Former Westporter Explores Lunar Explorers

Basil Hero, a former Westporter who headed Positive Directions and an award-winning investigative television reporter, told the Westport Rotary Club today about his new book, “The Mission of a Lifetime: Lessons from the Men Who Went to the Moon.” (Grand Central Publishing, $22) Describing the 12 surviving lunar explorers as “The Eagles,” Hero successfully got them to speak out about their missions and how they changed them. He also interviewed others who have studied them, including former NASA flight surgeon and psychiatrist Dr. Patricia Santy. “They have a very low tolerance for bullshit. And they’re often very courageous in carrying it out,” she said. Santy added: “As an example, some of them call out senators and congressmen who wear the American flag on their lapels as ‘false patriots and self-serving jackasses.’ They remind us that courage, quiet patriotism, and conquering fear—the real “right stuff”—all emanate from deeper sources: a commitment to the common good, and belief in something greater than oneself.” (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com