Amerikai Magyar Hírlap, 2010 (22. évfolyam, 1-50. szám)
2010-05-07 / 18. szám
15th Annual FESTIVAL of BOOKS at UCLA Meeting Buzz Aldrin was a special treat at the Festival. He was a cutie and a ladies man (pictured left at the time of the Apollo 11 mission in 1969) and the second man to set foot on the moon (moments after Neal Armstrong). What does a man do for an encore after walking on the moon? - you might ask. Legendary columnist Pat Morrison (right, with Aldrin) asked all the right questions. would make it out of there alive. Another pirate asked him, “What’s your tribe?” He replied, “There is no tribe, I’m American! ” But the pirates were not content with the answer, not until he admitted, “OK, I’m Irish.” When asked about the “Stockholm Syndrome,” Captain Phillips said he never gave in to or felt sorry for the pirates, he remained strong and adversarial until the moment he was freed by the Navy Seals. He is certainly a fine role model for American youngsters, and his book, “Captain’s Duty” is definitely worth reading. Norman Ollestad, whose book is titled “Crazy for the Storm,” at age 11 survived a plane crash in which his father died. He told the audience how in his first panic he called his father’s name and pulled at his arms but got no response. He was in pain, and cold, and scared to death, waiting for someone to rescue him, and his father’s girlfriend who also survived the crash. Then the rescue helicopter came and went and did not see them through the heavy fog. That was the moment he realized he was on his own. When the fog broke up for a few minutes, he caught sight of a roof down below in the valley, and he decided to go for it. He, the 11-year-old boy, also saved the life of the woman who was with him. The third survivor was a Swiss-Italian journalist, Daniele Mastrogiacomo, long-time writer and war correspondent for the Italian daily La Repubblica. He was born in Karachi, Pakistan. An expert in foreign politics, he began working for La Repubblica in 1980 and has been a special international reporter since 1992. Mastrogiacomo reported on events such as police operation Mani Pulite, the Marta Russo murder and the Priebke affair. He has worked in Afghanistan, Iran, the Palestinian territories, Iraq and Somalia. In 2006 he reported on the Lebanon war. On March 5, 2007, Mastrogiacomo along with his translator, Afghan journalist Ajmal Naqshbandi, and an Afghan driver, Sayed Agha, was on his way to Taliban controlled southern Afghanistan after being promised an interview with a Taliban commander. They were kidnapped by Mullah Dadullah’s men. His book, “Days of Fear”, is about his captivity and ordeal in the hands of the Taliban. There was a video made of the three of them kneeling blindfolded before gun-wielding militants. It then showed Agha being beheaded. Ajmal Naqshbandi was also beheaded later on. The Taliban eventually freed Mastrogiacomo in exchange for the release of five Taliban prisoners (including Dadullah’s brother Mullah Shah Mansoor and other Taliban commanders). Most of those who were released in exchange for Mastrogiacomo were killed shortly after by a US-led action. After the session I said a few words of welcome to Daniele in Italian, and I congratulated him on his courage. I told him what a great Italian Department UCLA had. Day Two, Sunday April 25, also started in a leisurely way, just walking and looking and mixing with people. The highlight of the second day was Pat Morrison interviewing astronaut Buzz Aldrin at the L.A. Times open stage. He was the cute one, who in his day had affairs with Star Trek’s Grace Lee Whitney and Hart to Hart’s Stephanie Powers. Who would have thought that all his life he was fighting a fateful family inheritance: Bipolar Disease. His grandfather, his mother and other relatives had all committed suicide, and he himself was on a long downward spiral for more than a decade after the glorious days of the space walk with Neal Armstrong. Aldrin had straightforward answers for Patt Morrison’s and audience members’ questions. He thought the handful of astronauts who have been in space (24 in all, 18 of them alive) should talk among themselves before giving conflicting interviews to the media. According to him, there is not much cameraderie among them now. And views differ about the destiny of the space program which has been postponed indefinitely. In Aldrin’s view, we absolutely have to go to Mars, and not in 2023, because if we wait that long, the Chinese and the Indians will send a welcoming committee when we arrive. Children seemed to have enormous fun at the festival, so I will conclude with a few pictures of them. It was a great festival, and I am looking forward to the next one. SUSAN JANCSO UCLA is a perfect venue for the Festival of Books. Royce Hall, home of the language departments and the theater, dominates the view. CSPAN camps out at UCLA interviewing authors, making videos that you can later watch on Book TV This man belives, “All medicines are POISON” It’s always a pleasure to watch children read and have fun “La ci darem la mano” - a funny scene from L.A. Opera’s musical treat at the ETC Stage PHOTOREPORT BY SUSAN JANCSO Authors Hannah Dennison and Paul Levine take a moment to pose for the camera Május 7,2010
