--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As time went by, it mattered less and…" description: "\"“As time went by, it mattered less and less that in 1969 a rocket went from Florida to the moon and men walked there. Good men. People's dads. Those we..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ace/ann-marie-macdonald-10978_space_as-time-went-by-it-mattered-less-and-les_2588190.png" --- # As time went by, it mattered less and less that in 1969 a… ![“As time went by, it mattered less and less that in 1969 a rocket went from Florida to the moon and men walked there. Good men. People's dads. Those were only events, scattered in time. Draw them close, rub them between thumb and finger till they look like larvae, soften like silk, distend to knot…” quote by Ann-Marie MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ace/ann-marie-macdonald-10978_space_as-time-went-by-it-mattered-less-and-les_2588190.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ace/ann-marie-macdonald-10978_space_as-time-went-by-it-mattered-less-and-les_2588190.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ace/ann-marie-macdonald-10978_space_as-time-went-by-it-mattered-less-and-les_2588190.png) > ““As time went by, it mattered less and less that in 1969 a rocket went from Florida to the moon and men walked there. Good men. People's dads. Those were only events, scattered in time. Draw them close, rub them between thumb and finger till they look like larvae, soften like silk, distend to knot, to weave. It takes a village to kill a child.”” [Ann-Marie MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-marie-macdonald/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Historical events become intimate when examined closely, revealing deeper societal impacts. **In simple terms:** Close study of events reveals deeper meaning. Key Takeaway Examine history intimately. Themes history memory society intimacy Mood reflective poetic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - education - family storytelling - community healing Key Concepts collective trauma cultural analysis Questions to Reflect On - What personal narratives shape your view of history? - How does intimacy affect collective memory? A Different Perspective Over‑intimacy may distort objective analysis. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [There was one bursting now, a delicate constellation of many-coloured stars which drifted down and lingered in the still air… The final rocket went…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-struther/there-was-one-bursting-now-a-delicate-constellation-of-many-coloured/) [Jan Struther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-struther/) > [“Sooner or later it must come out, even if other men rediscover it. And then...Governments and powers will struggle to get hither, they will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells-2/sooner-or-later-it-must-come-out-even-if-other-men-rediscover-it-and/) [H.G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells-2/) > [The fortune of us that are the moon's men doth ebb and flow like the sea, being governed, as the sea is, by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/the-fortune-of-us-that-are-the-moon-s-men-doth-ebb-and-flow-like-the/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“To accomplish his object Ahab must use tools; and of all tools used in the shadow of the moon, men are most apt to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/to-accomplish-his-object-ahab-must-use-tools-and-of-all-tools-used-in/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“Today everything is so complex as to be incomprehensible. What sense does it make for men to walk on the moon while other men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-d-alinsky/today-everything-is-so-complex-as-to-be-incomprehensible-what-sense/) [Saul D. Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-d-alinsky/) > [“What good would the moon be to men? Even of their own planet what have they made but a battleground and theatre of infinite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells-2/what-good-would-the-moon-be-to-men-even-of-their-own-planet-what-have/) [H.G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells-2/) > [In the hopes of reaching the moon men fail to see the flowers that blossom at their feet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-schweitzer/in-the-hopes-of-reaching-the-moon-men-fail-to-see-the-flowers-that/) [Albert Schweitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-schweitzer/) > [“Nobody talked much as the expedition crossed the moon. There was nothing appropriate to say. One thing was clear: Absolutely everybody in the city…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/nobody-talked-much-as-the-expedition-crossed-the-moon-there-was/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“lived his life in the middle, hovering in a space devoid”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-burris/lived-his-life-in-the-middle-hovering-in-a-space-devoid/) Doug Burris > [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/) [Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/) > [I don't want to go into space because of war. I think we would if it was triggered. If China said they want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/i-don-t-want-to-go-into-space-because-of-war-i-think-we-would-if-it/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Plenty of white space and generous line spacing,and don't make the type size too miserly. Then you will be assured of a product fit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giambattista-bodoni/plenty-of-white-space-and-generous-line-spacing-and-don-t-make-the/) Giambattista Bodoni > [“The global population of Earth are involved in the following corporate government experiments: The long term effects of - 1. Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [There is something more important than any ultimate weapon. That is the ultimate position-the position of total control over Earth that lies somewhere out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/there-is-something-more-important-than-any-ultimate-weapon-that-is/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) ## More by Ann-Marie MacDonald > [“An unhappily married woman is necessarily a bad cook.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-marie-macdonald/an-unhappily-married-woman-is-necessarily-a-bad-cook/) [Ann-Marie MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-marie-macdonald/) > [“The world should not be organized to require heroines, and when one is required but fails to appear we should not judge. We should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-marie-macdonald/the-world-should-not-be-organized-to-require-heroines-and-when-one-is/) [Ann-Marie MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-marie-macdonald/) > [“It's his last thrill and his last sting of love, as fresh and painful as youth transplanted over time and an ocean. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-marie-macdonald/it-s-his-last-thrill-and-his-last-sting-of-love-as-fresh-and-painful/) [Ann-Marie MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-marie-macdonald/) > [Lies like that are not a sin, they are a sacrifice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-marie-macdonald/lies-like-that-are-not-a-sin-they-are-a-sacrifice/) [Ann-Marie MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-marie-macdonald/) > [“By fall, they can read. It happened by osmosis, the way it ought to: after they have spent several months on Daddy's lap, following…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-marie-macdonald/by-fall-they-can-read-it-happened-by-osmosis-the-way-it-ought-to/) [Ann-Marie MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-marie-macdonald/) > [Afterwards, in bed with a book, the spell of television feels remote compared to the journey into the page. To be in a book.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-marie-macdonald/afterwards-in-bed-with-a-book-the-spell-of-television-feels-remote/) [Ann-Marie MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-marie-macdonald/) > [“Perhaps God dropped them on their heads before they were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-marie-macdonald/perhaps-god-dropped-them-on-their-heads-before-they-were-born/) [Ann-Marie MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-marie-macdonald/) > [There are some stories you can't hear enough. They are the same every time you hear them. But you are not. That's one reliable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-marie-macdonald/there-are-some-stories-you-can-t-hear-enough-they-are-the-same-every/) [Ann-Marie MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-marie-macdonald/) > [Some people talk about children wanting to be born as though somewhere out there in the collective unconscious there's a spirit, or a thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-marie-macdonald/some-people-talk-about-children-wanting-to-be-born-as-though/) [Ann-Marie MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-marie-macdonald/) > [“Memory plays tricks. Memory is another word for story, and nothing is more unreliable.” ― Ann-Marie MacDonald, Fall on Your Knees”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-marie-macdonald/memory-plays-tricks-memory-is-another-word-for-story-and-nothing-is/) [Ann-Marie MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-marie-macdonald/) > [Do you think there's such a thing as a ghost who masquerades as a person? Do you believe that there are people whose bodies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-marie-macdonald/do-you-think-there-s-such-a-thing-as-a-ghost-who-masquerades-as-a/) [Ann-Marie MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-marie-macdonald/) > [The world should not be organized to require heroines, and when one is required but fails to appear, we should not judge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-marie-macdonald/the-world-should-not-be-organized-to-require-heroines-and-when-one-is-2/) [Ann-Marie MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-marie-macdonald/) > [“I am burning. I have to live, I have to sing, I want to transform myself into a thousand different characters and carry their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-marie-macdonald/i-am-burning-i-have-to-live-i-have-to-sing-i-want-to-transform-myself/) [Ann-Marie MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-marie-macdonald/) > [“No one knows it yet, but Cape Breton is a dress rehearsal for the Great Depression.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-marie-macdonald/no-one-knows-it-yet-but-cape-breton-is-a-dress-rehearsal-for-the/) [Ann-Marie MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-marie-macdonald/) > [Hope is a gift. You can't choose to have it. To believe and yet to have no hope is to thirst beside a fountain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-marie-macdonald/hope-is-a-gift-you-can-t-choose-to-have-it-to-believe-and-yet-to-have/) [Ann-Marie MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-marie-macdonald/) [Explore all 60 Ann-Marie MacDonald quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-marie-macdonald/) ## More Space quotes > [There is something more important than any ultimate weapon. That is the ultimate position-the position of total control over Earth that lies somewhere out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/there-is-something-more-important-than-any-ultimate-weapon-that-is/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [“The global population of Earth are involved in the following corporate government experiments: The long term effects of - 1. Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [Plenty of white space and generous line spacing,and don't make the type size too miserly. Then you will be assured of a product fit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giambattista-bodoni/plenty-of-white-space-and-generous-line-spacing-and-don-t-make-the/) Giambattista Bodoni > [I don't want to go into space because of war. I think we would if it was triggered. If China said they want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/i-don-t-want-to-go-into-space-because-of-war-i-think-we-would-if-it/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/) [Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/) > [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [“lived his life in the middle, hovering in a space devoid”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-burris/lived-his-life-in-the-middle-hovering-in-a-space-devoid/) Doug Burris > [I have a way to photograph. You work with space, you have a camera, you have a frame, and then a fraction of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastiao-salgado/i-have-a-way-to-photograph-you-work-with-space-you-have-a-camera-you/) [Sebastiao Salgado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastiao-salgado/) > [There are some good space battles in some of the later series, but that wasn't why you were tuning in every week. You were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-d-moore/there-are-some-good-space-battles-in-some-of-the-later-series-but/) [Ronald D. Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-d-moore/) > [“We'll not only survive, we'll thrive, be positively alive with a little more space between us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-leland-taylorre/we-ll-not-only-survive-we-ll-thrive-be-positively-alive-with-a-little/) Robert Leland Taylorre > [While the people retain their virtue and vigilance, no administration, by any extreme of wickedness or folly, can very seriously injure the government in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/while-the-people-retain-their-virtue-and-vigilance-no-administration/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [The desire to fly is an idea handed down to us by our ancestors who... looked enviously on the birds soaring freely through space...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilbur-wright/the-desire-to-fly-is-an-idea-handed-down-to-us-by-our-ancestors-who/) [Wilbur Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilbur-wright/) > [Man will not always stay on Earth; the pursuit of light and space will lead him to penetrate the bounds of the atmosphere, timidly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konstantin-tsiolkovsky/man-will-not-always-stay-on-earth-the-pursuit-of-light-and-space-will/) [Konstantin Tsiolkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konstantin-tsiolkovsky/) > [“I dropped into a space narrower than a preacher’s mind. Claustrophobia”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-aquilone/i-dropped-into-a-space-narrower-than-a-preacher-s-mind-claustrophobia/) [James Aquilone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-aquilone/) > [The Next Generation Space Telescope, which will be located much further away from the Earth than the Hubble Space Telescope presently is, will also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-nicollier/the-next-generation-space-telescope-which-will-be-located-much/) [Claude Nicollier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-nicollier/) [Browse all 13,302 Space quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“As time went by, it mattered less and less that in 1969 a rocket went from Florida to the moon and men walked there. Good men. People's dads. Those were only events, scattered in time. Draw them close, rub them between thumb and finger till they look like larvae, soften like silk, distend to knot, to weave. It takes a village to kill a child.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ann-Marie MacDonald" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-marie-macdonald/as-time-went-by-it-mattered-less-and-less-that-in-1969-a-rocket-went/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Space" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-marie-macdonald/as-time-went-by-it-mattered-less-and-less-that-in-1969-a-rocket-went/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ace/ann-marie-macdonald-10978_space_as-time-went-by-it-mattered-less-and-les_2588190.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ace/ann-marie-macdonald-10978_space_as-time-went-by-it-mattered-less-and-les_2588190.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ace/ann-marie-macdonald-10978_space_as-time-went-by-it-mattered-less-and-les_2588190.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“As time went by, it mattered less and less that in 1969 a rocket went from Florida to the moon and men…” — Ann-Marie MacDonald", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ann-Marie MacDonald", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-marie-macdonald/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“As time went by, it mattered...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-marie-macdonald/as-time-went-by-it-mattered-less-and-less-that-in-1969-a-rocket-went/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-marie-macdonald/as-time-went-by-it-mattered-less-and-less-that-in-1969-a-rocket-went/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```