Yesterday I attended the 95th birthday party for Maria von Braun (she is a neighbor), widow of Wernher von Braun, who died of cancer in 1977.
I had the opportunity to talk to his two daughters, Margrit and Iris. I, of course, mentioned scuba diving, and they both said they had been scuba diving in the 1960's as children with their father! Turns out he'd learned (double-hose) while on a business trip to southern California, and became entranced...diving in the Bahamas and Caribbean from his home in Alabama. Who knew?
They said a part of his fascination with being underwater was the weightlessness, which allowed him to experience a bit of what the astronauts felt....
Cool.
I had the opportunity to talk to his two daughters, Margrit and Iris. I, of course, mentioned scuba diving, and they both said they had been scuba diving in the 1960's as children with their father! Turns out he'd learned (double-hose) while on a business trip to southern California, and became entranced...diving in the Bahamas and Caribbean from his home in Alabama. Who knew?
They said a part of his fascination with being underwater was the weightlessness, which allowed him to experience a bit of what the astronauts felt....
Cool.
