On July 20, 1969 Neil Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the moon. At that exact time a younger Lagavulin, like millions of others, was glued to a black and white television screen. Every word, of every description, uttered by Walter Cronkite was felt in the heart as much as the mind. We had not an event to watch but the possibility of a future to experience.
It was the words of the late President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, spoken in an address to congress on May 25,1961, coming to life from his grave.
“First, I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish.”
Yes we landed on the moon, but the true hoax is what happened after, the hoax was when discovery and innovation were supplanted by the need to be politically safe. The hoax was in electing leaders based on image rather than substance. A leader cannot play it safe, by definition they must be in the vanguard, they must lead.
The end of manned exploration was the end of development of the desire to explore and achieve. We became willing to settle for contentment rather than pushing for discovery.
The hoax is that we, the average person, no longer look’s up,to see the heavens and dream of the impossible.
Some asides:
Cable TV did not exist in 1969 and the signal was accomplished at no charge via a device called “rabbit ears”, it was a free wireless service, our wallets were not depleted for the privilege of watching situation comedy.
President Kennedy’s speech is a masterful bit of craftsmanship and oratory, the full text is a worthwhile read. Why can we no longer be inspired by those that are supposed to be our leaders?
The presence of President Kennedy’s penis in any particular vagina or other orifice was dwarfed by his actions on the issues of the day, everyone heard the rumors and no one cared. Far more important was a missile crisis with Cuba, eminent nuclear war, a battle for civil rights, and a vision to open the heavens. Perhaps if latter day politicians drove to inspire, drove to lead, and drove with a vision that came from their heart rather than polling data, the public would be distracted from the salacious just long enough to become inspired and once again seek discovery.
This is a photo of Buzz Aldrin (the second man to walk on the moon) taken by Neil Armstrong (the first man to walk on the moon)
As a result of the presence of men on the moon, and exploration of the lunar surface, new scientific data was garnered that confirmed or changed existing theories. If a studio production can accomplish that, then we must immediately send Stephen Hawking to Hollywood so that Stephen Spielberg and Keanu Reeves can provide him with solid evidence about the origin of time and a unified theory. On a personal note, I have issues with string theory as it is currently presented, so Mr. Reeves ability to provide exact data (with or without nudity) will be invaluable.
P.S.
There are laser reflectors that were placed on the surface of the moon by the Apollo missions that are still in use today.
https://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar/missions/apollo/apollo_11/experiments/lrr/
Anyone in the world can bounce a laser signal off these reflectors right now.
With my son! 
