Meeting Armstrong

I HAD made a note in my diary that August 24, 2021 would mark a decade since I met the first moon walker Neil Armstrong when he spoke at the Sydney Convention Centre.

Neil was the guest of honour at the 125th anniversary of CPA Australia.

So what do astronauts have to do with accountants, you might ask?

As it turns out, Neil’s father was an auditor for the Ohio State Government in his younger days, and it is his mathematical ability that was taught to his son, who went on to become an aeronautical engineer.

I had the privilege and I might say honour of catching Neil as he was leaving the convention centre and shaking his hand, while he was heavily guarded by a throng of six foot-tall US Secret Service agents.

Having already known that he was 81 at the time, and knowing that I might never get another chance, I calmly walked up to the group and said “Hello Neil” and offered my handshake to which he modestly took. I do remember that his hand felt a bit like a puffed pastry, I don’t know why.

But the moment was something that I will remember for the rest of my life.

DAVE FREDERICKS, Toowoomba