'One Small Step ...'

What we were never told, those of us old enough to remember the anticipation, the drama, the pride was that when Neil took his giant leap for mankind (sic) it was not him or Buzz but the third member of the crew – Katie-Ann – that we needed to thank for making the whole thing possible. If not for her excellent navigation skills, her willingness to re-check the directions – provided by the women (yes, women) and men back at NASA - they would never have made it to the moon. The boys, too busy arguing about who should take the first steps, also missed the life-threatening problems with the spacesuits and Katie-Ann’s attention to detail, not to mention her mending abilities, saved all of their lives. Thus, for many, many reasons, if it wasn’t for the multi-tasking capabilities of the woman on-board the trip would have likely been abandoned or, if the men had managed to eventually find their way to their destination, a human and scientific disaster.

So, despite the surfacing of second-wave feminism and demands from women on both sides of the pond including those for equal education, job opportunities and pay Katie-Ann was not given a smidgen of the credit, or reward, that she deserved. Not that surprising really when nearly 50 years on from that the first walk on a planet other than our own much of the toy industry still markets along strict gender-lines. Which in turn sets the pattern for women to accept expectations of them to operate as emotional sponges in the home and the office whilst at the same time their double shift of labour in the factory and the kitchen is still often valued less than that of their male counterparts.

But, wait, this was not meant to be in any way a political broadcast. Yet, in telling a story that’s hidden from history it’s important that you dear reader understand the context.

So where was I? Oh, yes walking on the moon. And she did, walk on the moon that is, after Neil and then Buzz, following in the men’s footsteps like her sisters across time immemorial.

Sorry, sorry, I’m at it again.

On the completion of a successful expedition focusing on surveillance and collection the crew, well Katie-Ann if we’re being honest (and we are at long last), with some assistance from others back home plotted the route back to earth. Once on the way, and having some time to herself – the first moonwalker sleeping of the excitement and her other crewmate succumbing to man-flu – Katie-Ann begins to dream of home. She is looking forward to her own bed and a freshly cooked meal. Glancing back at the beautiful view – she knows that the planet appears this way more often than most of us think, even if the recognition that is so obviously her right is only forthcoming ‘once in a blue moon’ – Katie-Ann is reminded of another moon metaphor and she can almost taste the cheese soufflé that along with her other attributes and claims to fame (hah!) is one of her culinary signature dishes.

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NB: fiction of course except for the bit about the ‘hidden from history’ NASA women who helped with the mission http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/the-nearly-forgotten-story-of-the-black-women-who-helped-land-a-man-on-the-moon-a7283721.html