From LONG ISLAND – by Ann Parry (ann-parry.com)
Sept. 26, 2025     

“You’re all, by the way, all astronauts. You’re on a spaceship called Earth. And we have limited resources. So we have to learn how to live and to work with those resources and other people.”   – Jim Lovell at Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex, July 27, 2004

On August 7, 2025, when I heard NASA astronaut Jim Lovell, the Commander of Apollo 13, died that day, it immediately brought back me back to when l had the incredible luck to attend his lecture at Kennedy Space Center twenty-one years earlier.

• VIDEO 1: Jim Lovell 2004:  In the beginning; “Lost Moon”:

Being at the right place – the space center – and time – the afternoon of July 27, 2004 – to catch Jim Lovell’s lecture is one of the most serendipitous points of my life.

My husband Len and I were on a cruise and had the choice to go either to Disney World or the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex that day. Of course, this space nerd picked KSC.

Garden City, New York, U.S. Sept. 25, 2025. An armrest from LM-7 “Aquarious” removed upon reaching Earth prior to re-entry is on display at The Cradle of Aviation Museum. It is the only remaining piece of the Apollo 13 Lunar Module. Plaque inscription: “A PART OF AQUARIUS, LM-7 RETURNED TO GAEC PERSONNEL IN APPRECIATION FOR A JOB WELL DONE. FROM THE APOLLO 13 CREW JAMES A. LOVELL, JOHN L. SWIGERT, FRED W. HAISE” (© 2025 Ann Parry/AnnParry.com)  

Soon after we arrived at the center, we spotted a big sign announcing, in words to this effect: 

Captain James A. Lovell , Jr., Commander of Apollo 13, is speaking here this afternoon, to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the release of Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13, which he co-authored with Jeffrey Kluger

Following the lecture, Lovell will sign hardcover copies – bought at the KSC Gift Shop – of that book, which the 1995 movie Apollo 13 was based on.

I could hardly believe it!

• VIDEO 2: Jim Lovell 2004:   Rocket Safety, Wernher von Braun:

We got on line early enough to get seats, thank goodness. As I remember it, the lecture hall was not all that big. But I could be wrong and remember feeling such an intimate speaker-audience connection because Lovell was so personable, so warm, so engaging.

I captured only parts of Lowell’s speech because my camcorder was low on something, battery power or storage space. So I’d record only a few minutes at a time. And, oh dear, yes, the handheld videos are shaky, since I was usually looking at Lovell, not the screen. 

• VIDEO 3: Jim Lovell 2004:  Vomit Comet Toilet Tests:

Jim Lovell’s 2004 presentation was fascinating, funny, thought-provoking. That helps explain why I’ve continued to think about it, and keep track of the videos of it, over the following decades.

But, because it was over twenty years ago, and I did not remotely inherit my father’s photographic memory, I don’t remember any specific details beyond what you yourself can enjoy when you watch the three videos posted here. 

Garden City, New York, U.S. Sept. 25, 2025. Apollo Urine Containers and Collection Devices, circa 1969, are on display at The Cradle of Aviation Museum (© 2025 Ann Parry/AnnParry.com)  

After Lovell’s talk, he invited us all to follow him out to the hall and over to the book signing area.

Our seats were near the aisle next to the door, so Len and I were one of the first ones behind Lovell.

But, unfortunately, I couldn’t take a place at the front of, or anywhere on, the line because earlier I’d decided to buy his book right after the lecture, instead of before it. (I figured that way I wouldn’t have to lug the hardcover book around before the lecture, and wouldn’t have to buy the book at all if we didn’t get into the lecture.)

That sad piece of penny-wise-pound-foolish bad judgment ended up meaning we didn’t have time to buy the book and then wait on the quickly growing line before it was time to get on the bus to return to our cruise ship.

But I was no longer heart-broken by the lost opportunity once I realized I was so much luckier to see and tape Jim Lovell’s lecture than unlucky to miss getting him to sign a copy of Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13. ∎

FEATURE IMAGE (at top of post): Photo-illustration created using photo of a “Captain James A. Lovell, Jr. March 25, 1928 – August 7, 2025” sign next to looseleaf binder visitors can write a message on, at Cradle of Aviation Museum. Garden City, New York, U.S. Sept. 25, 2025. (© 2025 Ann Parry/AnnParry.com) 

This page from the binder has messages to Jim Lovell from several Cradle of Aviation Museum visitors, including myself:

Garden City, New York, U.S. Sept. 25, 2025. The Cradle of Aviation Museum tells the story of flight. It honors the legacy of Captain James A. Lovell Jr. (1928–2025), the commander of Apollo 13. (© 2025 Ann Parry/AnnParry.com)

Cradle of Aviation Museum/Jim Lovell: my PHOTO GALLERY

Video Showcase – Jim Lovell at Kennedy Space Center 2004: vimeo.com/showcase/11826271

Cradle of Aviation Museum: cradleofaviation.org

James A. Lovell:  nasa.gov/former-astronaut-james-a-lovell

Kennedy Space Center: kennedyspacecenter.com

CONTACT ME

Garden City, New York, U.S. Sept. 25, 2025. A large sign with “Apollo 13: Houston, we have a problem” related photos, forms and info is on display at The Cradle of Aviation Museum. (© 2025 Ann Parry/AnnParry.com)