A Moonwalking Parkie

I remember watching, in the summer of 1969, the first moonwalk. We had a small black and white TV and the picture was grainy. You could just barely make out a bulky figure climbing down from the spacecraft and stepping on the moon. It was thrilling for this little nine-year old girl. I lived in Orlando, Florida back then and used to watch, from my front yard, the rockets blast off into space.

Fast forward to 1983 and I watched Michael Jackson moonwalk on the Motown 25 Special, this time on a color TV. Within a few weeks, I managed to do the tricky dance-step myself, but only if the flooring was slick and I was wearing the right shoes.

Fast forward to 2012 and I still moonwalk, but it's a very different moonwalk. I take my camera and try to catch the full moon as it sets. I was moon-walking at 5 am the other morning and snapped these pictures as the moon set. Not bad, considering I didn't have a tripod, or anything to rest the camera on and the fact that I have Parkinson's. 

The moon is almost touching the street

As I was shuffling back towards the house, I realized how much I walked like the astronaut from 1969, stiff and clumsy, like I was wearing a bulky spacesuit. Parkinson's has taken so much from me, but given plenty in return, such as this new kind of moon-walking.  Maybe I can't move like Michael Jackson once did, but I can still wear sparkly socks!