The Day I Met an Author
On Friday, June 19th I had the pleasure of attending a lecture at the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center by world-renowned Apollo author and historian, Andrew Chaikin. His presentation gave some fascinating glimpses into the personalities and experiences of the Apollo astronauts – having met and interviewed 23 of the 24 of them (Apollo 13 Command Module Pilot Jack Swigert had passed away before he began his research) for his book “Man on the Moon“. His presentation lasted only an hour or so, but I could have sat there and listened all night. One of my favorite stories was him giving partial credit to Neil Armstrong for his then recent engagement to his girlfriend (and fellow space enthusiast) Victoria. He said, “Introducing her to Neil Armstrong on our third date couldn’t have hurt!” After the presentation he was kind enough to autograph his books in the lobby – I got a copy of “Voices from the Moon and he wrote a very nice inscription. He was a very personable and funny gentleman. If you ever have a chance to hear Mr. Chaikin speak, don’t miss it!
A picture from the lecture. It’s a cellphone picture so I apologize for the quality.
