Exeat: Day 120/84: Man on the Moon ..... Scots diaspora descendant!

Back at keyboard but I'll work backwards to catch up! I can hear the neighbours, grandsons + guests in The Big House in their mini pool. Sounds of life … good. Making progress and just finished the 172 emails pending .. a few bills of course but the BIG news is the Gothenburg is open again; just needs a new Cellar Cooling System …. The Diaspora piece today I got done before going to 3 Shires for the new hip so it was ready to roll ..tomorrow will take new research!

51 years ago …. 1969 … descendant Scotsman Neil Armstrong, with Buzz Aldrin, became the first humans to set foot on the the moon. Six hours after landing Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface and spent two and a half hours outside the spacecraft. Soon to follow, Buzz Aldrin stepped onto the lunar surface and with Armstrong the two collected 47.5 pounds of lunar material. In the command module, a third astronaut, pilot Michael Collins, remained alone in orbit until Armstrong and Aldrin returned. Televisions around the world tuned in to the live broadcasts giving the astronaut a world-wide audience. As a result they all witnessed as Armstrong stepped onto the moon’s surface and described the event as: “one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.” Fast forward fifty years and private expeditions plan to take humankind exploring our solar system. Armstrong’s “one small step for man” inspired imaginations and will have sparked innovation for generations to come.
That first man was Scottish Diaspora! Armstrong was born on a US farm in Ohio on August 5, 1930 and died August 25th 2012; but his ancestors hailed from Langholm in Dumfries and Galloway - that's our region for Lochnaw some 100 miles west on A75. Just three years after his moon mission, Armstrong visited Scotland in 1972 to receive the Freedom of the Burgh of Langholm. Our Scottish Diaspora Tapestry was limited to just 34 countries before Iceland showed up; but we really should include the Moon as well as Antarctica and Tristan da Cunha … Said the Provost: "We got tremendous publicity of it – for years after Americans were visiting who were wanting to trace their roots.” Neil smiled throughout the proceedings as a local piper played who had composed a new tune called Commander Neil Armstrong’s Moonstep. And a special Lunar tartan had been commissioned for the once-in-a-lifetime visit. In what was one of the more emotional experiences of his incident-packed life he told the assembled townsfolk of Langholm … “The most difficult place to be recognised is in one’s own home town. I consider this, now, my home town”.