10. Animated Astronaut

The First Thing - An Old Sony Television

Strangely enough, the very first thing I thought of when I saw Craig Osgood's drawing of an astronaut was an old Sony television. I can't really remember the actual images that I saw on that television, but for some reason I think I remember going around to a friend's house in 1972 when I was 6 years old so that we could all watch something which was far more exciting than any Hollywood blockbuster of today, but which at the same time seemed entirely normal and to be expected by my 6 year old self who had grown up immersed in several years worth of men walking on the moon. This miraculously exciting event was viewed on that small, foreign, Sony device which at the time was unusual in itself because it wasn't until many years later that it became commonplace to purchase electronics and gadgets produced by Japanese companies.

I can't remember any earlier times when I watched astronauts live on television but I can figure out the year of this instance because we had just moved from one area to another in San Antonio, Texas in time for me to start first grade at my new school and thus I know is was 1972. ( Yes, I know that I incorrectly put 1973 in the video titles. Sorry about that. I was a bit hasty in trying to complete the project. )

With a little help from everyone's favourite answer machine, Google of course, I have managed to pin down the fact that that was the last time anyone ever watched men walking on the moon. It was the Apollo 17 mission and it seems strange to think that it was so long ago. I was reminded of those moon walking days more recently when my children were excited about watching the somewhat similar, but let's face it, no where near as exciting or amazing, highest ever skydive by Felix Baumgartner which was streamed live on the internet and viewed by my children on a white MacBook. One day of course they may think back nostalgically to that event and the quaint old technology of the day.

San Antonio, Texas

My earliest ever memory is of when we moved to San Antonio from my birthplace of Denton, Texas when I was about 3 or 4 years old I think. A couple of years later, we moved to the house on the left in this Google Street View screen capture. It looks just the same to me now really, although I'm not sure if that now-cut-back tree trunk was there at the time or if it must have been planted after we left. As an added bit of trivia, after a couple of years living in this house we ended up moving only just across the street to live in that house for a few more years before we eventually moved to the Kansas City area that I now consider more the place where I really grew up. It's a real nostalgia trip to take a virtual walk around Google Street View to see the route I used to walk to school and remember some of the friends I knew when recognising the other streets and houses in that neighbourhood. My elementary school and the outdoor swimming pool are still just as I remember them although the school has changed it's name. It used to be called Sunset Hills Elementary. Whenever I think of that outdoor swimming pool it reminds me of hearing the Earth, Wind and Fire cover of "Got to Get You Into My Life" being blasted through the loudspeakers while we splashed away in the bakingly hot Texas sunshine. To this day I still don't like to go swimming outdoors unless I'm so hot I'm already dripping with sweat. Needless to say that is an extremely rare occurrence in England where I now live.

Mix It All Together

So my creation is a bit of a video mash up of the memories in my head created by seeing Craig's astronaut along with a bit of cheeky humour just because I couldn't resist, and at least it makes me laugh. Hopefully you will laugh too when you watch it.