July 16 Reflections: Apollo 11, Hero Worship, and the Blocks of Normalcy
🌕 On This Day, July 16, 1969, Apollo 11 rocketed toward the Moon, carrying Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins into history. It was a moment that stitched awe into the collective memory of humanity—our first step onto another world.
But behind the iconic bootprint and the echoes of “one small step,” were three men with bills to pay, lawns to mow, and children to raise. Thirty years later, as I provided consultation to the International Space Station project, I had the rare opportunity to live with the ex-wife of one of the Apollo astronauts. She was charming, kind, and simple delightful to spend time with—and through her, I glimpsed truths that rarely surface in documentaries or museum plaques.
These astronauts were heroes, yes, but also husbands, fathers, and neighbors. Their home lives, like those of so many public figures, were deeply affected by the tidal wave of idolization that followed the missions. When we elevate individuals into icons—be they astronauts, priests, politicians—we often rob them of the ordinariness that makes them whole. Their humanity becomes fragmented, caricatured, even invisible.
The most profound insight I’ve encountered on this theme came not from an academic paper or a think piece, but from a toddler. The grandson of one of the Apollo astronauts was watching a documentary with his mother. “Look,” she said, pointing to the screen. “That’s Grandpa.”
He glanced up, unfazed. “’T’ain’t, neither,” he said, returning to his blocks.
The child had it right. That wasn’t Grandpa—at least not the whole of him. That was the myth, the public face, the lunar legacy. Grandpa was also the person who probably helped build those blocks into castles and towers.
So today, let’s remember Apollo 11 for the marvel it was. But let’s also resist the temptation to turn heroes into holograms. Let’s honor the full humanity of those we admire—and never forget that the greatest legacies might be built, block by block, in the quiet spaces of ordinary life.
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