Gene Kranz is a class act any way you slice him. But so are 99.9% of those guys from that era -- Mercury thru Apollo .... and beyond....
I hate Starbucks with a purple passion, but was sitting in one near NASA one evening with a date when in walks the "other Gene" -- Gene Cernan. I recognized him instantly, and did my clumsy best to let him know it while trying not to look like a fawning drooling idiot. He sat down with us, and let on that it made his day any time somebody on the street knew who he was .... not for personal glory, but on behalf of the space program. I became an even bigger fan on the spot, learned a lot about him since, and can say now what I would've said right then: what a prince of a guy, talk about a class act! I couldn't care less about Hollywood actors and such; now THERE'S my idea of a celebrity!
(A week later we were back, and in walked Kay Bailey Hutchinson. Boy, you can't believe how tiny she is!)
Frank Borman went to our church when I was a kid, and I still remember talking to him in the vestry hall after Sunday services shortly after Apollo 8. I was nine at the time, and wanted so badly to ask "what was it like?" but knew it was an unanswerable question he was most likely utterly sick of hearing, so I resisted .... and have been proud of myself ever since for it. I remember him as a cool grownup that I always enjoyed talking to.
Ed White's daughters and my older sisters were "running buddies" in El Lago, where I was born in 1959. I still remember the trauma of Apollo 1 as a family tragedy event in our house. Too young to know much, I can recall thinking their mother was pretty, and continue to be haunted somewhat by what became of her.
In 2001 or thereabouts I went inside NASA JSC with a cabinet shop owner friend who did several jobs there, all of which have stories of their own to tell, and were driven in post-911 style by security nazis in a van. Before 911, you just drove in yourself in your own car .... dang, that seems like a million years ago all of a sudden. Anyway, they were chattering authoritatively to enlighten us knaves, and as we passed Rocket Park informed us that "Apollo 1 was the first moon landing". Yeah, this lowly woodworker corrected the white shirts in no uncertain terms that day.
I could go on................
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
"He states it is a big mistake retiring the space shuttle as that will end the space program for many years. Also I asked him about what his thoughts were on private space exploration such as Burt Rutan. Kranz wrote, "Burt Rutan when asked about private space exploration thinks its a mistake". hmmm 
Just that nothing ever really cool happens to me so this letter from him made my day.
I am sure someday we will be back in space. But our pioneer space men are aging and will pass someday. I hate to think about them leaving while our space program was off line. 
It is indeed a special moment for me. Kranz never went into space but I look at him as equal to those that did. He seen it all and was a great leader! 
