TLC'sbullsite: Buzz Aldrin

Originally we purchased tickets to FanX for Saturday only,because I didn't want JB to miss any school. It is hard for her to make missed days up, and I didn't want her to have to try and get all her homework done before she leaves for spring break. But then, JB entered a contest sponsored by Siegfried and Jensen, where she was to answer a few questions, and submit a paragraph explaining why she would want to listen to Buzz Aldrin. Honestly, since they were only giving out 200 scholarships for the entire state of Utah, I told her to go ahead and submit her entry, thinking she wouldn't be selected, and wouldn't have to miss any school, but making her feel like she had a chance.... Anyway, she actually was selected, and on Tuesday night we were notified that she had received the scholarship which gave her two tickets to hear Buzz Aldrin speak at #Fanx16 in S.L.C. on Thursday. I decided that this experience was probably a once in a lifetime opportunity, so I pulled her out of school and drove her to the city.

It was definitely worth it.

We waited for Senator Hatch and some other honored guests to be seated before Buzz was introduced,

Then Dr. Edwin Eugene Aldrin, Jr. took the stage. He didn't mention how he got his name, but stated that at M.I.T. he had done his doctoral research on how to rendezvous space crafts in flight. Little did he know that his work then would allow for events like the space shuttle docking with the space station to take place now. He said when he entered NASA they gave him the nickname "Dr. Rendezvous." Later, I learned from Wikipedia that the name BUZZ originated from his two sisters not being able to say "brother" when he was born, so they called him "buzzer." It was eventually shortened to Buzz, and he made it his legal first name in 1988.

He spoke of his early years at West Point, His 66 combat missions to Korea during the Korean war, and how he was not accepted to NASA on his first application because he hadn't taken the test pilot training. So he went to M.I.T. and did his doctorate instead. After his rendezvous work, he re-applied to NASA, who now recognized his potential "By this time I had a pretty good resume" and changed their policy to allow combat pilots and not just test pilots into their astronaut program.

Try another way. Never give up.

Finally he was accepted, and by luck of one of the engineers reducing the overall weight of the lunar lander, afforded him the opportunity to be the second man to walk on the moon. For him, timing is everything.

He showed us a photo of the first selfie taken in outer space, when he set a world record for the first 5 hour space walk.

He described how a broken circuit breaker was going to make it impossible for them to fire the booster engine arm in order to return to the lunar orbiter, but a little ingenuity and a plastic felt-tipped pen saved their lives. He stressed that even with the very best planning, and the very best technology, sometimes things happen that you didn't plan for, This is when you just have to do your very best to make things work with the resources you have available.

Try another way. Never give up.

He described how after the moon landing he became seriously depressed, and turned to alcohol. He realized he needed help. "NEVER be afraid to ask for help."

Try another way. Never give up.

He has been sober for 37 years.

He mentioned that the three men who took that trip to the moon had come home world wide heroes, but it would have never happened if the over 400,000 people, including engineers, cooks, even the seamstresses who sewed the space suits had not been able to work together.

He calls for the world to work together again,

Try another way. Never give up.