Robert Indiana kept a series of illustrated journals during the late 1950s and 1960s, in which he discusses the development of his work as well as his daily life on Coenties Slip.

Indiana also frequently recorded current events in his journals, here he references John Glenn's historic space mission in which he became the first American to orbit the Earth. He writes:

"Missed [the] actual firing of [the] US spaceman, but tuned in on tv when he was in his second orbit and watched on and off, during breakfast and after, as his flight progressed. 2:43 splash. Astronaut Glenn lands a little off: 6 miles or so. . . . Those in Grand Central applaud when [the] news flashed that his craft had been put aboard [the] Noah—22 minutes [to] hear [that] he was safe. . . . The cake, model of [the] capsule [to] actual scale, is rolled out at Cape Canaveral. President Kennedy makes a speech on [the] lawn. . . . Our 69th space shot."

Indiana records that he created a drawing, American Fly, in recognition of the feat, and that the United States post office released a stamp (featuring the Friendship 7 space capsule) the same day. The journal page includes a partial sketch of the drawing, as well as a sketch of a small Eat, which he notes starting that evening after a visit by Ann Ferebee and a friend, both who reacted "pleasantly" to his work.