Moon men & ticker tape - Mim memory du jour

Mim was always a Neil Armstrong fan.  She admired his quiet, confident demeanor, his reputation for keeping a cool head when things were going kablooey.  

Like all Americans in July 1969, we Lockharts were glued to our televisions.  We cheered when they took off, said our prayers as they landed on the moon, added more prayers as they returned.

It seemed natural that Mim, who was already fairly familiar with NYC, would get the scathingly brilliant idea of going up to the ticker tape parade given in honor of Neil, Mike Collins & Buzz Aldrin.  And who else would go with her but her faithful sidekick?

The day started out with high drama.  I can't remember what the problem was, but we were delayed getting off as early as Mim had planned, which threatened to derail the entire trip.  Can recall her saying, "We might not make it to the train station (West Trenton) in time, but let's GO!"  

As Mom would say, Mim did not spare the horses in that mad dash across the Delaware.  I have no memory how fast we went, but it was definitely way over the posted speed.  

As we pulled up to the station, Mim gave me money, practically pushed me out of the car with instructions to a) get the tickets & b) locate the track the train was on while she went & parked the car.  The train was trackside as Mim came into view - I remember screaming, "GUN IT!" & she surely did, flying toward & past me.  We skimmed down the steps to the track & made it into the train moments before the doors closed.

We offered up prayers to get there on time - we'd missed the train that would have gotten us there with plenty of time to spare to get from midtown down to Wall Street.  Praise be, we sat near two businessmen who heard us talking about going to the parade.  

"Gals," they said, "You're never going to make it if you take this train all the way to Penn Station.  You need to get off in New Jersey & take the PATH train over to Lower Manhattan."


lessings on those two men - we got there, with time to spare.

What a thrill, ticker tape showering around us & the Apollo 11 astronauts rode together on the back of a convertible.  Mim practically leapt out of her skin - Neil was on our side!  It was over in a matter of moments, yet the memory is with me still. 

I love this picture, because it shows what you couldn't see if you weren't there - Neil is waving UP because so many people were hanging out office windows!  People around us turned to leave as soon as the trio rode past, but Mim waited, rewarded when Neil turned around & - still looking UP - waved right at us.  What a moment - in the midst of the thousands around us, what felt like intimate connection.  Unforgettable.