posted 04-03-2004 12:34 PM               

I met him a few years ago at his book signings. He was okay about doing books, but he a **** about doing a baseball. I think he's *****, and I personally don't like him. I met Armstrong a few times, and he ways always kind and respectful.

posted 04-03-2004 01:22 PM               

Gives a whole new meaning to the word "ungrateful" if you ask me.

posted 04-03-2004 01:42 PM               

I believe that the fact that extra attention is placed on the mission (Apollo 11) coupled with the fact that Armstrong and Collins have not sold items (at least the latter until recently) has drawn extra focus on Aldrin's sales. But when you consider that each astronaut was able to carry 5 pounds (or more) in the CM and 0.5 pound in the LM (or more), as well as keep personal items such as toothbrushes or expendable items such as checklists, that leaves a good collection of items for each astronaut.

Then when you consider that Aldrin, in comparison to some of his fellow astronauts, concerned himself more at the time on the cultural and historical implications of what they were doing, its not unreasonable to believe that he would be more inclined to keep items as he could. Some of the other astronauts to fly to the moon put less importance on the social aspects and therefore were said to keep very little, if anything from their trip.

As Tracy rightly identifies, Aldrin has done more to market himself in the years since the landing. That may have drawn the initial ire of some of his fellow astronauts, but ultimately he has been largely responsible for keeping the Apollo moonwalker in the public's eye. G.I. Joe action figures, television commercials and Buzz Lightyear might seem trivial in the scheme of things but has in fact balanced the relative lack of access to Neil Armstrong or some of the other men to visit the Moon on later missions.

That doesn't mean that NASA prepared Aldrin or the others on how to deal with the great public attention that they received after they arrived home. The Apollo 11 astronauts in particular splashed down into a lifestyle that was foreign to all three of them. For a while they were the most famous people on Earth and as such were expected to attend royal ceremonies, presidential gatherings, and countless other high society events that didn't coincide with their civil servant or military backgrounds and salaries. NASA supported these tours as long as it suited their needs, but that didn't mean the demands on the astronauts' lives stopped when they resigned from the corps. So, they each reacted differently: Armstrong protected his privacy, limiting his exposure; although unjustified, the fact that Collins didn't walk on the Moon allowed him to resume the closest to a normal life; Aldrin embraced his newfound celebrity but found difficulty melding the realities of his pre-moonwalk life and what had become expected of a famous astronaut.

posted 04-03-2004 02:54 PM               

Just wanted to add two things:

- Aldrin's signature fee is very high but this is related to the high level of demand that still exists today. Buzz himself is often portrayed as an extraordinarily greedy person, I do not believe he is like that. I was lucky to meet him last year and he signed graciously for free for me and many other people present, until he had to stop as people were asking again and again.. Of many other Apollo astronauts present, only Cernan was as accomodating.

- Maybe he marketed himself better than others, but his contributions via Sharespace and his other endeavours still bring a lot of light of the space program and the space industry. His books have had mixed reviews but having read all four of them I very much appreciated each of them (including the often-criticised "Encounter with Tiber"..)

I believe the amount of flack he has to face here and other forums is largely undeserved.

posted 04-03-2004 04:08 PM               

I'll give you that one, my friend. And I know exactly who you're talking about!

posted 04-03-2004 04:21 PM               

I agree with you for the most part. However, I do believe that the A11 astronauts did know that their accomplishment would make them "the most famous people on earth." Yes, each reacted in their own way, but each knew what would happen with such a flight.

The proof for this was the well known precedent with Lindbergh. He too was an aviation pioneer. In achieving the first solo flight across the Atlantic, he too became "the most famous person on earth." The astronauts were all very aware of this fact and each considered him a hero of theirs. In fact, the A11 crew were ecstatic when Linbergh ate dinner with them night before the flight.

posted 04-03-2004 05:52 PM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by Richard:
I believe that each understood what the historical significance was, and each understood the fame that would follow.

---

Richard, I agree that the A11 crew didn't come back to Earth completely oblivious to what was about to happen. However, I do not believe they were prepared for the reception either. Lindbergh's reception was large but I think even he would have admitted that the attention paid to the A11 crew worldwide even dwarfed his own fanfare.

Lindbergh attempted his trans-Atlantic flight to win a prize, in essence seeking the publicity. Armstrong and Collins were test pilots and Aldrin was an doctorate-level engineer. They pursued the limelight by becoming astronauts but I think they all expected to some degree to return to Earth and resume somewhat normal lives. For Armstrong and Aldrin (and to some degree Collins) that would never be possible.

posted 04-09-2004 10:48 AM               

Also I very much prefer Aldrin's approach of being accessible, selling his autograph, etc., to Armstrong's. I don't see anything wrong with him selling his items, and he does get out there and give the Apollo missions a voice and a recognizable face. And even though I don't necessarily agree with all of his prices, he does seem to keep the whole autograph thing in it's proper perspective, which is something most astronauts definately don't do.