The Morning Call from Allentown, Pennsylvania • 10

A10 THE MORNING CALL, FRIDAY, JULY 16. 1999 33 i i i i if I jl JO i Jl i i ''If I Kk i 1 1 if Above, Neil Armstrong descends to the moon's surface July 20. 1969, as his lunar lander casts a giant shadow behind him. At right. Buzz Aldrin talks about his moon walk during a speech at the Richard Nixon Library Birthplace, Yorba Linda, Calif.

Associated Press 4 mi foe to taiic nn Somali step foB AiriTBistiroiniy woyld 30 years later, the first man on the moon is extremely reticent. By MARCIA DUNN Of The Associated Press CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. Neil Armstrong was standing at the pad where he blasted off July 16, 1969, watching the tower roll away from the soon-to-be-launched space shuttle Columbia, when a technician approached him. Would he kindly sign a photo? -After all, the shuttle worker explained, we're all following your dream. The first man on the moon replied he doesn't sign autographs.

The worker, irritated, walked away. 1 Ten or 15 minutes later, Armstrong went over, asked to see the photo and scrawled his name on it. The technician thanked him. But more than two years lat my territory but still managed to return to safety. He struggled to regain control of his tumbling Gemini 8 spacecraft in 1966 and brought it downearlv.

He ejected from a lunar-lander trainer in 1968 moments before it crashed in flames. And he was down to about 15 seconds of fuel, after dodging boulders on the when the Eagle landed July 20, 1969. "I can't offhand think of a better choice to be first man on the moon," Collins wrote in his 1974 book "Carrying the Fire." Sure, Gordon would have preferred to see his Apollo 12 buddies Conrad and Alan Bean be the first two men on the moon instead of third and fourth. But he acknowledges Armstrong "has to command a lot of respect for what he did and his capabilities." As for the 30 years since, Gordon said: "I make no judgment. Neil did what he wanted to do." "selling this and selling that, promoting this and promoting that." Armstrong surprised many when he threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Houston Astrodome in April.

Two months earlier, he introduced a singer at Italy's San Remo music festival. Aldrin was at the songfest, too. In response to the common question of whether he would have made a better first man on the moon from a PR perspective, Apollo 12's boisterous commander, Pete Conrad, refused to comment. "Come on. I mean, Neil's entitled to do his thing," Conrad, the third man on the moon, said in a recent interview.

Conrad was fatally injured in a motorcycle accident last week. Armstrong's loner status goes way back. His piloting skills, though, were unmatched. So was his cool. As a fighter pilot in Korea, Armstrong lost part of a wing over ene chooses not to," said Apollo 12's Dick Gordon.

"You can imagine what would happen if he started something like that. I mean, the poor guy would never have any peace of mind." Instead, that burden is borne by the Neil Armstrong Air Space Museum, in his home town of Wa-pakoneta, Ohio. "We just are bombarded weekly with requests for him, everything from 'Will you sign this for to 'Will you come to my son's Boy Scout, Eagle Scout said the museum's manager, John Zwez. Zwez wishes Armstrong, who has an office in Lebanon, Ohio, would drop'by now and then and mingle with visitors. Armstrong has no ties to the 27-year-old museum and has been there only five or six times.

"On the other hand," Zwez noted, "the fact that Neil Armstrong is quiet and reserved about the whole thing perhaps, is the better approach than going out there and couple Los Angeles companies. Michael Collins, 68, who circled the moon in the Apollo 11 command module, is skipping the banquet. He's retired in Marco Island, Fla. As usual, Aldrin is the only one of the three publicly reminiscing on this 30th anniversary of man's first moon landing. "As time has passed," Aldrin told the National Press Club in Washington last month, "I've come to understand that the true value of Apollo wasn't the rocks, wasn't the data that we brought back.

"It was the worldwide sense of participation, of people everywhere recalling where they were at that moment and how they shared in a human adventure that brought out the best in all of us." Fellow astronauts wish Armstrong also would speak out, but they respect his decades of silence. "I think there's a reason to tell the story. Neil has the capability of doing that very, very well. He er the encounter was in April 1997 it still irks him. "I can understand it if you were outside with a big crowd and everybody was bombarding you," the worker, who did not want to be identified, said in recalling the story last week.

