --> 00:47:28,583
Who am I speaking with?
856
00:47:28,666 --> 00:47:30,208
Um, my name is Martha.
857
00:47:30,291 --> 00:47:32,708
Martha? It's your lucky day, Martha!
858
00:47:32,791 --> 00:47:35,666
Our jackpot's up to $285,
859
00:47:35,750 --> 00:47:37,708
and it's all yours
if you can name this tune
860
00:47:37,791 --> 00:47:40,375
after hearing five seconds of the song.
861
00:47:40,458 --> 00:47:41,541
Are you ready?
862
00:47:41,625 --> 00:47:43,000
Um, I guess so.
863
00:47:43,500 --> 00:47:45,125
Name this tune.
864
00:47:56,333 --> 00:47:58,875
Martha, can you name that tune?
865
00:47:58,958 --> 00:48:00,625
Is that "Wichita Lineman?"
866
00:48:00,708 --> 00:48:03,125
Yes! "Wichita Lineman"!
You've won the jackpot!
867
00:48:06,041 --> 00:48:08,208
Jana, go get that. Tell 'em we're eating.
868
00:48:09,583 --> 00:48:10,416
-Who is that?
869
00:48:10,500 --> 00:48:11,583
-So rude.
-I know.
870
00:48:11,666 --> 00:48:13,500
-Conversely, Dad had the answer…
-Hello?
871
00:48:13,583 --> 00:48:17,333
…when our household was the continual
target of one prank caller.
872
00:48:17,416 --> 00:48:18,333
It's him again.
873
00:48:18,916 --> 00:48:21,208
I got something for that little shit.
874
00:48:25,916 --> 00:48:26,750
Hello?
875
00:48:27,916 --> 00:48:30,583
Oh, that's, uh… that's very interesting.
876
00:48:31,250 --> 00:48:33,916
Well, you listen carefully to this.
877
00:48:37,875 --> 00:48:39,541
-Dad!
878
00:48:40,291 --> 00:48:42,500
That should split his eardrum.
879
00:48:42,583 --> 00:48:45,750
I remember actually feeling
a little sorry for the prankster.
880
00:48:45,833 --> 00:48:47,791
Not sure the punishment fit the crime.
881
00:48:49,583 --> 00:48:52,041
When we weren't playing
in the Little League ourselves,
882
00:48:52,125 --> 00:48:54,625
we'd hang out at the fields
to watch our friends play
883
00:48:54,708 --> 00:48:57,458
and pretty much just fart around
and chase foul balls.
884
00:48:58,958 --> 00:49:01,916
Bring that foul ball back
for a free snow cone!
885
00:49:04,750 --> 00:49:07,375
-Okay.
-I'll have strawberry.
886
00:49:07,458 --> 00:49:10,875
-That's one foul ball.
-And a Chick-O-Stick.
887
00:49:13,166 --> 00:49:14,208
There's yours.
888
00:49:15,875 --> 00:49:16,708
And yours.
889
00:49:16,791 --> 00:49:18,333
Thank you, sir.
890
00:49:19,333 --> 00:49:22,916
You could also get a free snow cone
by pickin' up a bag of trash.
891
00:49:33,708 --> 00:49:35,333
I trust in God.
892
00:49:35,416 --> 00:49:36,708
I love my country
893
00:49:36,791 --> 00:49:38,458
-and will respect its laws.
894
00:49:38,541 --> 00:49:41,000
I will play fair and strive to win.
895
00:49:41,083 --> 00:49:44,250
But win or lose, I will always do my best.
896
00:49:44,333 --> 00:49:50,083
Now look to the flag in center field
as we play our national anthem.
897
00:49:53,916 --> 00:49:56,541
I felt so moved
by the Little League pledge
898
00:49:56,625 --> 00:49:59,291
and the national anthem
that I felt it wasn't important
899
00:49:59,375 --> 00:50:00,333
if we won or lost.
900
00:50:01,500 --> 00:50:05,208
That sentiment usually lasted
until about the first pitch of the game.
901
00:50:18,125 --> 00:50:22,291
But there was no better babysitter
than a triple feature at the Majestic,
902
00:50:23,166 --> 00:50:25,625
which, despite its name,
was a pretty seedy theater.
903
00:50:26,333 --> 00:50:30,000
I remember one line-up that featured
a sci-fi movie called Countdown
904
00:50:30,083 --> 00:50:32,166
where the moon race ends
with us gettin' there,
905
00:50:32,250 --> 00:50:34,750
only to find
the Russians had made it there, too,
906
00:50:35,250 --> 00:50:38,125
but had, of course, died
in a crash landing of some kind.
907
00:50:39,083 --> 00:50:41,916
As a gesture,
the American astronaut puts out the flags
908
00:50:42,000 --> 00:50:44,750
of both the United States
and the Soviet Union.
909
00:50:45,625 --> 00:50:46,916
Now a mad world!
910
00:50:47,500 --> 00:50:49,666
And then
there were two scary movies.
911
00:50:49,750 --> 00:50:51,333
-The Frozen Dead…
-I must!
912
00:50:51,416 --> 00:50:55,791
…where a mad Nazi scientist plans
to revive a number of frozen Nazi leaders.
913
00:50:58,875 --> 00:51:00,083
And It,
914
00:51:00,583 --> 00:51:04,166
in which a crazed museum assistant,
played by Roddy McDowall,
915
00:51:04,250 --> 00:51:08,666
brings a 16th-century golem to life
by putting a little scroll in its mouth.
916
00:51:09,375 --> 00:51:11,708
It's indestructible,
according to the prophecy,
917
00:51:11,791 --> 00:51:14,708
and becomes his accomplice
in murder and lots of mayhem.
918
00:51:14,791 --> 00:51:15,625
Kill him!
919
00:51:25,125 --> 00:51:28,083
The movie ends
with the golem walking into the sea.
920
00:51:28,583 --> 00:51:30,500
There weren't really sequels back then,
921
00:51:30,583 --> 00:51:33,458
so as far as I know,
the golem never came walking back out.
922
00:51:38,000 --> 00:51:40,708
I'll never forget
the New Year's Eve party my parents had
923
00:51:40,791 --> 00:51:44,333
as it was becoming
that fateful year of 1969.
924
00:51:44,833 --> 00:51:46,666
While the adults partied inside,
925
00:51:47,250 --> 00:51:51,375
most of us were in the backyard
where the Roman candle wars were raging.
926
00:51:56,708 --> 00:51:58,291
And Byron's pyromania
927
00:51:58,375 --> 00:52:02,250
had reached a new height
with a large chunk of drainage pipe,
928
00:52:02,333 --> 00:52:03,833
a small explosion,
929
00:52:03,916 --> 00:52:06,291
and a flaming softball across the sky.
930
00:52:09,833 --> 00:52:11,916
Are you guys ready
for the countdown?
931
00:52:12,000 --> 00:52:13,666
Okay. Here we go.
932
00:52:14,333 --> 00:52:16,416
Ten, nine,
933
00:52:16,500 --> 00:52:18,458
eight, seven,
934
00:52:18,541 --> 00:52:19,833
six,
935
00:52:19,916 --> 00:52:21,750
five, four,
936
00:52:21,833 --> 00:52:24,458
three, two, one.
937
00:52:24,541 --> 00:52:26,333
-Happy New Year!
938
00:52:41,500 --> 00:52:45,166
I guess this is as good a place
as any to return to where we left off.
939
00:52:47,625 --> 00:52:49,833
Yeah, yeah. Laugh all you want.
940
00:52:51,666 --> 00:52:53,125
But here's what they told me…
941
00:52:54,041 --> 00:52:56,625
Good job, Stan. You didn't pass out.
942
00:52:58,541 --> 00:52:59,875
Don't worry about the vomit.
943
00:52:59,958 --> 00:53:03,416
Every astronaut, from John Glenn
to Neil Armstrong, they all upchuck.
944
00:53:03,500 --> 00:53:04,625
At least the first time.
945
00:53:06,041 --> 00:53:08,708
So while my childhood
had been fairly normal,
946
00:53:08,791 --> 00:53:11,083
my time at NASA sure as hell wasn't.
947
00:53:11,166 --> 00:53:14,083
I found myself in some intense training.
948
00:53:14,166 --> 00:53:16,791
This one was actually called
the Vomit Comet.
949
00:53:24,166 --> 00:53:26,291
I kind of loved 1/6th gravity,
950
00:53:26,375 --> 00:53:29,416
but it was like learning to move around
with a whole new body.
951
00:53:29,500 --> 00:53:33,875
And there was lots of classwork.
Not very exciting but necessary, I guess.
952
00:53:34,916 --> 00:53:37,375
Underwater training
had been invented by Buzz Aldrin
953
00:53:37,458 --> 00:53:39,500
after the failed Gemini space walk.
954
00:53:40,000 --> 00:53:41,208
It was pretty scary.
955
00:53:49,583 --> 00:53:52,666
And they had all kinds
of survival scenarios to think about,
956
00:53:52,750 --> 00:53:55,333
train in, and plan for just in case,
957
00:53:55,916 --> 00:53:58,916
from gettin' stranded in a jungle
to havin' to tromp through a desert.
