Magnificent Desolation_ The Long Journey Home From the Moon - Buzz Aldrin [63]
Wayne’s article was picked up in syndication and appeared in various forms in newspapers throughout the United States and abroad. The response was immediate and overwhelming. For the most part, the public cared deeply that I had not fared well following my return from the moon.
The Los Angeles Times article received such a stirring response from the public that Wayne and I decided to move forward on writing the book that revealed my experiences with depression, because I wanted to stand up and be counted as someone who fought the illness and had won. At that time I did not yet realize that the battles would keep coming, taking various forms, and occurring when I least expected them, and that the victories had to be won on a daily basis, with hard work and perseverance, rather than with a once-and-for-all “Get Out of Jail Free” pass.
Wayne’s story spawned numerous follow-up articles; the public seemed to want to know every gritty detail. Again, most of the newspapers ran the story as a positive statement about mental health. For instance, a headline in the March 4 edition of the Standard-Times (New Bedford, MS) read, YOU’RE A-OK, BUZZ, and quoted my rationale for coming out publicly about my experiences: “Maybe I can give some person somewhere the courage to face his problems by saying something about mine,” I had said. The article closed in a complimentary fashion:
No one could doubt the courage of the second man to set foot on the moon. But if other evidence was needed, then Buzz Aldrin stands all the taller for his revelations.3
The Toledo Blade took Wayne’s basic story and spun it more negatively, the headline reading, ALL IS NOT SERENE IN US SPACE PROGRAM. SECOND MAN ON MOON REVEALS STRESS, ANXIETIES CAUSED NERVOUS BREAKDOWN.4
In an excellent story run the week after the original article appeared, Wayne’s follow-up article included a tease about the book. “[Aldrin’s] story, part of it, was told in Sunday’s Times; he will tell more in a book he is writing.”5
Once again, the response to Wayne’s work was quite positive; clearly there was a market for a book. We signed the contracts with Random House to write the book while I was still living at Edwards Air Force Base. Wayne Warga and I would work together on the manuscript over the coming year.
BY THE TIME the kids had finished school in June 1972, Joan and I had packed up our belongings at Edwards Air Force Base and were ready to go. Moving is always an adventure—not necessarily a desirable one, but an adventure nonetheless. On June 3 we moved from sparse Air Force housing to our own home, a rambling ranch house in a “horse” community in Hidden Hills, California, on the west side of the San Fernando Valley, outside Los Angeles. A buddy of mine with whom I had flown in the 22nd Squadron while stationed in Germany during the summer of 1956 happened to be a realtor in Ventura County, and helped me with the purchase of this home, formerly owned by the L.A. Dodgers’ All-Star pitcher Don Drysdale. The house was replete with a white picket fence and a swimming pool, set on two acres of land dotted with orange trees. Our neighbor across the street was the actor and entertainer John Davidson. Despite the difficulties that had brought us here, this was a dream come true!
We had animals of every kind at our house, thanks to Mike, our family’s most broad-ranging animal lover. But since the community had been built with equestrians in mind, and our daughter Jan owned an Appaloosa horse, we installed a riding ring in front of the house. Behind stood a barn with two stalls, one for the horse and another for the chickens to roost in while they laid their eggs. We also had sheep, goats, and “rolling” pigeons, known for their amazing willful spins and dips while flying.
The pastoral tranquillity of Hidden Hills was a welcome change for me, especially since, during my last few months at Edwards, I was having occasional relapses