Neal Stephenson and I were not standing in order to make it quite clear who Neil #1 was and would always be.
I spent a couple of days in Neil Armstrong's company. He was as nice, as modest and as wise as anybody could have hoped for. If you ever wondered what my face looks like when I'm going "This is really happening, and I am the luckiest man in the world," it looks a lot like it does in this photo.
His achievements were the stuff of legend, and I am lucky to have known him, if only for a brief time, I am sad that he's gone, proud as a member of the human race that he did what he did for all of us.
Labels: Neil Armstrong