Where were you on July 16, 1969?

On July 16, 1969, I was ready to go to my night job at Acme’s food distribution center for the night shift. I decided to be late for work so I could watch Neil Armstrong walk on the moon. There are certain events in our lives that we will never forget. I remember these words very clearly:


"Houston, Tranquillity Base here. The Eagle has landed."

"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

About a decade later, I had the privilege of attending an event that Neil Armstrong gave a speech and I remember the following:

"It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth. I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth. I didn't feel like a giant. I felt very, very small."

Neil Armstrong is a true hero, explorer and risk taker. Neil Armstrong is someone to admire and remember as a true American leader.

I was curious to know where our current President was on July 16, 1969.

Where was Barack Obama on July 16, 1969??

Source: http://www.barack-obama-timeline.com

1967
Ann Dunham marries Lolo Soetoro. When Barack Obama, Jr., is 6 years old, the family moves to Jakarta, Indonesia, Lolo's hometown. In Indonesia Barack Obama becomes familiar with poverty, beggars, and children dying from illnesses. The house they live in has no stable electricity and the streets in their neighborhood are not paved. Ann gets a job as an English teacher at the American embassy. Barack Obama Jr. attends Franciscus Assisi Primary School, which is a Catholic school.

1969
Lolo Seotoro, Barack Obama's stepfather, is promoted in the American oil company he works for, and he relocates the family to a better neighborhood. Consequently, Barack Obama leaves the Catholic school and attends a public school closer to the family's new residence.

1970
Barack Obama's half sister Maya Soetoro is born. However, Ann Dunham's second marriage begins to disintegrate. She misses her home in the U.S. and wants her children to grow and be educated there.

1971
When Barack Obama is 10, his mother sends him back to Hawaii, to live with his white grandparents in their two bedroom apartment

Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. was in Indonesia on July 16, 1969. As a seven year old, was he inspired by Neil Armstrong’s leadership and courage? Do you think he even knew that an American explorer actually walked on the moon?

“Looking back, we were really very privileged to live in that thin slice of history where we changed how man looks at himself, and what he might become, and where he might go” Neil Armstrong, 2001 NASA oral history project. 

This quote seems as valid today.