958
00:54:00,166 --> 00:54:04,041
You had to be able to make clothes
and protective cover from your parachute.
959
00:54:06,125 --> 00:54:08,458
I remember thinkin'
that if this ended up my fate,
960
00:54:08,958 --> 00:54:13,500
it would be the least of my problems,
like one of those Twilight Zone episodes.
961
00:54:16,625 --> 00:54:19,458
After I finished training,
they put me through a crash course…
962
00:54:20,041 --> 00:54:22,333
Probably not the best term for it,
I guess.
963
00:54:22,833 --> 00:54:25,750
…on how to fly all aspects
of what was now secretly being called
964
00:54:25,833 --> 00:54:27,708
Apollo 10 1/2.
965
00:54:28,208 --> 00:54:31,666
First, I had to learn every control,
even while blindfolded.
966
00:54:31,750 --> 00:54:34,416
-Altitude?
967
00:54:35,958 --> 00:54:38,125
-Check.
-Event timer?
968
00:54:38,208 --> 00:54:39,958
-Check.
Temp in?
969
00:54:41,291 --> 00:54:42,125
Check.
970
00:54:43,166 --> 00:54:44,708
Simulation was one thing,
971
00:54:44,791 --> 00:54:49,000
but to see what it felt like
to actually land a craft in 1/6th gravity,
972
00:54:49,083 --> 00:54:50,500
they created this monster.
973
00:54:50,583 --> 00:54:53,375
The Lunar Landing Training Vehicle,
974
00:54:53,458 --> 00:54:55,041
or LLTV.
975
00:54:55,125 --> 00:54:56,166
[engine roaring[
976
00:55:06,000 --> 00:55:08,958
Neil Armstrong had almost died
tryin' to land this thing.
977
00:55:09,041 --> 00:55:12,250
He bailed out just seconds
before it crashed and exploded,
978
00:55:12,333 --> 00:55:14,916
and he went to lunch
like nothing had happened.
979
00:55:15,000 --> 00:55:18,750
That was Neil.
Always cool as a cucumber.
980
00:55:19,583 --> 00:55:21,833
After you learned
everything about the ship,
981
00:55:21,916 --> 00:55:23,833
it was time for integrated simulation.
982
00:55:26,083 --> 00:55:29,166
Kranz, Bostick, and everybody
was at the mission control,
983
00:55:29,250 --> 00:55:30,833
I was in the simulator,
984
00:55:31,375 --> 00:55:34,416
and we were all being tested
by the simulation supervisors.
985
00:55:35,291 --> 00:55:37,416
These ominous voices
behind a two-way mirror.
986
00:55:37,500 --> 00:55:39,333
Leak started in CSM propulsion.
987
00:55:39,416 --> 00:55:43,083
S-IVB engine shut down
during abort mode, overlap.
988
00:55:43,166 --> 00:55:45,250
They were known
as "sim sups" for short.
989
00:55:45,333 --> 00:55:47,958
They'd sit behind their dark window
at mission control
990
00:55:48,041 --> 00:55:51,291
and come up with the most diabolical
scenarios you could imagine,
991
00:55:52,416 --> 00:55:55,541
so that no matter what happened
out there in space, you'd be ready.
992
00:55:56,125 --> 00:55:59,708
I heard, during the Gemini program,
they had a controller fake a heart attack
993
00:55:59,791 --> 00:56:01,666
to see how everyone would respond.
994
00:56:02,541 --> 00:56:04,375
Everyone pretty much hated him.
995
00:56:04,458 --> 00:56:05,791
Okay, last simulation.
996
00:56:05,875 --> 00:56:09,166
Let's knock this out,
land safely, and call it a day,
997
00:56:09,250 --> 00:56:11,875
hopefully in time for some beers
at the Singing Wheel.
998
00:56:11,958 --> 00:56:13,375
Well, Coke for you, Stan.
999
00:56:13,958 --> 00:56:15,416
Tang's good for me, Flight.
1000
00:56:16,000 --> 00:56:18,541
All right. You are a go for power descent.
1001
00:56:18,625 --> 00:56:21,083
Okay. Engine start. 10% thrust.
1002
00:56:21,791 --> 00:56:22,666
Lookin' good.
1003
00:56:23,250 --> 00:56:24,875
You are go for full throttle.
1004
00:56:24,958 --> 00:56:26,333
Full throttle.
1005
00:56:26,416 --> 00:56:27,708
Thousand feet.
1006
00:56:31,583 --> 00:56:34,958
Getting a 1201 program alarm.
1007
00:56:36,041 --> 00:56:38,833
-1201? Bales, what the hell is that?
-Hold on.
1008
00:56:39,583 --> 00:56:40,791
750 feet.
1009
00:56:40,875 --> 00:56:43,125
"Computer overload.
Can't complete all tasks."
1010
00:56:43,208 --> 00:56:44,958
All systems seem in order.
1011
00:56:45,541 --> 00:56:46,833
Jack, what's goin' on here?
1012
00:56:47,583 --> 00:56:50,166
It's a bailout alarm. The computer's
overloaded for some reason.
1013
00:56:51,708 --> 00:56:54,000
500 feet. Looks fine on my end.
1014
00:56:54,583 --> 00:56:55,666
400 feet.
1015
00:56:55,750 --> 00:56:56,583
Wait!
1016
00:56:56,666 --> 00:56:58,541
1202 alarm!
1017
00:56:58,625 --> 00:57:00,000
1202?
1018
00:57:00,083 --> 00:57:02,708
I-- I can't see a thing wrong,
but this isn't good.
1019
00:57:02,791 --> 00:57:04,166
I-- I think it's time to abort.
1020
00:57:05,416 --> 00:57:07,875
Flight guidance, something's wrong
with the computer. Abort.
1021
00:57:08,791 --> 00:57:10,166
Are we gonna abort flight?
1022
00:57:11,625 --> 00:57:13,708
-Flight abort.
-Darn it! Abort!
1023
00:57:17,416 --> 00:57:18,916
This was not an abort!
1024
00:57:19,000 --> 00:57:21,291
-If you'd read the manual thoroughly,
1025
00:57:21,375 --> 00:57:23,541
you would have known
to continue on the landing.
1026
00:57:23,625 --> 00:57:25,416
Instead, we now have astronauts
1027
00:57:25,500 --> 00:57:28,041
comin' back to Earth
with their tail between their legs,
1028
00:57:28,125 --> 00:57:30,208
a billion tax dollars wasted,
1029
00:57:30,291 --> 00:57:32,500
and front-row seats watching the Russians
1030
00:57:32,583 --> 00:57:34,958
plant their flags up there in August!
1031
00:57:37,666 --> 00:57:38,500
You happy?
1032
00:57:43,291 --> 00:57:45,875
By the time I was really up there,
ready for liftoff,
1033
00:57:45,958 --> 00:57:49,208
I was actually very calm,
because I felt I had already done it.
1034
00:57:49,708 --> 00:57:51,583
They had whipped me into fighting shape.
1035
00:57:52,083 --> 00:57:54,250
I remember
bein' more excited than nervous.
1036
00:57:54,750 --> 00:57:56,166
Maybe too calm, come to think of it.
1037
00:57:56,250 --> 00:57:57,333
Stan, are you ready?
1038
00:57:57,833 --> 00:57:58,833
Ready.
1039
00:58:03,583 --> 00:58:05,583
So it was off to the moon and back.
1040
00:58:05,666 --> 00:58:09,458
We carried out Apollo 10 1/2's
secret mission without a hitch.
1041
00:58:09,958 --> 00:58:12,250
But then it was like it never happened.
1042
00:58:12,333 --> 00:58:14,666
No headlines.
No ticker-tape parade for me.
1043
00:58:15,250 --> 00:58:17,541
I couldn't tell anyone, even my family.
1044
00:58:18,583 --> 00:58:23,208
When Apollo 11 launched on July 16th
and landed on the moon four days later,
1045
00:58:23,291 --> 00:58:26,083
I was watching it on TV
like everyone else around the world.
1046
00:58:27,083 --> 00:58:29,500
But to me,
it felt like it was some kind of dream.
1047
00:58:30,000 --> 00:58:33,833
I was the only person on Earth who knew
exactly what they were experiencing.
1048
00:58:33,916 --> 00:58:35,625
It was like I was up there with them.
1049
00:58:36,875 --> 00:58:37,791
But I wasn't.
1050
00:58:39,041 --> 00:58:40,041
I was here.
1051
00:58:42,916 --> 00:58:44,708
You see the Saturn V right there?
1052
00:58:44,791 --> 00:58:47,833
They put it on a barge in Huntsville,
Alabama, where they built it.
1053
00:58:47,916 --> 00:58:51,250
Then it goes up to Tennessee and Ohio,
then shoots on down the Mississippi.
1054
00:58:51,333 --> 00:58:54,458
Goes across the Gulf of Mexico,
rounding the tip of Florida,
1055
00:58:54,541 --> 00:58:56,416
then they drop it off at Cape Kennedy.
