As a film director, Rick Stroud - author of The Book of the Moon - has worked with celebrities all his life. He admits that it has been many years since he was last uncontrollably star-struck. But on July 4th 2009 Rick hosted the Buzz Aldrin event at the London Literature Festival and found it: “as exciting as if I had been a child.”
“When I met Buzz backstage I thought that he had the film star aura of another of my heroes, the American actor George C. Scott. Buzz looks and sounds a bit like Scott’s portrayal of General Patton, I had to suppress a desire to salute him, military style.”
The event, which took place at the Royal Festival Hall, saw 2,500 people show up to hear Buzz share his Apollo 11 memories. “I went on to the enormous stage of the Royal Festival Hall basking in the reflected glory of being with Buzz Aldrin, a man who, in the writing of my book has become a hero,” Rick recalled. “I did my short talk about the moon and Buzz’s forty year journey back from the moon. Then Andrew Smith, author of Moondust: In Search of the Men who Fell to Earth, came on to introduce Buzz and it struck me for the first time how strange life’s coincidence’s are. It was a chat at a party about Andrew’s book that had taken me into two years of blissfully writing The Book of the Moon, and led to me sitting on this enormous stage.
“Two wonderful things happened on the night. During the interview Buzz looked at me and indicated my clothes. I had chosen my wardrobe with actress care. A black crumpled linen suit, light blue linen shirt, open at the collar and black suede slip on shoes. Buzz was wearing a punchier blue suit, shiny black shoes and a light blue tie. He looked organised, together, glamorous, the rocket man. He had a gold Apollo 11 mission badge as a tie pin and a gold moon ring with a discrete diamond star set in it. (Mrs Aldrin was in the audience wearing a gold necklace, made of tiny moon faces.) Buzz looked across at me and said, ‘I wish I was dressed as a writer.’ I blushed, Buzz Aldrin just called me a writer.
“Then the second marvellous thing happened. Buzz suddenly said ‘And there’s one person on earth who really understands the moon’s magnificent desolation.’ I said, ‘Who’s that, is it you Buzz?’ and he replied, ‘No, its you, Rick Stroud, in your book, The Book of the Moon.’ I wasn’t collapsing with delight any more, I was levitating. Thank you, Buzz, for a great and life enhancing evening.”
To read more about the event visit: http://authorsplace.co.uk/rick-stroud/
