July 20, 1969

By H. Scott Prosterman

            Today is a "where were you then and what were you doing day."

            I had just arrived in Knoxville for 3 weeks of the UT Sports

Camp for young jocks, and my family had just completed a vacation at

Callaway Gardens, GA. On the way through, we stopped in Atlanta for brunch

with family members. I remember my Uncle Sid looking at the paper and saying

in disgust, "Well that kills HIS chances of being president." I then looked

at the Atlanta Constitution that had Chappaquiddick all over the front page.

            My head counselor was Steve Kiner the All-American linebacker,

who later played for the Cowboys and Oilers in the NFL. At the beginning of

our orientation talk, Steve told us that we would get to watch the moonwalk

later that night, as long as everything happened on time. Only THEN, did

Steve get our full attention.

            We got word that they landed during the afternoon, and everybody

was nervous about what would happen when they opened the hatch of the LEM

(Lunar Excursion Module). Would everything work, or would some weird sci-fi

horror befall the astronauts?

            Around 10 p.m. about 40 guys were gathered around a 14" black

and white TV with spotty reception. How perfect! The pictures on the

screen were a "simulation" of what we HOPED was actually happening.

Armstrong gave a step-by-step call of opening the hatch and walking out.

When he uttered those words, "That's one small step for man; one giant leap

for mankind," we all breathed a sigh of relief. The words seemed

appropriate and profound for the occasion. At some point, I remember them

reading Bible passages I think from Genesis, maybe just as they landed.

Somehow, that made the guys watching less scared. Some of the redneck

hillbillies were really terrified for the astronauts, and one kid said, "My

daddy said this is all a bunch of crap." That guy didn't make too many

friends for the next 3 weeks.

            When I went to bed, I stayed up for a long time thinking about

what happened. I finally went to sleep, sharing in a huge sense of grand

accomplishments, satisfaction and historical presence. The world felt safer

and smaller that night, and on that night anything seemed possible.