1056
00:58:56,500 --> 00:59:00,500
Now, of course, if it was to come here,
you'll wanna take a right at the Gulf,
1057
00:59:00,583 --> 00:59:03,708
then it's pretty much
Galveston Bay, then Clear Lake,
1058
00:59:03,791 --> 00:59:07,250
and then we could walk across
NASA Road 1 and pick it up from there.
1059
00:59:07,333 --> 00:59:09,625
…check of all the systems
aboard the spacecraft…
1060
00:59:09,708 --> 00:59:11,958
-And you're in charge of all that?
-…ready to go…
1061
00:59:12,041 --> 00:59:14,666
If that's not shipping and receiving,
I don't know what is.
1062
00:59:14,750 --> 00:59:18,708
…Eastern time.
That huge, 36-story-high launch vehicle…
1063
00:59:18,791 --> 00:59:21,541
But, no, Kyle in Florida
takes care of most of the details.
1064
00:59:21,625 --> 00:59:26,208
T-minus 34 minutes and counting,
with everything going well.
1065
00:59:26,291 --> 00:59:28,916
Astronauts fit as a fiddle,
according to the report,
1066
00:59:29,000 --> 00:59:33,166
as they wait there
for the launch of Apollo 11.
1067
00:59:33,250 --> 00:59:34,583
The spacecraft systems
1068
00:59:34,666 --> 00:59:37,375
are checking out perfectly
in these final checkouts.
1069
00:59:37,458 --> 00:59:39,625
The weather is good,
1070
00:59:39,708 --> 00:59:42,416
and it seems
that man will get off this morning
1071
00:59:42,500 --> 00:59:46,208
in this great adventure
to land finally on the moon…
1072
00:59:46,291 --> 00:59:47,500
Are you nervous at all?
1073
00:59:47,583 --> 00:59:50,208
No, not really.
Why would Dad be nervous?
1074
00:59:50,291 --> 00:59:51,125
I'm not!
1075
00:59:51,208 --> 00:59:54,916
Well, hon, your dad is a part of this too.
1076
00:59:55,000 --> 00:59:56,750
So many people are.
1077
00:59:57,250 --> 01:00:01,916
…we really don't have a language
to… to describe this thing.
1078
01:00:02,000 --> 01:00:06,375
Uh, how do you say, uh…
"high as the sky" anymore?
1079
01:00:06,458 --> 01:00:08,416
"The sky's the limit."
What does that mean?
1080
01:00:08,500 --> 01:00:11,875
Does the moon
seem strange and far away to you?
1081
01:00:11,958 --> 01:00:14,750
No, not really.
There's things further out than the moon.
1082
01:00:14,833 --> 01:00:17,333
And is it true
that the young people…
1083
01:00:17,416 --> 01:00:20,333
So now, of course,
I'm thinking about the next thing.
1084
01:00:20,416 --> 01:00:22,000
Mars and beyond.
1085
01:00:22,083 --> 01:00:26,125
You're thinking of Mars and beyond?
We haven't gotten to the moon yet, Arthur!
1086
01:00:26,208 --> 01:00:29,833
That's the nature
of you science-fiction writers, I suppose.
1087
01:00:29,916 --> 01:00:31,666
We'll find some surprises on the moon.
1088
01:00:31,750 --> 01:00:34,791
Not necessarily on this first flight,
but I'm sure eventually.
1089
01:00:35,250 --> 01:00:38,416
I don't know if they'll find a large
black monolith waiting for us on the moon.
1090
01:00:38,500 --> 01:00:41,333
A reference to 2001…
1091
01:00:41,416 --> 01:00:43,958
-Would you like to--
-Stan! Get in here! It's about to launch!
1092
01:00:50,875 --> 01:00:54,416
Well, the, uh, engines
that generate that thrust
1093
01:00:54,500 --> 01:00:59,750
have a combined horsepower
equal to 543 jet fighter planes.
1094
01:00:59,833 --> 01:01:04,625
They burn 5,662,000 pounds of fuel,
1095
01:01:04,708 --> 01:01:07,500
the equivalent of 98 railroad tank cars,
1096
01:01:07,583 --> 01:01:11,166
the capacity of a small town's water tank.
1097
01:01:11,875 --> 01:01:17,625
Their launch vehicle there weighs
as much as the submarine Nautilus.
1098
01:01:18,291 --> 01:01:21,791
Liftoff, the noise reaches 120 decibels
and has been compared
1099
01:01:21,875 --> 01:01:25,041
to eight million hi-fi sets
playing at once.
1100
01:01:42,416 --> 01:01:44,708
Controllers,
we need a go-no-go for launch.
1101
01:01:44,791 --> 01:01:46,125
-Go, flight controllers.
-Go.
1102
01:01:46,208 --> 01:01:47,333
-Okay. Retro.
-Go.
1103
01:01:47,416 --> 01:01:48,458
-FIDO. Guidance.
-Go.
1104
01:01:48,541 --> 01:01:49,458
-Go.
-Control.
1105
01:01:49,541 --> 01:01:50,625
-Go.
-Telcom.
1106
01:01:50,708 --> 01:01:51,958
-GNC.
1107
01:01:52,041 --> 01:01:53,125
-Eecom. Surgeon.
-Go.
1108
01:01:53,208 --> 01:01:55,166
CapCom, we're go to continue.
1109
01:01:55,250 --> 01:01:57,041
T-minus 60 seconds and counting.
1110
01:01:59,375 --> 01:02:00,750
All right, 64-zero-five.
1111
01:02:00,833 --> 01:02:04,833
As tonight's report, it feels good.
T-minus 25 seconds.
1112
01:02:06,666 --> 01:02:09,291
-Move! Your head's in the way.
-20 seconds and counting.
1113
01:02:09,375 --> 01:02:10,583
Yeah, come on.
1114
01:02:11,083 --> 01:02:12,666
T-minus 15 seconds.
1115
01:02:12,750 --> 01:02:14,708
-Guidance is internal.
-A little lower.
1116
01:02:14,791 --> 01:02:16,375
Twelve. Eleven.
1117
01:02:16,458 --> 01:02:20,583
Ten. Nine. Ignition sequence start.
1118
01:02:20,666 --> 01:02:22,791
Six. Five.
1119
01:02:22,875 --> 01:02:24,583
Four. Three.
1120
01:02:24,666 --> 01:02:26,583
Two. One.
1121
01:02:26,666 --> 01:02:28,916
Zero. All engine running.
1122
01:02:29,416 --> 01:02:30,375
Liftoff.
1123
01:02:30,458 --> 01:02:31,916
We have a liftoff.
1124
01:02:53,291 --> 01:02:55,625
The program, of which Apollo 11…
1125
01:02:55,708 --> 01:02:57,291
Buildings shaking.
1126
01:02:57,791 --> 01:03:00,333
We're getting that buffeting
we've become used to.
1127
01:03:01,875 --> 01:03:05,375
What a moment. Man on the way to the moon.
1128
01:03:09,750 --> 01:03:11,666
It's looking good, Flight.
Right down the middle.
1129
01:03:11,750 --> 01:03:13,416
Flight, they all look good.
1130
01:03:21,875 --> 01:03:24,375
Looks like a good trajectory
so far, doesn't it, Wally?
1131
01:03:24,458 --> 01:03:25,916
Very good. Very good.
1132
01:03:29,208 --> 01:03:31,250
Downrange one mile.
1133
01:03:32,166 --> 01:03:35,125
-Three, four miles.
-…it's confirmed…
1134
01:03:35,208 --> 01:03:37,500
2,195 feet per second.
1135
01:03:38,166 --> 01:03:39,791
Everything fell into place.
1136
01:03:39,875 --> 01:03:41,958
-Still see it?
-Yes, indeed.
1137
01:03:44,625 --> 01:03:45,875
-Okay.
1138
01:03:45,958 --> 01:03:47,250
First separation, get ready.
1139
01:03:47,333 --> 01:03:48,958
Bird, you're looking good.
1140
01:03:58,375 --> 01:04:02,000
But you know what? This terrific
bikini was made by a paper company.
1141
01:04:02,875 --> 01:04:04,500
Confil's fantastic!
1142
01:04:05,000 --> 01:04:09,291
It is like paper in one way.
So cheap, you can just throw it away.
1143
01:04:09,375 --> 01:04:10,583
-Confil.
1144
01:04:10,666 --> 01:04:12,875
Well, on that note…
1145
01:04:12,958 --> 01:04:15,625
…I've got things to do.
1146
01:04:16,375 --> 01:04:18,666
This is the coffee.
1147
01:04:20,583 --> 01:04:22,541
It doesn't care that it looks different.
1148
01:04:23,833 --> 01:04:25,333
It's the way coffee is--
1149
01:04:26,750 --> 01:04:29,958
This is Jethro Bodine calling space people
by mental telepathy.
1150
01:04:30,458 --> 01:04:32,458
You're probably lookin'
for a big Earth brain
1151
01:04:32,541 --> 01:04:34,708
to take back to Venus or Mars or wherever…
1152
01:04:37,625 --> 01:04:39,166
They must be Martians!
