Photo by atomicjeep

This is a little late, but my son and I were talking about the anniversary of the Lunar Landing.  We spoke about Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the Moon. I told him about first impressions of people, and how we should get all of the facts before judging someone.  “What does that have to do with walking on the Moon?” he asked.  The former astronaut served as Chairman of one of my former companies, and he once visited the building where I worked.  I had seen him up close.

The Big Letdown

Everyone was excited about Armstrong’s visit, until we were instructed not to ask for autographs.  Are you kidding me?  We get a chance to see the first man who walked on the moon, and we can’t get his autograph as a memento?  Boy, was I pissed.  Who the hell did this Armstrong guy think he was?  He obviously was named chairman due to his fame and name recognition.  But he wouldn’t share even his autograph.  Little kids probably didn’t even know who he was, not like in my day.  He should be glad that we even wanted to see him.

I’ll Show Him

I was annoyed with what happened for a long time.  He almost made me want to join the moon landing conspiracy theorists.  When he retired, the company asked all of the employees to sign a farewell card for the former astronaut.  Count me out.  I didn’t sign.  Neither did many of my slighted coworkers.  Touché, Neil Armstrong!

After Further Review…

Shortly thereafter, I had some time to kill, and aimless web surfing led me to the Wikipedia entry on Neil Armstrong.  I began to read about all of the people who tried to make a buck off of his name.  Hallmark used his “one small step for man” quote without his permission.  People sold his forged autographs on Ebay.  Even his barber tried to sell his hair to a collector for $3,000.  No wonder he wouldn’t sign autographs at my company.

My Act of Contrition

Needless to say, I felt really bad about not signing his farewell card.  He gave a lot to this country, and still had parasites looking for more.  Famous people are always prey to someone trying to make a quick buck.  I acted like a jackass, and should have cut one of my childhood heroes some slack.  Here are links to his NASA bio and a museum named in his honor:

NASA Biography of Neil Armstrong

Armstrong Air & Space Museum

The Takeaway

So, just like they say at the end of South Park, I learned something that day.  I’ve come across many people in my working life who were unfairly judged because of one act, when their entire body of work should have been taken into account.  Don’t judge people based on only limited criteria.  They may have a good reason for their actions.  That was the lesson that I left with my son about the moon landing.

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