Incredibly, today, July 20th, 2019, is the 50th anniversary of the lunar landing, which fulfilled President Kennedy’s 1961 vow to land a man on the moon by the end of the decade.
Buzz Aldrin descends to the lunar surface – trivial factoid: Aldrin nearly let the door of the lander close shut, which would have been a disaster, as the plans failed to include an outside doorknob.
It seems that only recently we recognized the 50-year mark of that fatal day in Dallas, which I recall clearly, but the lunar landing is extremely vivid in my mind.
Mom was well into her third trimester with Kimberly and we had just moved to Durham for the second time in May. Visiting the community pool in Colony Park, Mom quickly found a friend in Barbara Booth, whose husband was head of the Durham Chamber of Commerce, and very soon, the Booth family were like family. They were truly “Southern Hospitality” personified.
The Booths visited our house the night of the landing, and daughter Susan, and son Bobby, and I, watched the event on our portable television set, which had been moved into my bedroom.
While we were watching the program building up to the actual landing, Susan asked if I wanted a brother or a sister, and I replied that I would prefer a brother, but it was more important just to be blessed with a healthy sibling. Susan had scored very high on the extra-sensory perception tests at Duke, as well as any other aptitude tests she had taken.
We still lived in Dayton when Mom first sprang the news of her pregnancy, and that night, Mom, Dad, and I, sat in the living room and came up with names, by consensus, for a boy and a girl. Kimberly was the female name we agreed on, but when Kimberly was born on October 23, 1969, her middle name became Susan, for Susan Booth.
Boone NC – ca,1972
Left to right – Dad, Mom (Kim in front), Bob Booth (Susan in front), Me, Bobby, Barbara taking picture.
Today, Barbara Booth, her husband Robert, their son Bobby, my Mom, and Kimberly, are no longer here. The only ones remaining out of the houseful that evening, are Dad, Susan, and myself. It’s ironic, however, that in July of 1979, 10 years later, I would have a terrible car accident that came very near to making “your’s truly” the first of the group to depart this realm.
Sheesh, how time flies!
It is odd that in the weeks following Kim’s death in 1985, I contacted a psychic that I found in the Dallas directory. After giving her some of the details of Kim and Ethan’s case, the lady said she felt a strange connection, and especially, with Kimberly. After talking a while, the psychic said she had studied parapsychology at Duke University which was known for its research in parapsychology. I then told her that Kimberly was born at Duke Medical Center.