1153
01:04:39,250 --> 01:04:40,583
-Eh, cosi, cosa.
1154
01:04:41,375 --> 01:04:43,416
-What are they saying?
-Okay. Wait a sec.
1155
01:04:43,500 --> 01:04:45,833
What is this crap? Jethro!
1156
01:04:46,958 --> 01:04:48,416
Where is the coverage?
1157
01:04:49,875 --> 01:04:53,375
-This third stage…
-Come on. It's a historic day.
1158
01:04:53,458 --> 01:04:56,458
…five minutes and 47 seconds
to increase their speed…
1159
01:04:56,541 --> 01:04:58,291
Historically boring day.
1160
01:04:58,375 --> 01:05:01,041
-Pardon?
-…put them on the way to the moon.
1161
01:05:01,125 --> 01:05:01,958
Nothing.
1162
01:05:02,041 --> 01:05:03,916
26,000 feet per second.
1163
01:05:05,791 --> 01:05:08,125
-Burn is going well.
1164
01:05:08,208 --> 01:05:11,583
Ignition came right at the moment
when it was expected to.
1165
01:05:13,166 --> 01:05:16,125
Apparently,
the full thrust has been monitored.
1166
01:05:16,208 --> 01:05:19,041
Telemetry and radar tracking both solid.
1167
01:05:19,666 --> 01:05:22,291
Velocity now exceeds
35,000 feet per second.
1168
01:05:22,375 --> 01:05:24,916
Altitude, one, seven, seven
nautical miles.
1169
01:05:26,041 --> 01:05:27,958
You are now out of orbit, Stan.
1170
01:05:34,791 --> 01:05:37,791
Seem to have trouble
raising the Apollo at the moment.
1171
01:05:39,958 --> 01:05:43,875
So an engine cutoff, they confirmed.
We haven't heard from the spacecraft.
1172
01:05:50,250 --> 01:05:53,291
These minutes give us great concern.
1173
01:05:54,083 --> 01:05:56,583
-Apollo 10 1/2, this is Houston.
1174
01:05:56,666 --> 01:05:57,625
Do you read?
1175
01:06:02,708 --> 01:06:05,916
Roger, Houston. This is Apollo 10 1/2.
1176
01:06:06,000 --> 01:06:08,208
-That was a magnificent ride.
1177
01:06:08,291 --> 01:06:10,750
Roger, Apollo 10 1/2.
We'll pass that on.
1178
01:06:10,833 --> 01:06:13,625
And it looks like
you are well on your way.
1179
01:06:21,875 --> 01:06:24,708
And that was
the beginning of my trip to the moon.
1180
01:06:25,208 --> 01:06:28,041
Even though I was movin'
at 7,500 miles per hour…
1181
01:06:28,125 --> 01:06:32,666
…it sure felt to me like
three and a half very long travel days.
1182
01:06:40,291 --> 01:06:42,291
Three. Two…
1183
01:06:42,375 --> 01:06:44,916
The coverage continued
on the TV, of course,
1184
01:06:45,000 --> 01:06:46,458
and the growing anticipation
1185
01:06:46,541 --> 01:06:49,166
of what was going to happen
in a few days was ever present.
1186
01:06:49,250 --> 01:06:50,125
Not this time!
1187
01:06:50,208 --> 01:06:53,041
But a few days flyin' to the moon
is a long time.
1188
01:06:53,625 --> 01:06:57,041
-And it was summer.
-Dark Shadows is starting without us!
1189
01:06:57,125 --> 01:06:58,625
All right! Bye, guys!
1190
01:06:58,708 --> 01:07:00,416
Bye. Tomorrow.
1191
01:07:01,000 --> 01:07:03,375
-That night we went to the drive-in.
1192
01:07:03,958 --> 01:07:06,875
-Hi.
-Deploying Dad's money-saving scheme.
1193
01:07:06,958 --> 01:07:08,833
Four adults. And then two of them…
1194
01:07:09,791 --> 01:07:11,875
are children that are under 12,
1195
01:07:11,958 --> 01:07:14,625
so if they're under 12,
that's, you know, free.
1196
01:07:15,208 --> 01:07:17,791
Okay. That's $6.
1197
01:07:18,583 --> 01:07:19,916
You better believe it is.
1198
01:07:26,333 --> 01:07:27,958
-Come on!
1199
01:07:29,666 --> 01:07:30,541
Quick!
1200
01:07:30,625 --> 01:07:31,916
Come up!
1201
01:07:33,000 --> 01:07:34,583
-Oh jeez!
-Sh, sh!
1202
01:07:35,208 --> 01:07:36,708
-I'm in!
1203
01:07:38,708 --> 01:07:42,125
-We wanna see Hellfighters!
-No. No movie with the word "hell".
1204
01:07:42,208 --> 01:07:45,916
-It's filmed in Houston with John Wayne!
-I want Swiss Family Robinson!
1205
01:07:46,000 --> 01:07:49,083
You can stay here
and watch Swiss Family Robinson.
1206
01:07:49,583 --> 01:07:51,083
We're going to see Hellfighters.
1207
01:07:51,166 --> 01:07:53,166
-Okay, fine.
-All right, fine.
1208
01:07:53,250 --> 01:07:56,750
The car will stay on the Shakiest Gun
in the West, Swiss Family Robinson side.
1209
01:07:56,833 --> 01:07:58,250
Just get back when it's over!
1210
01:07:58,333 --> 01:07:59,500
-Yes, Dad!
-Okay!
1211
01:07:59,583 --> 01:08:02,791
-What did he just say?
-Get back when it's over!
1212
01:08:02,875 --> 01:08:05,208
-Thank you.
1213
01:08:05,291 --> 01:08:08,625
Hold on. Settle in.
1214
01:08:08,708 --> 01:08:12,041
Oh yeah. That's real nice.
1215
01:08:15,666 --> 01:08:18,166
It was always fun
to just roam around.
1216
01:08:18,250 --> 01:08:20,666
We'd go lookin' for couples
makin' out in their cars.
1217
01:08:21,333 --> 01:08:24,333
The best giveaway was a car
that's brake light was goin' on and off.
1218
01:08:24,416 --> 01:08:26,791
…section of drill pipe
you see sticking out of the hole
1219
01:08:26,875 --> 01:08:30,458
has to be cut off right at the well head
before they can move in with the nitro.
1220
01:08:30,541 --> 01:08:32,250
It's spreading the flame…
1221
01:08:33,625 --> 01:08:36,125
This was the last phase
of childhood where I experienced
1222
01:08:36,208 --> 01:08:39,125
that special comfort
of falling asleep in the car.
1223
01:08:41,750 --> 01:08:44,708
You could drift off,
knowing everything was going to be fine.
1224
01:08:45,208 --> 01:08:47,666
And you'd wake up the next morning
in your bed.
1225
01:08:49,250 --> 01:08:51,500
In space, it was a little more lonely.
1226
01:08:57,250 --> 01:09:00,250
The next day, we all went to the beach
in our friend's pickup.
1227
01:09:00,333 --> 01:09:02,125
It was about a one-hour drive.
1228
01:09:07,083 --> 01:09:10,750
Galveston, oh, Galveston.
It was the only beach we knew.
1229
01:09:14,958 --> 01:09:18,958
But it was always so fun.
Cars and gritty hot dogs be damned!
1230
01:09:22,708 --> 01:09:26,583
And just by goin' in the water, we were,
to some degree, risking our lives
1231
01:09:27,250 --> 01:09:30,541
because there was an undertow
that would gladly pull you underwater
1232
01:09:30,625 --> 01:09:33,000
and kick you out somewhere in Louisiana.
1233
01:09:33,666 --> 01:09:34,750
If that didn't get you,
1234
01:09:34,833 --> 01:09:38,041
there were jellyfish floatin' around
everywhere, ready to sting you,
1235
01:09:38,125 --> 01:09:41,583
and barnacles on the random posts
sticking out of the water,
1236
01:09:41,666 --> 01:09:43,291
ready to rip you to shreds.
1237
01:09:44,166 --> 01:09:46,291
It seemed like
there was always an oil spill
1238
01:09:46,375 --> 01:09:50,625
somewhere out in the Gulf of Mexico,
resulting in little tar balls everywhere.
1239
01:09:51,125 --> 01:09:52,208
At the end of the day,
1240
01:09:52,291 --> 01:09:55,333
we'd scrub our tar-blackened feet clean
with gasoline.
1241
01:09:55,416 --> 01:09:58,250
And during these days,
because of the moon mission,
1242
01:09:58,333 --> 01:10:01,541
-the TV was full of classic sci-fi movies.
1243
01:10:01,625 --> 01:10:02,541
The most memorable
1244
01:10:02,625 --> 01:10:07,083
was maybe the 1950 version
of Robert Heinlein's Destination Moon
1245
01:10:07,166 --> 01:10:09,208
which predicted nearly 20 years in advance
1246
01:10:09,291 --> 01:10:12,208
so much of what would actually happen
in 1969.
