My dad was in his teens in the 1930’s. There was an old man who lived in his neighborhood who everyone thought was a kook. I don’t remember all the details as my dad told me many, years ago or the man’s name (so I’ll call him “Doc”), but the guy was a bit eccentric. Sort of like Doc from Back to the Future - OK not quite that eccentric but he was a retired engineer of some sort and an amateur inventor and owned a pretty big telescope. But people in the neighborhood thought he was downright strange.
My dad started doing yard work and other chores for him to earn some money (this was during the Depression) and they became friends. My dad told me he introduced my dad to the writings of Jules Vern and H.G. Wells as well as some serious scientific writings of the time. My dad also told me that the old man told him that while he’d never live to see it, my dad and his children would – and that was that one day Americans would send a rocket up into space, land a craft and walk on the Moon and then return safely back to Earth. Saying these sorts of things in the 1930’s is what got him the reputation for being a kook. But my dad believed him. The old guy died just before Pearl Harbor.
My dad was a huge fan and follower of the American space program and I remember as a kid, watching all the coverage on TV with him including on July 20, 1969. When Neil Armstrong set foot on the Moon. My dad, who wasn’t a big liquor drinker, went to a cabinet, unlocked it and pulled out a dusty bottle of really good whiskey he’d been saving for who knows how long. He poured a glass and raised at toast, to the USA and our astronauts and to “Doc”, saying “wherever you are Doc, I hope you are seeing this”. :)
That is a REALLY cool story! My grandmother was born in the 1880’s on a remote farm in Norway. No electricity, no cars, etc. She came to America by herself, not knowing anybody at the age of 16. She always said that she lived in the most unbelievable time of all history. She died in 1984 - but got to see all of that amazing progress - including man on the moon.
Of course she died too early to see any of the personal benefits of the computer age.
That’s a neat story. Cheers to your Dad and Doc.