One Small Step

July 21, 1969

"Jacquie, what are you doing up here? You promised to come to the park with me."

I look out the window of the USS Treehouse to see Sharon climbing up the stairs.

"Get in quick," I say. "You almost missed the countdown."

I lay two of the chairs that Loren uses for his club meetings on their backs and I crawl onto one.

"Come on, Sharon, you've got to get buckled in for our trip to the moon."

Sharon lays down on the chair beside me and props her legs over the seat.

"Ready?"

"Ready." Sharon replies.

"Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. One. Blast Off!"

Once we're in orbit, I take off my pretend helmet. Sharon takes hers off too.

"Ed and Loren said girls can't be astronauts. They said only boys can be astronauts."

"Maybe they're right. After all, I don't know of any girl astronauts?" Sharon says. "Do you?"

"Of course, you do," I reply.

"I do?"

"You know me, don't you?

Sharon nods.

"I'm a girl."

"Yeah, so?"

"So I'm going to be an astronaut."


"You are?" she asks as I put my pretend helmet back on to get ready for the Lunar landing. Sharon puts hers on too.

"I'm going to fly to the moon just like Neil Armstrong."

"WOW, that would be cool."

Bump! We've landed. I scrambled out of the seat. I push open the hatch of the Lunar Lander and start to climb down the stairs in my spacesuit.

"Yep. Maybe I'll even be the first girl astronaut. And then I can say, 'One small step for girls, one giant leap for girlonauts everywhere.'"

"If you're going to be an astronaut, then I'm going to be one too," Sharon said.

Sharon is my bestest, best friend and we do everything together. But I get to go down that ladder first.

(Written by Susan Flemming)