1247
01:10:13,291 --> 01:10:15,666
It's amazing everything it got right.
1248
01:10:15,750 --> 01:10:17,416
The initial failed launch.
1249
01:10:18,208 --> 01:10:20,333
A Texan demanding it all be built here.
1250
01:10:20,416 --> 01:10:23,333
Well, all I gotta say is
we'd better build it in Texas.
1251
01:10:23,416 --> 01:10:24,625
G-forces.
1252
01:10:24,708 --> 01:10:25,833
Weightlessness.
1253
01:10:26,750 --> 01:10:27,875
Looking back at Earth.
1254
01:10:29,958 --> 01:10:32,541
-Whoa, whoa, whoa. What--
-What are you doing?
1255
01:10:32,625 --> 01:10:34,666
-Janis Joplin's on Dick Cavett.
-…was all over…
1256
01:10:34,750 --> 01:10:37,333
-No, uh…
-Yeah, the movie's not even over yet.
1257
01:10:37,416 --> 01:10:39,916
The boys have dominated the TV all night.
It's our turn.
1258
01:10:40,000 --> 01:10:41,916
May I light your fire, my child?
1259
01:10:44,208 --> 01:10:46,958
That's my favorite singer. How'd you know?
1260
01:10:48,208 --> 01:10:49,791
-I guess not.
-Apparently not, no.
1261
01:10:50,875 --> 01:10:52,833
Well, I would have bet against it myself…
1262
01:10:52,916 --> 01:10:54,291
Oof! Stan!
1263
01:10:54,375 --> 01:10:55,625
-Get off!
-No!
1264
01:10:55,708 --> 01:10:58,250
-To get down and really get into music…
-No, no. Stop it!
1265
01:10:58,333 --> 01:10:59,833
-…get on the bottom floor of music…
-No!
1266
01:10:59,916 --> 01:11:02,583
…instead of fiddling on the top
like most chick singers do.
1267
01:11:02,666 --> 01:11:05,833
I think they…
…on the top of the melody
1268
01:11:05,916 --> 01:11:08,333
instead of getting into the feeling
of the music, I don't know.
1269
01:11:09,166 --> 01:11:11,458
-That's a good enough answer for me.
1270
01:11:11,541 --> 01:11:13,250
We spent a good part
of the next day,
1271
01:11:13,333 --> 01:11:15,500
like so many other hot summer days,
1272
01:11:15,583 --> 01:11:16,791
just hangin' out at the pool.
1273
01:11:17,416 --> 01:11:19,416
We all had our diving board specialties.
1274
01:11:19,500 --> 01:11:21,625
I had perfected the jackknife,
1275
01:11:21,708 --> 01:11:24,875
the cannonball,
and the lesser-known preacher's seat.
1276
01:11:26,666 --> 01:11:29,291
Greg was good at creating
some dives of his own.
1277
01:11:31,625 --> 01:11:35,125
But the highlight was probably
gettin' to have a Frito pie for lunch,
1278
01:11:35,708 --> 01:11:38,458
which was just a bag of Fritos
with the side split open
1279
01:11:38,541 --> 01:11:40,083
and a bunch of chili mixed in.
1280
01:12:04,583 --> 01:12:06,208
By the time I entered lunar orbit,
1281
01:12:06,291 --> 01:12:09,625
I was traveling at 2,287 miles per hour
1282
01:12:10,291 --> 01:12:13,250
and around a celestial body
that's never had an Earthling on it.
1283
01:12:14,875 --> 01:12:18,291
I looked down as I was passing over
the Sea of Tranquility.
1284
01:12:18,875 --> 01:12:21,166
It didn't look too tranquil to me.
1285
01:12:21,250 --> 01:12:23,666
Where in the world was I gonna land?
1286
01:12:24,708 --> 01:12:26,083
Hello. I'm Johnny Cash.
1287
01:12:27,250 --> 01:12:29,291
When we got home
from the pool that night,
1288
01:12:29,375 --> 01:12:31,458
we all watched The Johnny Cash Show.
1289
01:12:31,541 --> 01:12:33,500
Ladies and gentlemen, the Monkees!
1290
01:12:34,708 --> 01:12:36,291
-It's them, it's really them!
-Oh my gosh!
1291
01:12:36,375 --> 01:12:37,625
Davy is so cute!
1292
01:12:37,708 --> 01:12:39,791
We'd rushed home
because Stephanie and Jana said
1293
01:12:39,875 --> 01:12:42,458
-the Monkees were gonna be on.
1294
01:12:44,166 --> 01:12:47,208
There was Micky, Davy, and Mike,
but where was Peter?
1295
01:12:51,333 --> 01:12:53,708
And then later,
there was Joni Mitchell
1296
01:12:53,791 --> 01:12:55,416
singin' a duet with Johnny.
1297
01:13:02,291 --> 01:13:05,708
-She has the most interesting voice.
1298
01:13:05,791 --> 01:13:08,500
She's such a versatile artist.
She's a painter too.
1299
01:13:20,541 --> 01:13:24,625
Then the big day came.
July 20th, 1969.
1300
01:13:25,708 --> 01:13:28,458
They were going to land on the moon
some time in the afternoon
1301
01:13:28,541 --> 01:13:30,625
and walk on it in the evening.
1302
01:13:30,708 --> 01:13:33,083
But Dad had a surprise option for us.
1303
01:13:33,166 --> 01:13:34,541
Okay. We've been given
1304
01:13:34,625 --> 01:13:36,583
-some discounted tickets to AstroWorld.
1305
01:13:36,666 --> 01:13:38,291
-But they're only good for today.
1306
01:13:38,375 --> 01:13:40,291
So you can go, obviously,
1307
01:13:40,375 --> 01:13:44,750
or you can stay here with us and watch
the news coverage of the moon landing.
1308
01:13:44,833 --> 01:13:46,208
AstroWorld!
1309
01:13:46,958 --> 01:13:49,000
But won't we miss the landing?
1310
01:13:49,083 --> 01:13:52,375
No, they're not scheduled to walk
until later today, so you'll be home.
1311
01:13:52,458 --> 01:13:55,125
-Yes!
-I'll tell you what. Let's vote.
1312
01:13:55,208 --> 01:13:57,875
-Vicky, what's your day lookin' like?
-I'm working till five.
1313
01:13:58,875 --> 01:14:00,916
-Steve?
-I have a couple of yards.
1314
01:14:01,000 --> 01:14:02,000
Of course.
1315
01:14:02,916 --> 01:14:04,208
And you four?
1316
01:14:04,708 --> 01:14:07,750
-Who's up for some AstroWorld?
-Yeah!
1317
01:14:08,583 --> 01:14:11,208
No one could pass up a trip
to AstroWorld.
1318
01:14:11,291 --> 01:14:12,708
It was the greatest place of all.
1319
01:14:13,541 --> 01:14:17,500
It was a huge amusement park right across
the freeway from the Astrodome,
1320
01:14:18,000 --> 01:14:19,916
and Houston's version of Disneyland.
1321
01:14:20,416 --> 01:14:23,166
A place of non-stop adventure
and excitement.
1322
01:14:23,833 --> 01:14:26,750
Seemed like everything was "Astro."
The Astro Wheel.
1323
01:14:28,708 --> 01:14:29,875
The Astro Needle.
1324
01:14:30,708 --> 01:14:31,750
Astro Way.
1325
01:14:32,666 --> 01:14:34,208
Then there was the Black Dragon.
1326
01:14:35,500 --> 01:14:36,666
The Bamboo Chute.
1327
01:14:37,333 --> 01:14:39,041
And the Spin Out car ride.
1328
01:14:40,000 --> 01:14:43,083
The Lost World jungle boat ride
featured alligators
1329
01:14:43,166 --> 01:14:45,333
and restless natives firing arrows at you.
1330
01:14:46,458 --> 01:14:50,416
Our usual strategy was to get there early,
right when the gates opened,
1331
01:14:50,916 --> 01:14:54,416
and then sprint to the Alpine sleigh ride
near the back of the park.
1332
01:14:55,333 --> 01:14:57,458
It was by far the most popular ride.
1333
01:14:59,500 --> 01:15:01,500
Maybe you could ride it a
few times real quick
1334
01:15:01,583 --> 01:15:05,583
before the line started gettin' too long
and there'd be a 45-minute wait.
1335
01:15:07,291 --> 01:15:09,166
The ride was exhilarating.
1336
01:15:11,375 --> 01:15:12,875
There was a big waterfall.
1337
01:15:16,666 --> 01:15:17,833
An avalanche room.
1338
01:15:20,958 --> 01:15:22,083
An echo tunnel
1339
01:15:22,166 --> 01:15:25,583
where what you yelled out in one place,
you'd hear again in the next cave.
1340
01:15:25,666 --> 01:15:28,375
-Hello to the future!
-Davy Jones forever!
1341
01:15:28,458 --> 01:15:29,791
Miss you!
1342
01:15:33,250 --> 01:15:34,541
Hello to the future!
1343
01:15:34,625 --> 01:15:36,041
Davy Jones forever!
