faith can celebrate the goodness of God and the achievements of mankind. Regardless of how you believe the universe was created, it is there waiting for humans to explore.
Recently, Christina and I were talking about religious subjects and I surprised her by saying, “I think I may be an atheist.”
“I don’t think you’re an atheist,” Christina countered.
“You don’t? Why not? I’m certainly a skeptic.”
“Yes, but you also believe in a higher power.”
She had a good point. I’d seen numerous men and women find real strength and hope to overcome the strongest addictions by looking to a higher power. On the other hand, I’ve been all over the world, I’ve met people who hold to all sorts of religions, and I have encountered many diverse cultures. I’ve met good people in all walks of life. That has given me a different perspective on my faith. Who am I to criticize or demean anyone else’s religious beliefs?
I don’t go around giving testimony to my faith, and when anyone asks me about the Communion on the Moon, I tell them that I wanted to do something that was symbolic and something that was appropriate for the magnitude of what we had accomplished. The best way to do that was to encourage everyone to give thanks in their own way.
I am not afraid of dying, but what concerns me is that I might run out of time before I get everything done that I want to do. And there is so much more that I want to do! There are so many things I want to accomplish and people I want to impact. I’m not done yet. I have more to contribute. As a matter of fact, keep your eye on me; you ain’t seen nuthin’ yet!
SOMETIMES, THOUGH, THE LITTLE irritants in life create discomfort and distress. That’s why you need to learn to deal with them quickly, rather than allowing them to continue to bug you.
Several astronauts, including Gene Cernan, Tom Stafford, and I were invited to attend the 2012 Olympics held in London. Everyone was excited because the phenomenal U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps would be attempting to win unprecedented 16th, 17th, and 18th gold medals.
We were in a hurry, so I had to get dressed quickly, and as we piled into the van that would take us to the swimming pool arena, I noticed a pain in my foot. “Gosh, my foot is killing me,” I said to Christina.
“Are you sure you want to go?” she asked. “We can stay at the hotel.”
“No, no,” I downplayed the pain. “I’m all right.”
When we arrived at the Olympic area, our van driver dropped us off as close as possible, but we still had to walk quite a distance to get to the VIP lounge that Olympic officials had so generously provided for us. As we walked, I felt the discomfort in my foot getting worse, and said so to Christina.
“Well, stop for a second and check. Is there something in your shoe?” Christina asked.
“No, no, let’s keep going.”
When we arrived in the reception room, I temporarily forgot about the pain in my foot as Gene Cernan and I got caught up in a conversation about our “fighter pilots’ vision.” Over the years, my eye doctors had occasionally recommended I wear glasses to improve my vision. Instead, I had undergone four surgeries and other medical procedures to help my eyes overcorrect and counteract the normal effects of aging. As Gene and I were talking about it, Christina interjected, “I just don’t understand why you don’t simply wear glasses.”
Gene jumped in, “Oh, no, no! You don’t understand. We’re fighter pilots. We’ve had perfect vision for most of our lives. We don’t want to wear glasses now. I’m with Buzz on this one.”
I smiled. Gene and I had known each other since working on the Gemini and Apollo space programs, and I think this was the first time he and I had ever agreed on anything! Christina knew it was futile to further discuss any corrective lenses for either of us.
Soon it was time for us to leave the VIP lounge and head for our seats at the swimming competition. We watched several preliminary heats, and Michael Phelps won two more gold medals, and I still had the pain in my foot! Finally, after nearly four hours since I first noticed the discomfort, Christina convinced me to take off my shoe.
I gingerly removed the shoe from my foot and said, “Hey! I think there really is something