LESLIE MICHAEL'S APOLLO XI SCRAPBOOK
On this momentous Fifty-Year Anniversary of the Apollo XI launch, here is a note from Leslie:
Dear Readers:
Ever since President Kennedy pledged to send a man to the moon and bring him home safely, I have followed with great interest the incredible progress that America made in the space race, especially with the Apollo missions. It is therefore needless to say that I could not contain my excitement when Apollo XI was set to blast off on July 16th 1969 on its historic journey.
As a history buff, I did something exciting and interesting. I kept a scrap book that details all the information from July 09 1969 to the launch, to the lunar landing, to the Eagle—the lunar landing module's blast off from the surface of the moon, to hooking up with the command module and the safe return of the astronauts. Over the years, I regularly updated it. The scrap book is 11" x 14" and it is crammed with 60 pages of information from newspaper clippings and magazines.
During the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Eugene Cernan (both moon walkers) visited our beautiful city. Both graciously signed the scrapbook. This year marks the 50th anniversary of that historic event and it is exciting to read that Israel landed an unmanned spacecraft on the surface of the moon (Unfortunately it crashed on landing.) China succeeded in landing an unmanned spacecraft on the dark side of the moon. India is off and running in the space race and the United States has pledged to return to space by the year 2024—just five years away.
Mr. Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon and the richest man in the world, recently unveiled his new spacecraft "BLUE MOON" that is designed to fly passengers to the moon and Sir Richard Branson of Virgin Airlines is not far behind. A special mention should be made of Jim Chamberlin who was the first to realize that flying directly to the moon was not the best option. Owen Maynard, one of Canada's top aircraft engineers sketched early designs of the command module and is credited by NASA as the person most responsible for the lunar lander.
Americans and Canadians should be very proud of this historic event. Canada Post has issued a pair of commemorative stamps to mark the 50th. anniversary of the Apollo mission, highlighting the Canadian minds and technology that made it happen. Christie Auction is also having an item for auction to coincide with the 50th. anniversary of Apollo XI. It is the Operation Manual for the lunar landing. Their website shows a plain and simple manual and a page that has some diagrams, figures and notes.There is no signature of either Neil Armstrong or Buzz Aldrin. They anticipate that item will sell for a staggering sum of $ 7-9 Million.
My Scrapbook has 60 pages of incredible information and pictures and the signatures of astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Eugene Cernan—an item of great value. I have also included the Collector's Special Edition of "Man on the Moon". It has 32 pages and contains numerous, brilliant and colorful pictures of Apollo XI and its history-making journey. These pictures can be detached and mailed to friends, family and business associates.
Do pass this information to family, friends and business associates. Perhaps there is someone you know who might be interested in owning this as it will make a wonderful gift for someone. I am 82 years old. The scrapbook took 50 years of my life. I will rest in peace knowing that it will go to someone who will value and cherish it.
Man has always envied birds their wings and in the process of conquering the skies, they conquered outer space. The Moon, often referred to as Earth's silent partner, has always fascinated and beckoned him. Numerous songs have been sung about it, Lovers have swooned over it and even a cow jumped over it. Even though it roughly 248,000 miles away, so many young women have been promised it!
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The B.C. Catholic newspaper dated July 15th and and the Maple Ridge News dated July 19th provided Leslie with extensive coverage and both articles can be viewed via their on-line version.
Meanwhile, here is an interesting extract from the Sherbrook Record newspaper dated July 24th 2019 which featured an interview with Leslie by reporter, Christine Blanchette a TV host and producer of Run With It, a monthly show on running, fitness, health and lifestyle.
Author Leslie Michael Releases Apollo XI Scrapbook
Meet Leslie Michael, an established Canadian author and his first book "The Angel With A Broken Heart, published in 2010, is about ancient history. Michael, a history buff is excited to launch his Apollo XI scrapbook. In a Q&A, Micheal shares how his project began. Q: Tell us when did you decide you wanted to work on this project and how long did you take to complete it? A: I have always been a history buff. Ever since President Kennedy pledged to send a man to the moon and bring him back safely, I was hooked. It was a mighty big pledge, reaching for the moon. I knew it would take a tremendous amount of planning, dedication, imagination, innovation and hard work and eventually history would be made. As the launch of Apollo XI approached, I knew I had to have something as a memento of that great event—something that I could read and think about in my old age while I sat in a rocking chair. And so began my scrapbook. I just about read anything and everything that dealt with the Moon Landing mission. I pasted clippings and photos from newspapers and magazine from around the world. It starts from July 09, 1969 to July 16—the day Apollo XI was launched to the July 20th when the lunar module touched down on the lunar surface to the blast off from the moon to the hook up with the command module to the safe return of the astronauts. For the past 50 years, I have been regularly updating it. Q: What was it like to complete it and what was the feedback been like? A: The sensation I felt is best expressed as I stood in awe when Commander Neil Armstrong uttered the very first words from the lunar surface—words that for centuries, man only dreamed of: "Houston? Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed!" I was further blown away when I came to know that someone had put a placard on President Kennedy's grave that read: MR. PRESIDENT. THE EAGLE HAS LANDED." The feedback has been absolutely fantastic. Friends thumbing through the scrapbook that has 60 pages just couldn't put it down. Q: Tell us what can people expect to see in the scrapbook? A: People reading the clippings and scanning the beautiful and colorful photos will see a dream unfold. They will see the signatures of astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Eugene Cernan. Both men walked on the moon. They were visiting Vancouver in 2010 for the Winter Olympics held in our beautiful city and both of them graciously signed the scrapbook. They would see two men who studied and worked so hard to make a dream come true. They will see two seemingly ordinary men whose determination and dedication have paved the way for men—and women to venture into space and study our spectacular universe. Q: What do you want people to know? A: I want people to know that if they have a dream and if they work hard, be determined and dedicated, that dream will come true. The sky is the limit—or shall I say, space is the new frontier. Man has always envied birds their wings and what is absolutely startling is the fact that it took barely 70 years from the time the Wright brothers took their first flight to man walking on the moon!In addition to the scrapbook, I have included a booklet, "Collector's Special Edition" of Man on the Moon. It has 32 pages and is crammed with information and colorful photographs that can be detached and sent to friends.
And what's more, included in that Apollo XI scrapbook are legal documents that clearly state I own an acre of land on the moon! Yes, you read that correctly! A decade or so after the moon landing, a lawyer found a loophole in the International Agreement on Space. He came up with the brilliant idea to sell land on the moon. It was not intended to be a scam. It was meant to be fun, lighthearted and a conversational piece. Lo and behold, Harrison Ford along with the cast and crew of "STAR WARS" bought thousand of acres on the moon. Very soon, other Hollywood stars and even politicians bought them! The documents that came along with the purchase consist of (1) The deed that clearly states that I legally own that property. (2) A map of the moon that shows where my property is and (3) I own all the natural resources on that property. Heaven forbid if Sir Richard Branson of Virgin Galactia or Mr. Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon and the richest man in the world should land their spacecrafts on my property. They would be slapped with a fine that will be out of this world. As a footnote I should bring to attention that the company that sells land on the moon is still in business. They can be contacted at: www.moonlandingregistry.com
This Scrapbook, along with the Collector's Special Edition and the three legal documents are available for purchase by anyone around the world. If interested, I can be contacted at : Leslie Michael
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