1344
01:15:36,125 --> 01:15:37,625
Miss you!
1345
01:15:40,666 --> 01:15:43,208
And it all led up
to this crazy finale.
1346
01:15:43,291 --> 01:15:45,541
You'd be goin' along all pleasant-like,
1347
01:15:46,041 --> 01:15:49,250
then you'd come around a corner,
the car would slow down,
1348
01:15:49,333 --> 01:15:50,875
and you'd realize you were headin'
1349
01:15:50,958 --> 01:15:55,166
into a dark, foreboding mine shaft-lookin'
opening in the side of the mountain.
1350
01:16:06,958 --> 01:16:09,666
And just when you thought
things had returned to normal…
1351
01:16:17,791 --> 01:16:21,083
The Abominable Snowman
was probably some college drama student.
1352
01:16:21,583 --> 01:16:24,333
One time,
we even caught him takin' a smoke break.
1353
01:16:26,416 --> 01:16:27,250
Faker!
1354
01:16:27,333 --> 01:16:29,041
-Grr!
1355
01:16:41,041 --> 01:16:44,750
We'll be going off air
shortly, and we'll pick you up for sure.
1356
01:16:48,000 --> 01:16:52,166
It's 40 minutes
before the landing on the moon,
1357
01:16:52,250 --> 01:16:56,083
and it is now nine minutes
before we should begin to hear
1358
01:16:56,166 --> 01:16:59,625
from the command module
coming around on this pass,
1359
01:16:59,708 --> 01:17:02,666
the 14th revolution of the moon.
1360
01:17:02,750 --> 01:17:06,833
This landing
is not just as simple as… as it sounds.
1361
01:17:06,916 --> 01:17:09,333
They've got to come in
over some rather high features
1362
01:17:09,416 --> 01:17:14,000
before they make that set down
on a fairly flat point in the moon.
1363
01:17:14,083 --> 01:17:18,000
The hard part is to get that close
and then have to commit to leaving,
1364
01:17:18,083 --> 01:17:19,083
after all this work.
1365
01:17:19,166 --> 01:17:20,583
I think that pressure is probably
1366
01:17:20,666 --> 01:17:23,291
the greatest amount of pressure
any crew will ever have.
1367
01:17:23,375 --> 01:17:25,958
-They roll now to the windows up position.
1368
01:17:26,041 --> 01:17:28,041
Our position downrange…
1369
01:17:36,708 --> 01:17:38,583
We gotta be a go
before we start this burn.
1370
01:17:38,666 --> 01:17:40,916
-Go/no go for a lower descent. Retro.
-Go!
1371
01:17:41,000 --> 01:17:42,041
-FIDO. Guidance.
-Go.
1372
01:17:42,125 --> 01:17:42,958
-Control.
-Go.
1373
01:17:43,041 --> 01:17:44,041
-Telcom.
-Go.
1374
01:17:44,125 --> 01:17:44,958
-GNC.
-Go.
1375
01:17:45,041 --> 01:17:46,083
-Eecom.
Go.
1376
01:17:46,833 --> 01:17:50,208
-You are a go to continue power descent.
-It looks good.
1377
01:17:50,291 --> 01:17:51,916
-Yeah it's still on.
-Roger.
1378
01:17:52,000 --> 01:17:54,833
Pitch 212, yaw 537…
1379
01:17:55,500 --> 01:17:57,583
It's another major milestone.
1380
01:17:57,666 --> 01:17:59,958
-Altitude, 40,000.
1381
01:18:00,041 --> 01:18:03,625
Getting a program alarm. 1202 alarm.
1382
01:18:03,708 --> 01:18:05,500
-Flight--
-We're go on that alarm?
1383
01:18:08,041 --> 01:18:11,583
Roger. 1202. We copy it.
We are go on that alarm.
1384
01:18:11,666 --> 01:18:14,416
-Converging on Delta-H.
-Flight control, we have velocity.
1385
01:18:14,500 --> 01:18:15,958
What's this alarm?
1386
01:18:16,041 --> 01:18:18,333
It's a go case
that's just apparently some…
1387
01:18:18,416 --> 01:18:20,625
…Eagle, we'll monitor to Delta 8…
1388
01:18:20,708 --> 01:18:21,541
…function.
1389
01:18:21,625 --> 01:18:24,583
-It's coming up on the computer…
-Delta 8, look good now.
1390
01:18:24,666 --> 01:18:27,583
Well, at least this is more fun
than the simulator.
1391
01:18:27,666 --> 01:18:29,083
-I think that's given.
1392
01:18:29,166 --> 01:18:30,708
Okay. Roger.
1393
01:18:31,791 --> 01:18:34,291
They could abort the landing
at that point.
1394
01:18:35,166 --> 01:18:37,166
We're down to just minutes.
1395
01:18:37,250 --> 01:18:39,708
-Now reading 760 feet per second.
1396
01:18:40,250 --> 01:18:42,208
Okay, we've still got
landing radar guidance.
1397
01:18:42,291 --> 01:18:43,458
-So far.
-Okay.
1398
01:18:44,250 --> 01:18:46,375
-Velocity 9,100 feet per second…
-Going fast.
1399
01:18:46,458 --> 01:18:48,333
Switchover time, please, Houston.
1400
01:18:48,416 --> 01:18:51,625
760 feet per second.
On their way down.
1401
01:18:51,708 --> 01:18:53,375
-Altitude, 4,200.
1402
01:18:53,458 --> 01:18:55,291
-Radar test.
-You are a go for landing, Eagle.
1403
01:18:55,375 --> 01:18:57,083
-Roger.
1404
01:18:57,166 --> 01:18:58,541
-Confirmed.
-3,000 feet.
1405
01:18:58,625 --> 01:19:01,666
We're go. 2,000 feet, 47 degrees.
1406
01:19:01,750 --> 01:19:04,250
-Roger.
-Roger, Eagle. Lookin' good. You are a go.
1407
01:19:04,333 --> 01:19:05,958
How's America lookin', Bob?
1408
01:19:06,041 --> 01:19:06,958
-It's okay.
1409
01:19:07,041 --> 01:19:08,375
-Okay.
-We're on a high.
1410
01:19:08,458 --> 01:19:10,000
Altitude, 1,600.
1411
01:19:11,916 --> 01:19:13,333
-Up to the-- Let's go.
-1,400.
1412
01:19:13,916 --> 01:19:15,000
You're lookin' good.
1413
01:19:15,083 --> 01:19:17,083
They've got a good look
at their site now.
1414
01:19:17,166 --> 01:19:19,291
-This is the critical time. They'll hover.
-1,400 feet.
1415
01:19:19,375 --> 01:19:20,875
They're gonna make the decision.
1416
01:19:20,958 --> 01:19:22,666
750 feet.
1417
01:19:24,458 --> 01:19:25,416
We look good here.
1418
01:19:26,250 --> 01:19:27,500
540 feet.
1419
01:19:27,583 --> 01:19:29,416
The data's
coming in beautifully.
1420
01:19:29,500 --> 01:19:31,083
100 feet. Down at 19.
1421
01:19:31,666 --> 01:19:33,416
Big crater. Very rocky.
1422
01:19:35,083 --> 01:19:36,416
Phew. Well…
1423
01:19:37,916 --> 01:19:41,541
looks like you're gonna have to take over
the controls and land her yourself.
1424
01:19:46,541 --> 01:19:48,125
-Good.
1425
01:19:48,708 --> 01:19:49,916
That's 20 feet.
1426
01:19:52,250 --> 01:19:54,625
-Sixty. Sixty seconds.
-Sixty seconds.
1427
01:19:54,708 --> 01:19:55,708
Lights on.
1428
01:19:55,791 --> 01:19:58,041
Down two and a half. Forward.
1429
01:19:58,125 --> 01:19:59,333
Forward.
1430
01:20:00,416 --> 01:20:01,250
Forty feet.
1431
01:20:01,875 --> 01:20:03,166
Pickin' up some dust.
1432
01:20:04,166 --> 01:20:05,000
Thirty feet.
1433
01:20:06,000 --> 01:20:07,208
Big shadow.
1434
01:20:10,083 --> 01:20:11,916
Guys, lookin' good. Down a half.
1435
01:20:12,666 --> 01:20:13,500
Pitch forward.
1436
01:20:15,083 --> 01:20:16,625
-No level?
-No level.
1437
01:20:16,708 --> 01:20:18,333
Less than 20 seconds of fuel left.
1438
01:20:20,791 --> 01:20:23,000
Forward. Drifting right.
1439
01:20:23,958 --> 01:20:25,166
-Contact light.
1440
01:20:27,750 --> 01:20:28,875
Engine stopped.
1441
01:20:29,458 --> 01:20:31,000
Engine arm off.
1442
01:20:36,791 --> 01:20:38,625
-Engine arm off.
-We're home.
1443
01:20:38,708 --> 01:20:40,708
-4-13 is in.
1444
01:20:40,791 --> 01:20:41,833
Man on the moon!
1445
01:20:44,166 --> 01:20:45,666
Eagle, we copy. You down?