"But I don't know why he's got so many hostilities when he's around the launch pad." Just days away from the 30th anniversary of his first step on the moon when he proclaimed, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" Armstrong is as reclusive and reticent as ever. While the 68-year-old commander of Apollo 11 has agreed to attend a banquet at Kennedy Space Center today, he will take part in no interviews or news conferences and give no autographs. He'll be joined by Buzz Aldrin, who followed him down the ladder onto the Sea of Tranquillity. Aldrin, 69, is pushing space tourism these days as president of a Republiqae fedtrale islaraituc C'omorex RC-publiqac fedirale isJamique dts Comores Republiquc ftfderalu islamiqiie des ans LWJ Prices fla All Communications! frC PC. 450 450 wWw.staplesxom Republiquc federate Republique federate Republique (federate Iskinique des Comores Lslamiqtie dos Comores islaiuiquc des Comores i nnrrm 1 Celebrate Popeye's 70th Birthday with New Stamps Free Guide, "99 Little Known Facts About PC 450 I 450 FC 450 Kepublique federale Republiquc federale Reptiblique lederale klaniique des Comores isl.imiqne klamique des Comores -1 I ERICSSON KH668 DIGITAL 1 I MULTI-NETWORK PHONE 3 iWVT .150 minutes of talk-time I i I .47 hours of stand-by time Includes 110 volt charger 4 OmnmaiB I and battery .1 1 routes tor JJ I 1 I II Power Cord.

SKU 376826. 4 jmW0mm'i Staples Price 29.99. 3 i ,1 I I MWfl aaMB ate (jted trademarks ot Omrupomt 3 Jl 1C. 450 FC.450 FC. 450 Popeye" Included Collectors race to get first official Popeye stamps.

u.o. stamps nave been issued in quantities greater than 300 million, these legal tender Popeye stamps are a Limited Edition of just thousands. It's no wonder collectors find them so irresistible," added Van Emden. i lire i I Toward Any Staples Purchase I "7 1 if; IMh.n CuThio Uonrfcotl tmmPK MOTOROLA LS550 PAGER I When T0U Buy THIS Handset! ITTTzT up to forty message slots I I I 1 Message time stamp I (SKU 390461) I Time and date display on I a I standby screen I r53 I I SKU 37921 8-Black 5 I I ra n- itouc- i rnlll95 Onepercustonwf. Not valid with any other oiler.

No ferN lv: 1 1 I cash or credit oadt. Please present coupon at time ot I I 1 li'Mi mmiiimhi i purchase. Coupon value does not include tax. Expires I qzi.a I W-Jj I'' i L722fl9. Coupon Value 25 00.

I I I a a i I No activation fee required. 1 oerKUarnw I Save Slot 1 1 Instantly with h(fifJ i every service V- ulliulplMlllrairPetai CallFonradaij you sign up for. i 1 Oittttetht (tinj Cat! Waitief 989 store for details! i-- 1 Owings Mills, MD The first ever Official Postage stamps honoring Popeye and his beloved comic strip family have been issued by the Comoros Islands. After 70 years of entertaining kids and grownups alike, Popeye's legion of fans and collectors snatching up this Limited Edition stamp set faster than Popeye eats a can of spinach. "To satisfy as many collectors as possible, we are limiting orders to a maximum of only 6 sets each," stated John Van Emden of the International Collectors Society, worldwide distributor of the stamps.

A Very Affordable Collectible Authorized and endorsed by Popeye, these stamps are recognized by every postal authority around the world. "His multitude of fans are delighted to see Popeye finally honored like this," commented Van Emden. "But these stamps are disappearing faster than Wimpy devours a hamburger. And it would be a shame tor any Popeye fans to miss out on this very affordable collectible." Limited Edition "While many highly regarded Little-Known Facts About Popeye 1. Popeye received a write-in vote for President of the United States.

2. In 1954, Mattel Toys created Popeye Jack-in-the box in which Popeye had popped out of a spinach can. Today, it is worth $175. 3. When the animation studio needed a continuing rival for Popeye, they chose Bluto, then the current "heavy" in Segar's strip.

4. Swee'Pea, Popeye's "adoptid" boy, was left for safekeeping on Popeye's doorstep by his mother on July 28, 1933. Of royal birth, Swee'Pea needed protection from an evil uncle. 5: Popeye had four nephews one-up on Donald Duck. Taken from the pocket guide "99 Little Known Facts About Popeye" which you get free with your order of these stamps.

Six Colorful Characters This 9 stamp block depicts the collection of Popeye characters that have amused us for seven decades: Popeye, Olive Oyl, Bluto, Wimpy, Swee' Pea, and Jeep. Each is about 4 times the size of a regular U.S. Postage stamp. First-Come, First-Served Just $9.95 plus $3.00 postage and handling, the complete set of 9 stamps is accompanied by an individually numbered ICS Certificate of Authenticity along with the FREE guide, "99 Little Known Facts About Popeye." All orders will be filled on a strict, first-come, first-served basis so please order early. For Fastest Service, Can 1-800-327-6469 Mail your check or money order to ICS, 3600 Crondall Lane, Suite 100APPG, Owings Mills, Maryland 21117.

For even faster service, credit card holders may call toll free 1-800-327-6)169. For Staples Store Locations Near You: Call 1-800-333-3330 www.staples.com SWUS artSTMTrCOmsuffRSTre STAPLES WILL NOT BE UNDERSOLD Our Price Guarantee Means If you find a lower price, anywhere, on a new identical item now or within 14 days of your purchase just show us the price and we will match it. SEE STORE FOR DETAILS lor typographcat enwt Visit us at: www.icsNOW.eom.