OCTOBER 13 2018 LISTENER 9
T
he “Where were you when ...”
questions define each genera-
tion. My mother, for example,
remembers the euphoria in the
streets accompanying the announce-
ments of the end of World War II in
Europe, then in Japan.
Nearly 20 years later, she heard on
the radio that US President John F
Kennedy had been assassinated. She
ran next door to tell the neighbour,
who said she must have misheard
because surely that could not be right.
For my generation, the September
11 attacks in the US are
still sharp, as is learning
that Diana, Princess of
Wales, was dead.
I am in Cape
Canaveral, courtesy of
Universal Pictures, which
is promoting the First
Man film based on the
biography of astronaut
Neil Armstrong. I was
at Iwitahi School on the
Napier-Taupō Rd in July
1969 when Armstrong
walked on the moon.
The school had only two
teachers – my mother
and father – and 60
pupils. We had a big
radio in our classroom
and Dad turned it on
early so it could warm up
in time for the broadcastBrett Kavanaugh’s
court nomination
takes a back seat to
moon landings and
ocean cruises.
Supreme indiference
I share the view
that being on
a cruise is like
being in prison
but with the
added risk of
drowning.
ANTHONY ELLISON
from the moon.
Space fever was everywhere. At school we had
made the solar system out of balloons encased in
papier-mâché. The painted planets hung from the
classroom ceiling as we listened through the static
to Armstrong taking his giant leap for mankind.
We marvelled at living at a time when not only
had this momentous event occurred, but we could
listen to it live in the heart of the Kaingaroa Forest.
I felt technology had surely reached its apex.
Flying to Orlando, I got talking to a man who
grew up around here and recalled the scenes when
rockets were being launched in the Apollo era.
Everyone would find a vantage point, he said,
particularly along the beaches and on boats. It
must have been an amazing time to be a Floridian.
However, he also remembered standing outside
watching the launch, in January 1986, of the space
shuttle Challenger, which exploded less than two
minutes after lift-off, killing all seven crew.
Nowadays, we presume we can watch anything
live. The pictures may stun us but the wonder that
they exist at all has been replaced by indifference
or, worse, a sense of entitlement.A
s I took a road shuttle from
Orlando Airport to my hotel,
eight of the other passengers
turned out to be going on a cruise.
They comprised three different
family groups, all American, who did
not know each other before the shut-
tle ride. When they realised they were
going on the same ship, they com-
pared notes about previous cruises.
One woman had once booked an
ocean-view room but had ended up
overlooking the deck. This turned out
to be just as well, she jested, because
she had taken her young daughter
and if she could have, she would
have pushed her overboard. She had
left the girl at home this time.
Because I share the view of who-
ever it was who said that being on a
boat is like being in prison but with
the added risk of drowning, I had
nothing to contribute to the discus-
sion about cruises. However, my
fellow passengers were nice,
bright people and I enjoyed
listening to them.
I was sure that back
home inside the Beltway,
everyone I knew would be
talking about embattled
Supreme Court nominee
Brett Kavanaugh. He went
to school at Georgetown
Prep, just up the road from
where I live, and my friends
were in the same year group
as he was at Yale, though
they did not personally
know him.
In the shuttle, I felt I
could have driven for 24
hours and no one would
have mentioned the
Supreme Court. I was yet
again reminded that there
is more than one America. lBACK TO BLACK
JOANNE
BLACK
IN CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA