THE TALE OF TWO ARMSTRONGS!

Neil Armstrong, the first human being to land on the Moon, passed away at the age of 82 in a hospital in US on 25^th August 2012. He died a private person, away from the media coverage and his near family simply released the news to the World.

There was such an excitement when Apollo XI landed on the moon way back in 1969. As a student then, it was one of those landmark moments of one’s life. Though it was an American who landed on the Moon, to all of us, he represented humanity and we felt being part of his achievement.

The newspapers reported that upon his craft landing on the Moon, Neil Armstrong sent the radio communication to mission control at Houston Mother Earth: “Houston, Tranquillity Base here, the Eagle has landed.”

Little later, he set foot on the moon, the very first Earth being to do so, and pronounced the famous lines: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

Though we are miles to go in reaching out to other part of the Universe and to be a larger player in controlling its stake, this one small first step will forever be remembered as a giant step for mankind.

Neil Armstrong made history and remained part of it.  In the annals of history, his position would like that of Yuri Gagarin (first man on space), Edmund Hillary (Everest) or Robert Peary (North Pole), if not bigger. So long as the world exists, his name will exist.

May his soul rest in eternal peace!

It is such a pain when we see our idols fall. I had made a similar post when Tiger Wood made his life miserable by his nasty indulgences, making him fall from grace.

What I am referring here is about the other Armstrong, Lance Armstrong. The legendary cyclist, the winner of a record 7 tour de France titles, considered to be the ultimate in human endurances - 3200 kilometres in 23 days, continuously across France that includes the hills and the lows.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) erased all his achievements out of the record books on Friday the 23^rd August 2012. It wiped out 14 years of Armstrong's career and barred him for life from the sport after concluding that he used banned substances - an Earth shattering pronouncement, I would say!

And Armstrong decides not to contest it. Is he accepting the crime or just disgusted to be indifferent? This, coming from a fighter called Lance Armstrong is very strange indeed. For such a legendary figure who fought to be the best, including a life terminating testicle cancer…….

For a person who gave hope to millions of cancer patients, who motivated thousands of sportspersons, this is a tremendous let down.

I hope one day he would come into the open, to come out clean. In the meantime, those achievements and victories, that is still fresh in the memory, can that be erased, simply by the stroke of a pen?