1446
01:20:46,833 --> 01:20:48,916
Houston, Tranquility Base here.
1447
01:20:49,708 --> 01:20:51,250
The Eagle has landed.
1448
01:20:54,125 --> 01:20:55,625
-Roger, Tranquility.
1449
01:20:55,708 --> 01:20:57,000
We copy you on the ground.
1450
01:20:57,083 --> 01:20:59,000
You got a bunch of boys
about to turn blue.
1451
01:20:59,083 --> 01:21:01,375
-We're breathin' again. Thanks a lot.
1452
01:21:04,166 --> 01:21:05,291
Oh boy!
1453
01:21:05,375 --> 01:21:06,375
Hmm.
1454
01:21:07,250 --> 01:21:09,875
-Phew! Boy!
We're gonna be busy for a minute.
1455
01:21:10,583 --> 01:21:12,583
-That's real good.
-Wally, I'm speechless.
1456
01:21:12,666 --> 01:21:14,666
-Whoo!
-I'm just trying to hold onto my grub.
1457
01:21:14,750 --> 01:21:16,375
Boy, oh boy, oh boy.
1458
01:21:25,916 --> 01:21:29,625
We were way up in the air
on the Astro Way when we got the news.
1459
01:21:29,708 --> 01:21:32,208
-They landed!
-They're on the moon!
1460
01:21:32,708 --> 01:21:34,666
Cool, man!They did it!
1461
01:21:35,916 --> 01:21:37,375
Yes, they did!
1462
01:21:39,291 --> 01:21:40,208
They did it!
1463
01:21:40,291 --> 01:21:42,666
-They landed on the moon!
-Yeah, they made it!
1464
01:21:42,750 --> 01:21:43,875
Yay!
1465
01:21:45,375 --> 01:21:48,833
They were on the moon,
but nobody was sure when they would walk,
1466
01:21:48,916 --> 01:21:51,666
so we just stayed close by,
glued to the screen.
1467
01:21:51,750 --> 01:21:54,000
The Times yesterday ran an editorial
1468
01:21:54,083 --> 01:21:56,083
saying Mr. Nixon was trying
to use this politically…
1469
01:21:56,166 --> 01:21:59,416
It's lost to history, but at the time,
a lot of folks had a big problem
1470
01:21:59,500 --> 01:22:01,583
with how much it was costing
to go to the moon.
1471
01:22:01,666 --> 01:22:05,375
What else we could be doing
with the money and what it represented.
1472
01:22:05,458 --> 01:22:09,166
…more like 15th-century Spain.
We're discovering a new world.
1473
01:22:09,250 --> 01:22:14,833
But, uh, I wonder if we don't have
our own Inquisition going in Vietnam,
1474
01:22:14,916 --> 01:22:17,458
in the name of that great religion
of anti-communism…
1475
01:22:17,541 --> 01:22:21,375
What the hell is she doin' on TV,
on today of all days?
1476
01:22:21,458 --> 01:22:23,875
-Who put her on?
-I wonder…
1477
01:22:23,958 --> 01:22:26,458
I'll bet the phones
are ringin' off the hook at CBS.
1478
01:22:26,541 --> 01:22:27,958
I think she looks cool.
1479
01:22:28,041 --> 01:22:29,000
I love her hair.
1480
01:22:29,083 --> 01:22:33,333
When you look at Cape Kennedy, you find it
surrounded by a good deal of poverty.
1481
01:22:33,416 --> 01:22:35,125
When you look at the Houston Center,
1482
01:22:35,208 --> 01:22:38,500
less than 4%
of the employees there are Black…
1483
01:22:38,583 --> 01:22:40,250
Is that true, Dad?
1484
01:22:40,333 --> 01:22:43,916
How many Black kids are in your class,
Greg? One? Of course it's true.
1485
01:22:44,000 --> 01:22:45,166
…is somewhat disturbing.
1486
01:22:45,250 --> 01:22:47,875
When are they gonna
walk on the moon?
1487
01:22:47,958 --> 01:22:50,500
-Yeah. What are they waiting for?
-I feel it's a great achievement
1488
01:22:50,583 --> 01:22:52,416
as far as science is concerned.
1489
01:22:52,500 --> 01:22:55,666
But cash they wasted, as far
as I'm concerned, in gettin' to the moon
1490
01:22:55,750 --> 01:22:58,041
could've been used
to feed poor Black people
1491
01:22:58,125 --> 01:23:01,416
in Harlem and all over the place,
all over this country.
1492
01:23:01,500 --> 01:23:04,750
So never mind the moon.
Let's get some of that cash in Harlem.
1493
01:23:05,541 --> 01:23:06,375
Right on.
1494
01:23:06,458 --> 01:23:09,416
As Dr. Paine said earlier
on the earlier Apollo flight,
1495
01:23:09,500 --> 01:23:11,541
this was a triumph for the squares.
1496
01:23:11,625 --> 01:23:15,166
I suppose that's one reason
people find this a little distasteful…
1497
01:23:15,250 --> 01:23:16,833
After the day at AstroWorld,
1498
01:23:16,916 --> 01:23:20,375
it was hard to keep your eyes open
as the coverage droned on and on.
1499
01:23:20,458 --> 01:23:22,583
-This was done…
-There was so much waiting
1500
01:23:22,666 --> 01:23:24,916
as the astronauts
struggled to get suited up
1501
01:23:25,416 --> 01:23:27,625
-and the cabin depressurized.
-…haven't had an estimate…
1502
01:23:27,708 --> 01:23:29,833
-I felt their pain.
-…as to how far they are…
1503
01:23:29,916 --> 01:23:33,500
But I also couldn't help but think
of all the years of dreams and effort
1504
01:23:33,583 --> 01:23:36,083
that were just now minutes away
from becoming a reality.
1505
01:23:36,166 --> 01:23:38,541
-…an estimate of that.
-Hey. They're about to step out.
1506
01:23:38,625 --> 01:23:39,750
That's okay. That's good.
1507
01:23:40,500 --> 01:23:43,333
He can't see where he's going.
He's backing out of the hatch.
1508
01:23:43,416 --> 01:23:45,958
-So close… You're doin' fine.
-He didn't wanna
1509
01:23:46,041 --> 01:23:48,083
catch on the side of that opening.
1510
01:23:49,125 --> 01:23:51,041
Delicate suit and backpack.
1511
01:23:51,833 --> 01:23:54,125
Okay, Houston,
I'm on the porch.
1512
01:23:55,333 --> 01:23:56,333
Roger, Neil.
1513
01:23:57,083 --> 01:24:01,250
We're gettin' a picture on the TV.
Three more steps, then a long one.
1514
01:24:01,750 --> 01:24:03,333
-Okay.
-There's a foot…
1515
01:24:03,416 --> 01:24:06,291
There he is.
There's a foot coming down the steps.
1516
01:24:07,125 --> 01:24:09,291
Neil, we can see you
coming down the ladder now.
1517
01:24:09,916 --> 01:24:11,041
We can see you coming.
1518
01:24:12,875 --> 01:24:15,333
I'm at the foot of the ladder.
1519
01:24:15,416 --> 01:24:18,583
The LEM footpads are only, uh, depressed
1520
01:24:19,458 --> 01:24:21,166
one or two inches,
1521
01:24:21,250 --> 01:24:25,791
although the surface
appears to be very, very fine-grained
1522
01:24:25,875 --> 01:24:28,583
as you get close to it,
it's almost like a powder.
1523
01:24:28,666 --> 01:24:30,375
Look at those pictures.
1524
01:24:31,083 --> 01:24:33,041
I'll step off the LEM now.
1525
01:24:41,666 --> 01:24:44,208
-Armstrong is on the moon.
-I'll step off the LEM now.
1526
01:24:44,291 --> 01:24:45,125
There he is.
1527
01:24:45,750 --> 01:24:49,291
38-year-old American
standing on the surface of the moon.
1528
01:24:49,375 --> 01:24:51,541
Yes. Yes, sir. Yes, sir.
1529
01:24:51,625 --> 01:24:53,875
It's one small step for man,
1530
01:24:54,791 --> 01:24:57,708
one giant leap for mankind.
1531
01:25:17,250 --> 01:25:19,833
The surface is fine and powdery.
1532
01:25:19,916 --> 01:25:24,041
I can…
I can pick it up loosely with my toe.
1533
01:25:25,083 --> 01:25:29,333
It does adhere in fine layers, uh…
1534
01:25:29,416 --> 01:25:32,333
like powdered charcoal to the…
1535
01:25:33,083 --> 01:25:36,166
to the sole and sides of my boots.
1536
01:25:36,666 --> 01:25:41,458
The footprints of my boots and the treads
1537
01:25:42,083 --> 01:25:46,041
in the fine, sandy particles.
1538
01:25:46,625 --> 01:25:48,958
Hey, look at the bounding step.
1539
01:25:49,541 --> 01:25:50,958
Oh, look at that. Yes.
1540
01:25:51,041 --> 01:25:52,625
Okay, ready for me to come out?
