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Book Nook provides readers with insights into the world of books. Vick Mickunas takes you into the center of the publishing world with the latest book buzz, book reviews, and exclusive chats with authors..Home > Blogs > Book Nook > Archives > 2009 > February > 20 > Entry
remembering John Glenn
Don’t worry, John Glenn is still with us. It was on this date, Feb. 20, 1962, that John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth inside his Friendship 7 Mercury capsule.
About a dozen years ago I had the opportunity to interview John Glenn. He had written a memoir and I was able to book an interview on my radio show.
I have interviewed a lot of people and I’m way past the point of feeling nervous about it. Even so, I was very excited about this interview.
John Glenn was my hero for making that historic space flight 47 years ago. I was a fledgling stamp collector and the commemorative stamps that marked the event are still treasured objects in my boyhood collection.
Senator Glenn was scheduled to come in to the studio. I had prepared a special envelope with his stamps affixed for him to autograph. At the last minute I was informed that he would not be coming out to Yellow Springs to WYSO Public radio. We would be talking on the phone.
I’ll admit it, I was frustrated and a trifle miffed. I got over it quickly. Our interview was scheduled to air live on WYSO from 2:06 to 2:55. John Glenn called me right at 2 o’clock. Punctual of course. We had a chance to chat for a few minutes before we went on the air.
He completely disarmed me with his warmth and down to earth manner. We began our radio conversation by talking about his Ohio boyhood in New Concord and his memories of how he became an aviator.
We went over some of his experiences as a fighter pilot in the Korean War. Glenn flew in the same unit as Ted Williams, the Boston Red Sox slugger. Glenn described one sortie where he pursued an enemy MIG almost into Chinese air space. The MIG crossed the Yalu River and it was everything the young John Glenn could do not to continue his pursuit.
He remembered his days as a test pilot and his entry into the space program where he went through rigorous tests at WPAFB. Then we got to the really swell part, that Mercury flight that happened on this date in 1962. What a lucky man! He survived that flight in a glorified tin can!
He returned a hero. He met John F. Kennedy. Enjoyed ticker tape parades. Tom Wolfe wrote about those astronauts in THE RIGHT STUFF. They made the book into a movie. John Glenn gave listeners his take on the movie version of his life and the way that his fellow astronauts were portrayed, guys like the doomed Gus Grissom.
This man was being so generous with his time that day. We still had not talked about his career in the US Senate, his presidential aspirations, the S&L scandal, his return to space as a senior citizen….
I looked at the clock. It was almost 3 o’clock already! I mentioned to Senator Glenn that we were running short on time. We had so much more to talk about - where did the time go?
We just kept talking. The clock kept ticking. We bumped Garrison Keillor’s Writer’s Almanac. We covered up NPR News at the top of the hour. We pre-empted Fresh Air. At about 3:15 I began to feel slight pangs of conscience for rolling over the network.
But hey, I was talking to John Glenn. I was observing the phone console and nobody was calling in to complain. It was pure radio magic, a driveway moment.
John Glenn is a lucky guy. He met his wife Annie in the playpen when they were toddlers. He has led a charmed life ever since.
I feel blessed to have shared that conversation with him…
Vick Mickunas
Permalink | Comments (5) | Post your comment | Categories: confessions of a galley slave
Comments
By H. Lee
February 21, 2009 12:15 PM | Link to this
John Glenn is the real thing. I’ve always admired him. Iremember when he went up in space in his — was it his 70s? or his 80s? Anyway, my mom, in her 80s, was so jazzed by that. She really felt he was making a statement for all old folks. As I approach that age myself, I know how she felt. May he continue to live long and prosper.By Raoul
February 21, 2009 11:32 AM | Link to this
Something we all agree with at last. The AF Musuem also has a lot of cool stuff from the Gemini, Mecury, and Appollo missions. Those guys were brave, and I think the movie “The Right Stuff” rendered those days in great fashion. Glenn was a hero, a decent man, and good representative of the people of Ohio.By downsized
February 20, 2009 8:00 PM | Link to this
What a life list moment, Vick. Congratulations. And, “tin can” is right. On a visit to the Smithsonian I viewed the capsule and it was a jaw dropping experience. How did he even fit inside that thing, let alone perform the flight functions? Glad I was alive during his flight of glory, and thanks for relating the story.By vick
February 20, 2009 11:01 AM | Link to this
TRS, you have a good memory. I did have an interview with Congressman Kasich and he actually came into the studio to do it. While I might not agree with many of his views I will say that he is quite charming in person…By TRS
February 20, 2009 10:54 AM | Link to this
Scared me Vic - glad you clarified he’s still around up front. While I often disagreed with Sen Glenn on the issues, he truly is an American hero. Folks like him help keep differing views of political perspectives from bleeding over into some irrational interpretation that those we disagree with are somehow not good Americans, a conclusion the fringes on both the right and left express on occasion. I remember you paying a compliment about for Cong John Kasich one time and someone attacked him personally and I sure the same has happened the other way. Perhaps I’m not always as successful as I would like, but it does help me to keep Pres Obama in perspective, a good and sincere man with whom I happen to disagree with. I also believe Pres Bush was a good and decent man who tried his best as well.