Moonwalker Honors the Man Who Was Left Behind

--Sixteen years to the day after Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin set foot on the moon, Armstrong was on stage at the National Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton, Ohio, honoring Michael Collins, the third Apollo 11 astronaut. Collins stayed aboard the spacecraft’s command module, orbiting the moon as his colleagues went for a walk on its surface. Armstrong, who took “one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind” on July 20, 1969, presented Collins for enshrinement in the congressionally chartered Hall of Fame. Armstrong, himself a member of the hall, described Collins as “a friend, colleague and man with whom I share a special memory on the 20th of July.” Collins, who opened his own aerospace consulting firm in 1980, became undersecretary of the Smithsonian Institution in 1971 and founded the National Air and Space Museum in Washington. “This is the best possible time in history in which to live, and the most interesting profession to be in at this time is aerospace,” Collins said.

--Members of the Kennedy family gathered in Hyannisport, Mass., to celebrate the 95th birthday of family matriarch Rose Kennedy. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy hosted the party, which was attended by many of Rose Kennedy’s children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Relatives began arriving early in the week from all parts of the world. Mrs. Kennedy, whose birthday is actually today, suffered a stroke in the spring of 1984 and was unable to participate in her party last year. But her health has improved greatly since then. She is now able to move about in a wheelchair and has occasionally been taken outside her home, a friend said.

--When the Benedictine nuns at the Convent of the Immaculate Conception in Ferdinand, Ind., get a case of dancing feet, they head to Madonna Hall to rock ‘n’ roll to the soulful sisters of the Convent Combo. “The music in church is for prayer,” said Sister Brenda Engleman. “But this,” she said, brandishing her electric guitar, “is for entertainment.” The convent is home to 280 nuns, and as many as 75 turn out for dances at Madonna Hall--named for the Blessed Virgin. The nuns recently boogied as the nine-piece band performed classics like “Jailhouse Rock” and “Wipeout,” the latter featuring a drum solo by 68-year-old Sister Mary Inez Mitchell. “Sometimes we think we have more fun than the audience,” said guitarist Sister Mary Frances Schafer, at 24 the youngest member. The band was formed four years ago to play at convent dances and parish picnics, Sister Brenda said. “A lot of us like to dance,” she explained, “and we decided we could entertain ourselves.”