Echoes from Kitty Hawk

Wilbur, Orville and Buzz; Pioneers of Flight

Buzz Aldrin made a rare live appearance upon BBC Radio 4.  It wasn't a high -brow programme, more a  light comedic thirty minute interlude between the six o' clock news and a long running radio soap.  It filled a half hour of our time whilst Toot and I were driving to Norwich.  Mr Aldrin took an active part in the banter and with good grace completed his appearance alongside a random collection of minor celebrities from the British Entertainment Industry.  As long as I can remember, I have been risk averse and so courageous pioneers such as astronauts have always scored high in my pantheon of the great and good.

My grandfather once took me to see the former great world champion boxer, Primo Carnera who towards the end of his life and in financial difficulty had resorted to taking part in professional wrestling matches.  Even as a small boy, the sight of this huge man, once a world champion, being manhandled by a youth, half his size and age, in a make shift ring at  Maidstone Corn Exchange, was a very sad spectacle indeed.

Mr Aldrin thankfully, although out of place on this programme and in such lightweight company, retained his humour and dignity and I for one was thrilled to hear him speak. Its not everyday you can hear words 'real time' from the once and second 'man on the moon'.  It never much interested me as to which one descended the ladder first, I just thought the whole Apollo Programme was brilliant and probably one of mankind's finest achievements.  I'm not impressed by the purveyors of  'We never went to the Moon bullshit conspiracies'.  I have a memory that I read somewhere that Mr Aldrin once punched someone for promoting such a theory in his presence. I hope this is true and if it was 'Good on you Buzz'!

I then got thinking about his place in history and time and realized that my childhood was more or less the same temporal distance from Wilbur and Orville Wright as my grandchildren are from Buzz Aldrin's journey to the Moon.  Am I that old or does time and technology just come and go too quickly?

Credits for images: NASA and Wikipedia.