A Lesser Anniversary

good evening, my lovelies.... welcome to my second anniversary blog entry. yes, two years ago today i began this self-indulgent exercise.

but my anniversary falls on the same day as a much more important anniversary: the 40th anniversary of man landing on the moon.

it's funny.... i sent out a request for subject suggestions for this entry and i only received one: write about walter cronkite.

it's interesting because cronkite was before my time. when he left the anchor desk in 1981, i was about 8. so as far as cronkite the anchor man... i know him only from archival footage. but two moments in his career stick out most to me.

the first is his announcement of the death of president john f. kennedy... his choking up. and the second is his boyish excitement at watching man landing on the moon.

i'm currently watching the 1989 documentary for all mankind on TCM which chronicles the first moon landing from the astronauts preparing that day to the very end. and it includes commentary from all the astronauts involved. it is most fascinating.

again.... this happened in 1969... four years before my birth. i don't know of a time when we didn't know about the moon. yet earlier today i watched some very humorous movies on TCM about landing on the moon prior to man ever landing on the moon. and our ideas of the moon... our fantasies of this unknown world... they're most intriguing...often hilarious.

and the eagle has just landed on the moon....in the documentary. i can't imagine... but watching cronkite watch the first footage... i have an idea. and i've been watching this documentary, most of it footage i've never seen, with that same wide-eyed wonder.

i've always been an english and history kind of student.... but i have some strong moments of science nerdom. anthropology has interested me ever since i took a course in college. and i'm forever fascinated by space... these images of the moon landing. pictures of saturn's ring and jupiter's eye. i can look at them forever.

and it's interesting to watch this footage. there was a moment when they first show footage of the astronaut's view of earth... and it makes me feel so tiny. so insignificant.

and i know that everyone wants to think they're important. that they're special. why else do we fool ourselves into thinking people are really interested in my bullshit thoughts here on this blog?

why else do people post status updates on facebook? or 140 characters or less tidbits on twitter?

we want to feel interesting. but, ultimately, all this will be gone. and all these characters, here on this blog....for two years now.... may never be read again.

but i guess i hope... bringing it all full circle...that i'll be able to witness as many extraordinary events in my lifetime as walter cronkite. and i've seen some already: the fall of the berlin wall. the wrongful impeachment of a president. the tragedy of 9/11. the election of the first african american president of the united states.

and on a personal level... my parents growing older - turning 70 this year. my own journey of self-discovery and finding my true self. my brothers and i becoming men. their marriages. the birth of my niece. the staging of my plays. and friendships that have become more important to me than i could've ever imagined.

and i'd like to continue to chronicle these events.... and i guess i'm feeling a bit sentimental tonight. probably from the lack of sleep.

but i thank all of you that continue to read the stories i chronicle here. i hope they continue to entertain and (occasionally) make you laugh.

so thank you for reading, my lovelies. here's to another great year!

e.