Superstar David Bowie’s tragic death this month took me back to the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing, the year I graduated from college and was launching my journalism and marketing career in Michigan.  “Space Oddity” was released as a single in July, the same month that the American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made history in space.  As tributes poured in, it seemed appropriate that Bowie’s early worldwide hit reflected his amazing creative ability to chart new boundaries in music and performance art, just as the astronauts fearlessly took on space.

As I listened to and read eulogies to the Starman all week, it triggered the excitement again of standing in a newsroom in 1969 and watching the moon landing with my colleagues. Anything seemed possible.  And what I didn’t know was that apparently Bowie became a lasting hero to many in the space program — and in 2013 Chris Hadfield, a Canadian astronaut asked Bowie to change the final lyrics to his famous song so that he could record a video in space.  Bowie agreed.  The video can be viewed on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaOC9danxNo

Finally, Bowie’s life is a reminder that we all can soar and change the world when we look into our hearts and act fearlessly. Above all, Bowie saw himself as a storyteller.  For more insight, read the eulogy at Rolling Stone at http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/david-bowie-dead-at-69-20160111#ixzz3xMRkBRdZ