A Great Afternoon

We were moved in to the larger classroom with the Year Two students. I was in Year One and it was exciting to be in such a large group of squirming children chattering and laughing; not our usual settling for storytime after lunch. Our teachers struggled to quieten the room. The door then opened and a large television was wheeled in on a trolley, the screen was mounted high above our heads. The curtains were closed and and lights were turned off. Our room became like outer space and I breathed deeply as I lacked oxygen in the middle of the squirming bodies. In my mind I became a spaceman. In silence we watched the foggy images of astronauts descending the steps to the moon. They were like ghosts and appeared transparent in some of the pictures. Man had landed on the moon and I have always remembered that afternoon. Will my children soon visit Mars? Will that be their equivalent of my “space” afternoon?

Louise Marsh