“40th anniversary of the Moon landing today,” said Walter, glancing at the night sky.

“Meh,” replied Tyler, as his thumbs pecked away at his phone’s tiny keypad.

“What do you mean, meh?” said Walter, fighting the urge to knock the phone out of his son’s hands.

“Big deal,” said Tyler, finally looking up. “A bunch of guys went to the Moon. Why go to the Moon, anyway?”

Walter wanted to scream at his son about President Kennedy’s challenge, about the Cold War, about the need at that point in our nation’s history for something, anything, positive. Instead, he said, “You want to know why we went to the Moon?”

“Yeah,” answered Tyler with a smirk. “Why bother.”

“Because it was there,” answered Walter, making eye contact with his son. “Because we needed to know.”

Tyler put his phone in his pants pocket, the one specifically designed for cell phones. He too looked to the sky. “Dad,” he said. “Do you think we’ll ever go farther than the Moon?”

“I hope so,” answered Walter. “I really do.”