Who's the most interesting person you ever met?

I met Gene Kranz on a Denver airport shuttle once, that was WAY cool!

Umm, I'll have to think about any others.

Jason

Originally posted by flying_silverad
Who's the most interesting person you ever met?

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I was going to say G.Harry Stine or Vern Estes,but the true answer is Phares Hertzog, even if none of you have heard the name. He was the worlds oldest living boy scout for decades and a long time professor of biology at Elizabethtown College and Kutztown University in PA. A true original who lived life his way, loved nature and Pennsylvania German culture, and influenced the lives of many young people.

It's hard to pick one (I find a lot of people pretty interesting).

For this crowd, I'd say Richard Feynman.

-- Jim

This is also someone that I doubt any of you ever met.

Bernard Stevens.

Who is he?

He was my ScoutMaster for Troop 4 in Milford, CT. Quinnipiac Council.

This was back when being a Boy Scout meant something.

This man taught me, along with my Father, what being a man really was. He taught me to love the forest. How to care for it. And how to survive in it.

5 years ago, he passed away. I remember when I heard about it. My wife was reading the paper, and there was a small article in it. I still have it. The article did NOT do him justice. I remember being so angry that they had said almost nothing about all the good he did. Then I remember that this is the way he would have wanted it. Quiet, and without alot of fuss.

I cried that day. For someone I hadn't seen in almost 15 years. And every time I think of him, I smile, and remember all the good he did.

~Bob

Red Skelton.

He was from my hometown in Vincennes Indiana. Every once in a while he would sneek into town. People would see walking on main street and just wave and say " Hi Red"

I was in the hobby store on main street in around 1975 or 76. Can't remember the name. I was buying model rockets by the way! Red walked in, Walked up to me, and said " Hi I'm Red Skelton. Glad to meet you. Whats your name? I answered and shook his hand. Then he said " I'll never wash my hand again" and then started laughing.

I talked to him several other times and he was always the same way. He always had a joke or something.

When I was a busboy/ Room service at the Execitive Inn in Vincennes I was sent to the room of Jane Kennedy to tell her she was an hour late for a speaking apointment at Vincennes University and waited until she got out of the shower which was "interesting", She had just poised in Playboy. But I picked Red because it was in a way rocket related.

I met the guys of GC. (Good Charlotte) I doubt anybody here has heard of them but they're my fav. punk rock band. I had to fake a sprained ankle to get into the medical tent, which was backstage. Met them all after the show, told them what I did---they liked it--got autographs. Man--have some tatoos!!

wow... *interesting* question...

Adm Grace Hopper from many years back

Several Astronauts (very kewl)
Several Presidents too (it's a New Hampshire thing... LOL)

the **most** interesting? Sorry, but I'm just going to have to name drop here and say Vern and Gleda Estes. Always a most charming and incredibly interesting visit when I meet up with them at NARAM (going to *really* miss them this year as it doesn't look like we'll make it down...)

I would say the most interesting person I have ever met would have to be Doug Hegdahl. An enlisted sailor who got blown off the deck of his destroyer, he was a POW in Vietnam. By pretending to be an idiot, his jailers gave him a fair amount of liberty to do such things as emptying honey pots and cleaning the courtyard. With his freedom of movement, he became a critical link in the chain of command, and was the only person authorized by the Senior Ranking Officer in Hanoi to take an early release when offered by the NVA. At his debrief, he was able to recite over 200 names of POWs memorized to the tune of "Old McDonald". I met him at SERE school, where he was a consultant.

And not to start a fight, but I think being a Boy Scout still means something, perhaps more than it did when I was a boy, since Scouting has remained basically unchanged in the face of an ever-more PC and permissive society.

Apollo 12 astronauts Alan Bean and Dick Gordon. Pete Conrad couldn't get the day off of work. We took them aboard the submarine USS Chicago (SSN 721) for a one day cruise. Alan did most of the talking. Dick would jump in to rib Alan about stuff. We also had their wives aboard. We, as sailors, were all VERY impressed with Mrs. Conrad. To say anything beyond that would be disrepectful and undignified.

God Bless the Boy Scouts.

well i wouldnt say she's weird...
but four years ago (I think). I saw the Queen when she came to victoria
didnt talk to her though,but I think she might have seen me

then again there is my family.....

Originally posted by flying_silverad
Who's the most interesting person you ever met?

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Steve Jobs

For me it would have to be airshow pilot Jimmy Franklin one of the biggest names in the industry, a great guy. Unfortunatly I'll never have that opportunity again

Larry

Steven Spielberg at the 1993 National Boy Scout Jamboree.
I also saw Estes preview a new and upcoming "E" size motor, looked great to a 17yo who had quite the Estes collection at that time(I wish I still had all my rockets ).

Gregory Boyington

Let's see...
Chuck Yeager
Dinner with Astronaut Story Musgrave
Dinner with Apollo 17 Astronaut Harrison Smidt
Jimmy Doolittle's wife and several of his WWII Raider's

Lady named Sandy ... she was SO interesting I married her.

Originally posted by wilsotr
Lady named Sandy ... she was SO interesting I married her.

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Thanks for blowing the curve! Now we're all in trouble at home.

Peter Jackson

I've met Robert D. Ballard he is the one that found the Titanic and the Bizmark. He was giving a speech about ocean exploration how he moved from been deep sea exploration to ship wrecks. Very interesting guy.

Bob Dylan.


bmhiii

Most 'interesting' would have to be Donald Trump; not respected or even liked, but he (and his hair) is interesting!

Man; Now that's a question!
After really thinking about it, I'm gonna have to go with my Dad Bill McCoy, an experimental model builder at NRL. Worked on Radar, sonar and a ton of space launch vehicles and satellites from building the grapefruits and fuel lines for Vanguards to loads of stuff used on many of the moon missions. Makes the head swim just a little now that I really think about some of the stuff seen first hand at the house

My grandfather Joseph Errico, he turns 100 in May. He still goes to work 6 days a week. My grandfather and my uncles run a photography studio that he started in the 1940's.

Musicians,I've met many
one would be,Ace Frehley

annother would be Billy Cox(bass player for Jimi Hendrix)
he used to own a pawn shop in Nashville , I spent over an hour talking to him about Hendrix.. very down to earth nice guy.

I think it'd have to be my grandfather. He was in the Home Guard during WW2, knows about everything and everyone in Kent, and is really getting into computers at the moment.

Phil

Gregory Boyington

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SecretSquirrel,

I agree he was an interesting guy. Never meet him, but know he use to have a spot in one of the tents at the Ohskosh airshow,( so did the Japanesse pilot that shot him down)he wasn't there at the time I walked through and I never got back there.
There is a website about him.

Larry

I think the most interesting person that I have met would have to be Burt Rutan. It was at the 2005 Burt Rutan Design Competition and I was the capitan of my team. I heard that Burt Rutan only does four appearances a year, and for this competition he was the overall judge for the design contest. This competition was had fourty high school teams from all over Colorado, and he picked our team as the winner. It was cool because I was only supposed to have a small amount of time to explain our design to him, but even when his "entourage" told him the time was up, he still was asking me questions about our design. He even said that, "we work faster than Lockeed." It was really nice talking to him because he understood exactly what I was saying about our design. We also got a speech from him about the future of space travel, and because my team took first place, we got money, and a medal, but most importantly, he signed our award, and I hear his autographs are kind of valuable.

It's a complicated question, because most people probably think who is the most FAMOUS interesting person you ever met.

Quite honestly, I would have to answer my great friend, Josh, a genius in his own right, or my father, Tim Davis. My dad spoke over five languages and was raised in East Africa. He did things that most of us only dream of.

Famous-wise, I would have to say Yo Yo Ma, Tan Dun, John Scofield.... mainly musicians.... it's my field.

I met a lot of interesting and/or famous people in college, in my position as a radio dj and program director. I know all the guys in R.E.M., and am on speaking terms with Pete Buck (but then again, anyone who bought a used record in Athens in the 70's was on speaking terms with him). I met Captain Kangaroo, and Buffalo Bob (in fact, I met him while we were using the facilities during an intermission in a presentation he was giving--in full Buffalo Bob costume).
William F. Buckley, jr., Tom Wolfe. Tom Waits, John Hammond jr., Bonnie Raitt, the Police, Robert Klein. Shaun Cassidy and his Playmate wife. Todd Rundgren, Vincent Gardenia (who cooked a gyro sandwich for me and lots of other people when he wasn't on the set), Bob Weir, Muddy Waters, Robert Fripp. Kristy McNichol and Tatum O'Neal (and though I didn't care at the time, Cynthia Nixon). I developed some rolls of film for Andy Warhol but didn't meet him. I met Bill Gates in 1990 and even had a short conversation with him. Oh yea, and Ben Stein and Buzz Aldrin in the late 90's. Buzz and I even talked about model rockets.

A friend of mine's father sat next to Von Braun on a plane back to Atlanta in the early 70's.

The most interesting person, however, had to be my girlfriend back in 1980. She was totally fearless; unflappable. We did a call-in talk show together. I was horrible, but she was perfect for it. Last I heard of her, she had just started a job moderately high up in Louisiana government before Katrina hit.