A Real Buzz

I grew up with the Space Program. It was in the air we breathed in Houston and being so close to it all made the cartoon, The Jetsons, seem like a look into a future we would actually experience in our lifetime.

Recent news that my Space City hometown was denied one of the shuttle orbiters for display at the Johnson Space Center was dumbfounding.

Who in this wide world does not equate the Space Program with Houston? I am far outside of all the real and perceived politics of the decision, and do not wish to engage in that dialogue here. It just seemed the decent and obvious decision to grant one of these aircraft to the place that trained its astronauts, managed the missions and designed the craft and the program in the first place. A no-brainer.

Phew. Now that I have had my vent, I want to share another of my wonderful memories triggered by the shuttle's last flight. As a girl I used to wonder if I would bump into an astronaut as I moved around the city. Once I thought I had taken a phone message from Neil Armstrong! I did, but it turned out not to be THE Neil Armstrong. Sigh. Many trips to what we locals called "NASA" punctuated those years. But never an actual astronaut in the flesh.

So I had no illusions that anything would be different when we brought the kids to America for the first time, and to NASA for the first time. No real astronauts are there for tourists to meet.

Well, I was wrong.



Much to my utter amazement Buzz Aldrin was there that afternoon launching his (then) new book! We bought a few copies and then stood in line to get them signed. There was no way that our children, at 3 and 6, could appreciate the magnitude of the moment or the man they were meeting. Their conversation with him was brief and much like most he probably had with children coached by their parents. In fact, our youngest was much more interested in playing with the Buzz Lightyear figure that was on the table with Aldrin! (Yes, my research says that the character was, indeed, inspired by the astronaut.)

My husband, typically, entered into a brief engineering chat with him about something and I took photos of it all with our malfunctioning film camera. Why do cameras never work when you most want them to? I was shaking so badly that it is a miracle that we have any photos at all.

When I had a chance to say something to Buzz I had no tongue. In fact, I flatlined in brain activity. It was at least 10 minutes before I came out of my stupor.

In spite of my inabilty to speak and reluctance to take a photo with him myself, it was one of those wonderful moments deeply embedded in my memory. I had finally met an astronaut - and probably the most famous of them all! After all, it wasn't Neil Lightyear, was it?

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This layout was created with a range of kits from MaryAnn Wise, Little Feet Digital Design and Creative Memories. Sometimes it is just fun to mix it up! The rocket is clipart. The "Buzz" word font is "Showcard Gothic," text is "Complete in Him".