I rode in the Park on Sunday. I got sixteen miles. I had planned to do the Fun Club ride, but Saturday’s Katy Trail ride took too much out of me for that. Instead I settled a more quiet and slower ride in the Park. I took lots of pictures and rode at my own pace. Pictured with this post are a Great White Egret, a Tree Swallow and a Green Heron. The Bird Paparazzi ride again!
Today is the fortieth anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission, man’s first landing on the moon. For people of my age, you remember where you were when this event took place. I was at my grandfather’s resort in Rhode Island. In his retirement, my grandfather ran the resort, but less as commercial endeavor and more as a labor of love. We always called it the Pond. It was lake front property on Stafford Pond. He had about a half dozen acres, with about that many buildings on it, two or three cottages, a couple of dance halls and a couple more. Stafford Pond was cold and paved with large glacial boulders.
We were living in Maryland, near Washington, at the time and would go up to the Pond for summer vacation. We would stay at one of the cottages on the Pond. The big event of the summer was always the Polish picnic. The Catholic Polish church would hold their annual fundraiser there. I would happily engorge myself on kielbasa and other Polish delicacies. Afterwards I would make some money by finding quarters in the grass around the various gambling booths.
The only TV out there was at Patsy’s cottage. Patsy was the daughter of my grandfather’s brother, Lukey, the sport hero. I seem remember having to stay up awfully late to watch Neil Armstrong step on to the moon, but according to google, it wasn’t even ten. I think that that night was my last clear memory of the Pond. The following summer we moved from Washington to Ann Arbor. My grandfather died about then and with no one else to care for the Pond, the family decided to sell the property. At least my last memory of the place, that night were a happy ones, plus in the end, I got a dream to chase.
PS – On Sunday, at 10:17+ PM CDT, I witnessed the transit over Saint Louis of the International Space Station and the space shuttle Endeavour, with a total of thirteen souls on board, and one broken toilet. 😉
PPS – Congratulations Jane! 🙂
I also clearly remember the lunar landing – because they kept waking me up and I kept falling asleep. But I did see it, it was just really past my bedtime. I wonder if the “10:00″ you mention was Houston time, because it sure seemed like it was after 11:00 to me. And I’m sure I’d had a hard day of play on the beach.
We were all in Jack and Fran’s cabin – around what I would guess was a 13″ or maybe 15” tv. But VERY exciting.
New job for Jane ?
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OK – now I want to know too.
I assumed the congratulations was for remembering where she was at that tender age, or being able to be awake at the correct moment.