1541
01:25:52,708 --> 01:25:54,833
Talk about being super casual.
1542
01:25:55,333 --> 01:25:56,416
Yeah!
1543
01:25:57,375 --> 01:26:00,708
-Boy, looks like fun, doesn't it?
-All right. That's got it.
1544
01:26:01,875 --> 01:26:02,708
Are you ready?
1545
01:26:15,500 --> 01:26:17,791
-Beautiful view.
-Isn't that somethin'?
1546
01:26:18,791 --> 01:26:20,625
Magnificent sight out here.
1547
01:26:22,625 --> 01:26:24,416
Magnificent desolation.
1548
01:26:28,916 --> 01:26:31,000
We can kind of see
the footprints
1549
01:26:31,083 --> 01:26:33,416
of man leaving footprints on the moon.
1550
01:26:33,500 --> 01:26:37,250
Without any atmosphere there,
no wind, no rain to wear them away,
1551
01:26:37,333 --> 01:26:40,166
they might stay there
for quite a long time.
1552
01:26:43,541 --> 01:26:45,833
Houston,
Columbia on the high gain. Over.
1553
01:26:45,916 --> 01:26:48,291
Roger.
The EVA is progressing beautifully.
1554
01:26:48,375 --> 01:26:50,291
They're setting up the flag now.
1555
01:26:51,458 --> 01:26:52,625
They've got the flag up now,
1556
01:26:52,708 --> 01:26:54,833
-You can see the Stars and Stripes.
Yeah.
1557
01:26:54,916 --> 01:26:57,750
You can see the Stars and Stripes
on the lunar surface.
1558
01:26:57,833 --> 01:26:59,666
Beautiful. Just beautiful.
1559
01:27:00,166 --> 01:27:02,250
So-called kangaroo hop.
1560
01:27:03,750 --> 01:27:06,041
They're beginning
to get pretty frisky up there.
1561
01:27:06,833 --> 01:27:08,541
Tranquility Base, this is Houston.
1562
01:27:08,625 --> 01:27:11,250
Can we get both of you
on the camera, please?
1563
01:27:11,958 --> 01:27:13,750
The President of the United States
1564
01:27:13,833 --> 01:27:16,291
would like to say
a few words to you, over.
1565
01:27:17,291 --> 01:27:19,000
That would be an honor.
1566
01:27:19,083 --> 01:27:23,375
I'm talking to you by telephone
from the Oval room at the White House,
1567
01:27:23,458 --> 01:27:24,833
and this certainly has to be
1568
01:27:24,916 --> 01:27:27,875
the most historic telephone call
ever made.
1569
01:27:27,958 --> 01:27:31,833
I just can't tell you how proud we all are
of what you have done.
1570
01:27:31,916 --> 01:27:34,625
This has to be
the proudest day of our lives.
1571
01:27:34,708 --> 01:27:37,375
Because of what you have done,
1572
01:27:37,458 --> 01:27:41,291
the heavens have become
a part of man's world.
1573
01:27:42,208 --> 01:27:46,041
And as you talk to us
from the Sea of Tranquility,
1574
01:27:47,041 --> 01:27:53,041
it inspires us to redouble our efforts
to bring peace and tranquility to Earth.
1575
01:27:53,125 --> 01:27:54,916
For one priceless moment
1576
01:27:56,000 --> 01:27:57,750
in the whole history of man,
1577
01:27:58,250 --> 01:28:01,458
all the people on this Earth
are truly one.
1578
01:28:02,291 --> 01:28:04,708
One in their pride in what you have done,
1579
01:28:05,208 --> 01:28:10,041
and one in our prayers
that you will return safely to Earth.
1580
01:28:10,125 --> 01:28:11,916
Okay. Good night.
1581
01:28:12,000 --> 01:28:13,000
Good night, hon.
1582
01:28:13,083 --> 01:28:15,375
-Thank you, Mr. President…
-Good night, ladies.
1583
01:28:15,458 --> 01:28:18,166
-It's a great honor and privilege…
-Good night, sweet peas.
1584
01:28:18,958 --> 01:28:21,416
-Good night. See you in the morning.
1585
01:28:21,500 --> 01:28:23,375
…glad there are no chimpanzees
standing there…
1586
01:28:23,458 --> 01:28:25,791
-I think I'm gonna go to bed too.
-Okay.
1587
01:28:27,041 --> 01:28:27,916
-Steven?
-Hey.
1588
01:28:28,000 --> 01:28:30,125
-What a day we've seen…
-Let him go to sleep.
1589
01:28:30,208 --> 01:28:33,958
-I'm tired. Good night.
-…day such as man has never seen before.
1590
01:28:34,041 --> 01:28:37,000
A day that has been played out
before our very eyes
1591
01:28:37,083 --> 01:28:39,833
by this miracle that happily came along
1592
01:28:39,916 --> 01:28:43,750
at the same time as man's exploration
of space - television.
1593
01:28:43,833 --> 01:28:47,500
We have seen the men
exploring the moon in…
1594
01:28:47,583 --> 01:28:49,666
oh, they're magnificent pictures,
1595
01:28:49,750 --> 01:28:53,416
considering that they come from
a quarter of a million miles out
1596
01:28:53,500 --> 01:28:54,958
and on the surface of the moon,
1597
01:28:55,041 --> 01:28:59,000
man has landed there,
and man has taken his first steps there.
1598
01:28:59,083 --> 01:29:01,666
I wonder, Eric Sevareid,
1599
01:29:01,750 --> 01:29:03,750
just what there is to add to that.
1600
01:29:04,375 --> 01:29:07,125
Uh, somehow,
they found a strange beauty there
1601
01:29:07,208 --> 01:29:10,958
that I suppose they could
never really, uh, describe to us.
1602
01:29:13,375 --> 01:29:17,541
It may not be a beauty that can
pass on to future beholders either.
1603
01:29:21,458 --> 01:29:26,208
Well, for thousands of years now,
it's been man's dream to walk on the moon.
1604
01:29:26,791 --> 01:29:30,666
Right now, after seeing it happen,
knowing that it happened,
1605
01:29:30,750 --> 01:29:32,625
it still seems like a dream.
1606
01:29:32,708 --> 01:29:35,250
And it is, I guess, a dream come true.
1607
01:29:50,666 --> 01:29:52,000
-Greg.
What?
1608
01:29:52,083 --> 01:29:52,916
Go to bed.
1609
01:29:56,833 --> 01:29:57,666
Night.
1610
01:29:58,166 --> 01:29:59,166
Good night.
1611
01:30:05,041 --> 01:30:06,000
Wow.
1612
01:30:06,666 --> 01:30:08,500
Congratulations. You did it.
1613
01:30:08,583 --> 01:30:09,791
Well, we all did it.
1614
01:30:09,875 --> 01:30:12,125
Oh, that's nice of you to say.
1615
01:30:18,750 --> 01:30:21,041
Was Stan awake
when he took the first steps?
1616
01:30:21,125 --> 01:30:24,500
I don't know. They were tired.
AstroWorld took it out of them.
1617
01:30:24,583 --> 01:30:26,791
I just want him
to be able to tell his grandkids
1618
01:30:26,875 --> 01:30:28,875
he saw the first steps on the moon.
1619
01:30:32,416 --> 01:30:34,458
Well, you know how memory works.
1620
01:30:35,041 --> 01:30:37,625
Even if he was asleep,
he'll someday think he saw it all.
1621
01:33:52,541 --> 01:33:55,750
T-minus ten… nine…
1622
01:33:55,833 --> 01:33:57,625
eight…
1623
01:33:57,708 --> 01:34:00,458
…seven… six… right up into it…
1624
01:34:00,541 --> 01:34:02,958
five… four…
1625
01:34:03,458 --> 01:34:05,458
…three… two…
1626
01:34:06,333 --> 01:34:07,250
one…
1627
01:34:07,333 --> 01:34:08,750
We have liftoff!
1628
01:34:58,458 --> 01:35:00,750
T-minus ten… nine…
1629
01:35:00,833 --> 01:35:02,583
more fuel… eight…
1630
01:35:03,375 --> 01:35:05,833
seven… I'm steppin' on… six…
1631
01:35:06,541 --> 01:35:07,958
five…
1632
01:35:08,458 --> 01:35:10,291
…four… three…
1633
01:35:10,375 --> 01:35:11,916
…two…
1634
01:35:12,583 --> 01:35:13,750
one…
1635
01:35:14,958 --> 01:35:16,416
We have liftoff!
1636
01:36:06,083 --> 01:36:08,375
T-minus ten… nine…
1637
01:36:08,458 --> 01:36:10,208
more fuel… eight…
1638
01:36:11,000 --> 01:36:13,458
seven… I'm steppin' on… six…
1639
01:36:14,166 --> 01:36:15,583
five…
1640
01:36:16,083 --> 01:36:17,916
…four… three…
1641
01:36:18,000 --> 01:36:19,541
…two…
1642
01:36:20,208 --> 01:36:21,375
one…
1643
01:36:22,583 --> 01:36:24,041
We have liftoff!