Do you remember the moon landing?

When the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing occurs July 20, 2019, it will evoke a lot of memories.

The first man on the moon was an incredible achievement.

I did not see George Washington crossing the Delaware River, or Abraham Lincoln delivering the Gettysburg Address.

But I avidly followed the lunar mission in the summer of 1969.

I knew it was going to be historical.

However, I was a kid. I was impatient.

I had the presence of mind to turn down an opportunity to go to the movies when I learned Neil Armstrong stepping on the moon was likely going to occur during that evening showing.

So I settled down and watched television instead.

Then I waited.

I waited.

How long does it take an astronaut to open a hatch, climb down a ladder, and make an historical step onto the surface of the moon?

I wanted to see history. But I wanted history to occur on my terms.

I didn’t want to wait. After I all, I had skipped a movie.

Shouldn’t that be rewarded?

I was a teenager with a short attention span.

I was antsy. I was bored.

I watched the TV broadcasts and knew that they, too, were as eager as I was.

They were filling time until the great event.

I remember it getting late.

I was in Central Time.

I see the historical record says Armstrong sent his famous message of "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” at 10:56 p.m. Eastern, 9:56 p.m. Central Time.

I was puzzled by what Armstrong said.

NASA says Armstrong said “a man,” but that is not what I heard.

Check out the NASA website.

I look forward to the historical rehash of this quotation next summer.

I also am also looking forward to the new commemorative coins that will be offered by the U.S. Mint.

In a sense, I have had to wait 50 years for these new coins. But that's nothing new.

It began that memorable evening in 1969.

Buzz blogger Dave Harper won the Numismatic Literary Guild Award for Best Blog for the third time in 2017. He is editor of the weekly newspaper "Numismatic News."