Not too long ago I was watching TV and David Brinkley, the "Dean" of television newscasters, was being interviewed. He was asked what the biggest story of his career was and he rather quickly replied that it was the Apollo 11 Moon landing. I agree. That's the biggest story I can remember.

            It's difficult to explain to younger people the magnitude of the first Moon landing as a news event. The actual event had a long lead in, of course, and we were in a "space race" with the Soviets so the story had a big buildup in that direction. Then came the week-long event. Well, it was so big that I had to go out and buy a TV, something I swore I'd never do. I purchased a 12" black-and-white model manufactured in Taiwan for $79 at a nearby discount store. I was leery about cheap Asian goods, but it seemed to have the best picture and was much less expensive than the others.

            The entire Moon landing episode was televised from launch to return. Cameras were in operation wherever the space vehicle and astronauts went. The coverage was simply amazing! What an adventure story! I could not stay away from the TV set. My eyes were bleary and I ran out of food. When I emerged from my apartment for provisions, the streets had hardly any traffic and the stores were depleted of customers. The outside world was like it is on Christmas Day or during the broadcast of a particularly interesting Super Bowl. Fortunately, the landing took place during the summer months when I had a void in my schedule.

            What drama! I'll never forget when they came in for the Lunar landing. What was the substrate like? Would they be enveloped in a dust cloud kicked up by the rocket engine? Would they land on rocks and topple over? Would they crash? Talk about suspense! And then they landed, of course, and Neil Armstrong stepped out onto the Lunar surface. What an awesome moment!

            Well, you'd think that landing and walking around on the Moon would be enough excitement, but oh no. Then there was the problem of leaving. Could that little module really leave the Lunar surface and rejoin it's orbiting half? You know, this was the first time for all this stuff so there was some legitimate question. But join it did and both headed back to Earth. Then the final suspense built as to whether the astronauts would be rescued from their Pacific Ocean landing area. All went remarkably well.

            What a splendid adventure! Nothing else even comes close. The moon landing will go down as THE EVENT of the century. Finally, as all the excitement began to subside, I began to wonder. What was in those containers of rocks and soil they brought back?