I was blessed to gave grown up during an age of American giants, though we didn't always realize it at the time.
As Joni Mitchell sang, "Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got till it's gone?" Now in this land of small minds, smaller men and great discontent, we may be getting some idea of what we had.
Neil Armstrong, first man on the moon, is dead. He was 82.
Above is what I -- and hundreds of millions -- saw that July day in 1969, a time of trouble, yes, but also a time when giants walked the earth. And when astronaut giants flew to the moon -- and back.
One of the last of those giants now is gone, God bless his soul, leaving this postmodern world to its pygmy overlords.
UPON HIS LEAVING, it's almost as if Neil Armstrong: Giant has left us his final commentary about the kind of hands now holding our collective fate as Americans. Look at this screenshot of the NBCNews.com front page.
Says it all, doesn't it?
Goodbye, Mr. Armstrong. Thank you for your courage. Thank you for your dignity.
Thank you for our dreams.