Buzz Aldrin Booksigning

I just happened to stumble on this bit of news, but was immediately intrigued. After all, how often do you get a chance to see the second man to ever walk on the moon?

As soon as I heard it, it seemed like something that I should go to take my son and see, just for the historical significance alone, if not for the excitement that, hopefully, he would feel for it.

Trying to keep this a surprise, we went about the trip to New York City's Strand Bookstore (one of my favorites) for the scheduled booksigning. I drove to Harrison, New Jersey, but was alarmed to find that there was a scheduled soccer game for the Red Bulls. Not that I mind the Red Bulls at all, and on some level, I still take heart in seeing the popularity of the sport in the United States. However, what that meant for me now, under these circumstances, was more expensive parking, and money was a bit tighter than I wanted it to be, following the vacation less than two weeks removed, and no paychecks received form my main job.

So, I had to go to Newark, and again, was surprised with just how much traffic there was. This was the first day of school for much of the state, although my son's first day would be the next day - today, September 9th, the day that I publish this, in fact!

Eventually, I found semi reasonable prices for parking, and then we were off.

We got to the 14th Street Stop on the PATH, and then walked to Strand, with my son urging me to slow down for much of the way. We picked up copies of Buzz Aldrin's Mission to Mars, one of the two books that he would be signing on this day, and then went back outside to wait on the line. While waiting, my son sometimes looked at the window displays for Forbidden Planet, a comic book specialty store (more or less for nerds, which I probably qualify as). He was particularly entranced by the life-size Terminator display, which looked real!

Finally, we got closer, and then we were in the building. There he was, signing books. Some people were trying to talk to him, but he seemed less receptive then expected, admittedly.

I was able to snap a few pictures (but really only these few), and then it was our turn. He mentioned that he was surprised that the booksigning worked this way, as he described it, leaving everyone out in the cold, as they waited for their books to be signed. I hoped that he would notice my son, but he did not. He looked briefly at him and went on to the next book.

Still, this was history. He is one of 12 men to have ever walked on the moon, and he was overall the second man to do so, and is the object of one of the most iconic photographs as such. 

This, to me, was a privilege. 

My son, however, seemed considerably less excited, and even told a few people that while we were waiting on the line. Sigh.

In any case, it seemed like an experience worth sharing, so here it is.

Here are some of the words that Buzz Aldrin had spoken, which I thought were appropriate to share for this blog entry:

When he first walked on the moon:

"Beautiful view. Magnificent desolation."

"I'd like to take this opportunity to ask every person listening in, whoever and wherever they may be, to pause for a moment and contemplate the events of the past few hours, and to give thanks in his or her own way."



Reflecting later on the prayer that he gave while up on the moon:


"Perhaps, if I had it to do over again, I would not choose to celebrate communion. Although it was a deeply meaningful experience for me, it was a Christian sacrament, and we had come to the Moon in the name of all mankind – be they Christians, Jews, Muslims, animists, agnostics, or atheists. But at the time I could think of no better way to acknowledge the enormity of the Apollo 11 experience than by giving thanks to God."