Geary Schindel e-mailed and told me his story of meeting a lunar astronaut,
Harrison Schmidt, the only geologist who went to the moon.
Geary encouraged me to post about meeting Buzz Aldrin later the same night I
met Neil Armstrong.
About an hour after talking to Neil about the caving expedition to Equador he'd
gone on, I noticed Buzz Aldrin walking toward the open bar, so I got in line
behind him. I introduced myself and told him that I'd seen the news account
that had recently been on TV of the man ambushing him outside of a building and
screaming in his face that the moon landing had been faked. Buzz punched him
out. I told him that the guy had it coming, to which he said, "Yeah, well, I
wish I hadn't done it, Goddammit. It cost me a small fortune in lawyer's fees.
But it sure felt good at the time!"
Buzz also has a caving connection, He read Barbara amEnde, Monte Paulsen, and
Bill Stone's book BEYOND THE DEEP and is quoted on its dusk jacket.
