Omega

Dr No
[Moderator Omega - Wristscan]
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Omega Speedmaster event, Part Two . . .

. . . after what seemed an eternity, the stage was cleared for a few photos of your correspondent with the principals. From the left, NASA expert Ed Buckbee (our moderator for the evening), host Greg Swift (President of Omega US), and Giancarlo Incalza, manager of the Beverly Hills Omega boutique . . .



Once again, I would like to express my gratitude to Giancarlo for extending the invitation, and to Greg for allowing Steve and myself to attend as correspondents for The Purists. The staff at the Omega boutique made us feel most welcome, and I was as impressed with the congenial manner of the staff as I was with their knowledge and professionalism. Ed was the perfect interlocutor, and elicited some wonderful stories and anecdotes from the astronauts. They took questions from the audience, and I was most taken by Charlie Duke's admission that the only terrifying moment of the Apollo 12 mission was when he fell down after trying to set the moon Olympics high jump record. Ed showed the film of Charlie jumping up and losing his balance, then falling down and having difficulty in rising up again. Just imagine: sitting on a ton of exploding TNT, flying thru space at unbelievable speeds, separating from the orbiting capsule, maneuvering the landing vehicle, walking in space, and the only time he's scared is when he falls and can't get back up . . .



. . . Charlie, you're the truest of heroes. General Tom Stafford told us, with a comic's timing, that the language requirements were by far the toughest aspect of Apollo-Soyuz - the astronauts and cosmonauts had to learn three languages to communicate with each other: English, Russian, and Oklahoma! I ain't no leader myself, but I know one when I see one . . .

g

. . . America was fortunate that you were given command of space missions, General.

Thank you, Omega, for bringing us these legendery men, and for being a part of the greatest venture of modern times. Most cordially, Art
This message has been edited by Dr No on 2007-11-09 00:55:08

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