RE: I remember when......
Getting up early to watch Sheppard, Glenn, and the rest of the Mercury 7 each time their flights came up, on B&W TV.
Seeing Harold Krier fly at an airshow, and finding out that dad knew him. Last part of his act was an inverted ribbon cut, and I've still got the piece of silk that stuck to his prop studs that he removed after he landed and handed to me.