Where Is The Moon?

There was a little boy who was obsessed with the moon.

"If you be a good boy," his father would say, "I'll put the moon near your window so you can sleep looking at it."

"I want to see how you catch the moon," the boy once said standing at the porch as his father carried the giant ladder to the garden.

"No, the moon is shy," his father said, "you go in."

On days when the boy did his homework and finished his dinner, his father would bring him a full moon. Other days, the moon would be smaller.

"I haven't been naughty today, why didn't papa get me the moon?" the boy asked on a new moon night.

His mother pulled the sheets over the boy, kissed his forehead, and smiled. Then she turned off the lights and closed the door.

The next day, the boy called his friends and carried the ladder to the garden. He thought he was wronged by his father and wanted to look for the moon himself. His friends held the ladder against the wall as the little boy climbed it. Higher and higher he went until he reached the first floor.

"What are you doing on that ladder, boy?" A man peeped from his balcony and asked.

"I am going to find the moon."

"The moon? Do you know where it is?"

"No."

"Hmm, come over here. I think I can help."

The boy climbed into the balcony, and the man took him to his bookshelf.

"Here," the man said and gave a book to him, "this is a book on the Universe. You should find your moon somewhere here."

The boy sat on the floor with the book, read and asked questions as the man prepared a mug of chocolate.

In the evening, the boy wanted to leave for his father would soon be home.

"What's your name?" the man asked.

"Neil," the boy said as he pocketed another biscuit.

"All right Neil, come back anytime you want. I got many books about the moon and the Universe. And next time, take the stairs."

Thirty years later, Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. After retiring, he became a professor of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Cincinnati for eight years. When he died, his family released a statement that concluded:

"For those who may ask what they can do to honor Neil, we have a simple request. Honor his example of service, accomplishment and modesty, and the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink."