Armstrong prepares to take the first step on the Moon.

I watched Neil Armstrong step on the moon on the Simmons’ color television. The broadcast was in black-and-white, but the Simmons’ television across the street had a clearer picture than our television. 

I felt connected to the Apollo program.  The astronauts trained and worked at the nearby Johnson Space Center. I knew people who worked at NASA.

After the broadcast of Armstrong and Aldrin finished, I went outside into the street to stare at the full moon.  Since that moment, the moon has been a symbol of what we can do.  

But soon, I’m afraid, that ancient moon will turn into a bitter symbol of how we once lassoed the moon, but let it slip away to China.  

I never thought the day would come we’d have to pay someone else (Russia) for a ride into space. I hope I’m wrong. I hope at least the military has a secret ride to space. You know, control the high ground.

Yes, I know companies such as SpaceX and others are scrambling to put private rides into place. But it’s like a job. You don’t quit a job in hopes you’ll get a better job.  You quit a job after you get the better job. You trade up.  

We didn’t trade up.

We can always pay the Russians of course for a seat on their ride.  Their ride.

Get in your car and drive for awhile.  You’ll soon come to towns that were not on the railroad route.  You’ll come to towns missed by the Interstate Highway System.  Those towns freeze, dwindle or die.

China is taking the sky.  The stars on the flag were once a symbol for communism.  Yet they introduced market reforms in their economy.  What most don’t see is that China is threatening to become more American than America in a certain way. Their stars soon will come to mean space exploration.

I applaud their efforts.  I frown at our lack of effort. I dread the night when the moon rises and China owns the moon, space, sky, and the high ground.  

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