Just wanted to share what I thought was a cool story. Today I was able to meet Alan Bean from Apollo 12. The company I work for was doing some work for Alan, and I had the opportunity to meet him at his house and chat with him for a bit. He's a well-known artist now and has many paintings of himself on the moon, and of various memories he has from the space program over the years. He's an incredibly nice man, and was generous enough to show me around to look at his paintings and other models and artifacts he has laying around. I have to admit that hearing him casually talk about walking around on the surface of the moon, and his friendships with other astronauts, is pretty trippy. Someday these guys wont be around anymore, and it was a honor to be able to talk with him for a bit.

I was wearing my -74 speedy, and showed it to him. He was looking it over and reminiscing about his that he used to have. Funnily enough, he flipped it over and began reading the "Flight-Qualified by NASA" case back, and had no idea that was put on the Speedmaster case back post-landing. Haha. I found it funny that he didn't have a clue.

Otherwise, he's a very kind and attentive man. Incredibly sharp in his old age and seems as busy and productive as he's ever been. On my way out, he sat down and signed a photo for me. I'm sure he's given out thousands of these, but none-the-less, I find it pretty special.

 

Great story. Thanks for sharing. Peire06

 

Wow! So cool! Thanks for sharing your experience with the rest of us

 

Haha. Never was much for the mission watches. Which one is that, btw? I didn't know of an Apollo 12 edition.

More like I need to go out and get a 145.012-68!... I think that's what he have had, anyways. I should probably grab a 145.102-67 & a 145.022-68, just to be safe.

 

That's awesome. Thanks for sharing the story. I would really like to meet Buzz Aldrin and have him signed his picture in the LEM with the Omega Speedmaster. But Buzz these days is close to impossible to chase down, and wont do any signings outside of private events and specialized signings (books only).

 

Fantastic story and picture. You’re very fortunate, and so correct - these guys won’t be around forever (and many are already gone).

 

What a neat story. Growing up during Apollo, I've always been fascinated with the history of the program. I've heard that Alan Bean was one of the more humble, approachable and "all around nice guys" among the handful of men who made the moon landing. I've seen several interviews with him, and he always seems very humble and downright giddy (after all these years) that he had the honor of being chosen a part of mankind's greatest adventure.

So cool that you got a chance to meet him!

 

Awesome story, thanks for sharing it. Meeting Mercury/Gemini/Apollo astronauts has also been a highlight for me. These men are something special, and you feel it when you are in their presence.

@jakeh417 Having met with Buzz several times, I can tell you he is pretty cantankerous, so you may want to pick a different astronaut

 

Thanks for sharing. That is indeed very COOL!

 

Shame to hear Buzz is like that. I guess he is as old as the hills and so may simply be down to that. I think the term used back in the day was taciturn. It is a shame for him, he was in the right place at the right time to get the chance to make history, I am sure there are thousands of people just as, if not more, capable who would have taken his place at the drop of a hat.
I hope he finds his inner peace when away from the public glare.