Good luck, Mr. Gorsky.

On July 20, 1969, as Commander of the Apollo 11 Lunar Module, Neil Armstrong was the first person to set foot on the Moon. His first words after stepping on the Moon, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”, were televised to earth, and heard by millions. Just before he reentered the Lander, he made the enigmatic remark “Good luck, Mr. Gorsky.”

Many at NASA thought it was a casual remark directed to a rival Soviet Cosmonaut.

However, upon checking, there was no Gorsky in either the Russian or American space programs.

Over the years, many people questioned Armstrong as to what the “Good luck, Mr. Gorsky” statement meant. Armstrong never answered and always just smiled.

In Tampa Florida, on July 5, 1995, while answering questions following a speech, a reporter brought up the 26 year old question to Armstrong. This time, he finally responded.

Mr. Gorsky died, so Armstrong felt he could answer the question.

In 1938, when he was a kid in a small Midwest town, he was playing baseball with a friend in his backyard. His friend hit a ball which landed in his neighbor’s (the Gorskys') yard by the bedroom window.

As he leaned down to pick up the ball, young Armstrong heard Mrs. Gorsky shouting at Mr. Gorsky: “Sex!, You want sex? You’ll get sex when the kid next door WALKS ON THE MOON!”

Another email from my dad. This one, apparently a true story. I don’t know the real source, however.