This day in 1969, at 02:56 Universal Standard Time, the hatch of the Eagle opened and Neil Armstrong took his first steps.

Moments later he stood on the moon to declare 'that's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind'.

I was in school when it happened and every classroom had a radio tuned into those gripping moments.

I am sure the entire world skipped a beat and held its breath as the moments ticked by. 

It will stay with me as a vivid childhood memory that lifted my heart and mind to greater things than this world has become. 

For a brief while we had noble purpose and big dreams, a vision worth living for and a cause worth dying for.

We were, in that moment, far more than what divides us and tears our world apart. We were humanity, humbled, innocent, brave. 

But that was 51 years ago and so much has since faded into distant memory, like an empty can rolling across a dim-lit street.

And in the naked light I saw, 10,000 people, maybe more, people  talking without speaking, people hearing without listening ...

... people writing songs that voices never share, no one dare, disturb the sounds of silence. 

(c) Peter Missing @ me2u2all.blogspot.com