posted September 21, 2004 09:00 PM               

My fiancee Kathy Karlin and I had the pleasure of meeting Scott at the recent Burbank show. At the Cocktail reception, at his table for Saturday dinner, and much good conversation at his signing table.

My hearing isn't what it used to be (too much time in factories) so I wish I could have sat closer Saturday night, but still wonderful.

Some general impressions: very trim and fit; extremely cordial, humorous,thoughtful, and polite; very focused; intelligent and articulate; a man of many interests and talents; a nice smile; a gentleman and a hero.

He signed my 1960 Post Slide Rule Saturday morning. It is always interesting to hear the astronauts of that era tell slidrule stories (although Rick Searfoss had a great one from the early 1970's-more later). Scott had fallen the night before, and had a big bandage and a black eye. I asked what happened, and he replied "someone hit me with a sliderule". Nice unforced humor.

He as well as many of the older astronauts were remarkably trim. I noted that of course they were in great shape when selected, but what did he owe his present stature to? Diet, exercise, genes? He replied with a twinkle, "all of them". Being reflective, he offered that while genes were important, he thought family was just as important as early lifestyle set good (or bad) habits that had served him well. I thought an insightful reply.

I asked in retrospect which was most satisfying and enjoyable, being an astronaut, or an aquanaut. He replied both, but I detect a fondness for ocean exploration. He could have joined Jacque Cousteau, and was responsible for much of NASA technologies, as well as new funding, to be spun to Navy Ocean Exploration in the 1960's.
He noted that he feels near future trends will be in nanotechnology, and additional ocean exploration and study. He was up on the astrounauts in the long term underwater habitat in Fla. The man has many interests and is current!

At dinner, we had an interesting conversation about the plight and demise of small ranchers in the West. I believe he misses the West of his youth, and why not?

A table guest asked what was his biggest impressions of the space program, after he was removed from the nuts and bolts of it. One facet he offered was how amazed he was in hindsight that basically everything went the way we planned it. Indeed! I must say I'd never thought of it that way. What a time that was; what great people we earthlings are when we are directed and focused. Lets do it again!

And finally, my apologies to Scott. Again! At the reception. I noted how much I liked the book his daughter Kris Stover wrote-"For Spacious Skies". He quickly and politely corrected me that they wrote it together. OOPS.

I'm very grateful for the chance for Kathy and I to have met one of my heroes from my youth-right up there with Hopalong Cassidy, and Roy Rogers, but a real hero, and still a hero to me.

THANK YOU SCOTT CARPENTER

[This message has been edited by STEVE SMITH (edited September 21, 2004).]

posted September 22, 2004 09:07 PM               

Carpenter was a peerless, if reluctant, coauthor. Stoever provided impetus and narration to an adventure story her father lived, and lived to tell.

But his (first) wife, Rene Carpenter was an equally peerless coauthor (uncredited except in the acknowledgments).

Rene drafted much of the material about the Project Mercury wives, recounted (and wrote about) long-ago events and historic conversations, and served throughout as brilliant editor.

Stoever was, in a way, only transcriber and senior editor for what Rene and Scott remembered about Boulder, Colo., their Navy careers, NASA, and the great men and women they met along the way.

They both performed the hard, exemplary work of serving their country.

Sometimes service of that magnitude means you cannot tell the story without help and encouragement. That help often arrives in the form of a ghost writer or a small-type coauthor.

Rene and Scott happened to have a daughter who could write and edit--and fight.

For their daughter pushed, and sometimes fought with, Rene and Scott to tell their important stories.

Carpenter is a thinker, pedant, word lover, punctilious speller, reader--and doting father. He gave his daughter-coauthor every freedom, every liberty in drafting the chapters. He dug deep and thought hard--and wrote.

Carpenter saved his coauthor from deeply flawed technical passages about early spaceflight. He overcame an abiding aversion to controversy and conflict to slay old lies.

At the beginning of the book project, Carpenter wanted to write only about his beloved Grandpa Noxon, and his own childhood, in Boulder, Colo.

In the end, Carpenter was able to do far more: he articulated his love of flight and engineering, addressed persistent questions about his spaceflight in 1962, and made a genuine contribution to the literature. But the most important contribution of the book? Discovering that his mother was the great hero of his life.

posted September 22, 2004 09:33 PM               

Having just finished reading their book I mentioned the part about his Grandfather's pocketknife.

A warm glow lit up Scott's face as he relived some memories regarding that knife. I thought I saw his eyes even water up a little. There is something about Mr. Carpenter that welcomes you and envelops you in such a warm way and gracious way.

I think at that time his body language suggested that he was ready for my friend and I to whip out some pictures to sign. Which I honestly had with me at that moment. But we simply thanked them both for their time, bid them goodnight, and walked away with something so much more valuable and memorable then some ink on paper.

------------------
Warm Regards

Douglas Henry

posted September 23, 2004 08:28 AM               

At first, I think he was confused when I gave it to him for examination. I said "See the birth date....May 24, 1949.....I was 13 years old on the day you made your space flight!"

A thoughtful few seconds passed and then the ever present broad smile returned to his face as he looked at me and said...."You really know how to hurt a guy!"