:
: a few postings further down the page, Allen
: mentions Chuck's interview with astronaut
: Wally Schirra, which appears in this month's
: edition of International Watch magazine.

: it is a fantastic interview -- the perfect
: blend of humanity and technology, watches
: and space, humor and serious discussion, the
: Moon and Mars. the interview is all the more
: notable in that that this was probably
: Schirra's last full-length interview, before
: he died this past Spring. it may also have
: been his very first published interview on
: the subject of watches and Speedmasters, in
: particular.

: I had intended to scan and post the interview,
: but I have been way too busy with work these
: last couple of weeks. If you live in the US
: of A, you should RUN to a newsstand to buy
: this July 2007 issue of International Watch.
: Here is a photo from the article, as a sneak
: preview (astronaut Charlie Duke, on the
: left, Chuck in the center, and Wally
: Schirra, on the right).

: Jeff

Jeff, there is no need to scan in the interview... I have a PDF of the last draft version before the article went to the printers. There is exactly one character wrong in this version... The "End Symbol"...

It is my intention to make public access the PDF of the International Watch version of the interview, an annotated transcript I compiled of the Interview in HTML format and if I can get the time and technological assistance to finalize it, an audio recording in .mp3 format [OK, the cat's out of the bag... I recorded Wally and my conversation on a pair of my iPod's... So when I have been saying the past two months that most people haven't heard the last from Wally Schirra, well, you all will be hearing him in his own words .]

However,while I work out these details, I'd like to encourage anyone interested in the conversation to visit their favorite local magazine rack and pick up a copy (or multiple copies, I'm not greedy!) of the July 2007 issue of IW ... The cost is $8 USD [ $10 Canadian, £4.50] and this months issue [mainly brown/bronze colored with a picture of Wally on the lower left side of the cover] comes in a plastic bag with a nice "Ladies IW" Summer 2007 companion magazine [100 pages] that you can give to the Wife, girlfriend or significant other [such a deal!]. The feature, my conversation with Wally starts on page 150.

When IW get's the sales figures for this months issue, they'll likely want to run similar features in the future. Then everyone benefits. This is the plan.

Then, hopefully by the time the next issue of IW hits the stands and you can't find a copy, I probably will have my behind the scenes work done and you'll be able to enjoy expanded coverage.

It is also my intention to put the conversation, transcript and recording in some sort of either Creative Commons or Copyleft license where people may freely use verbatium excerpts from the interviews in their own discussions, articles, etc. as long as the source is stated. I do not wish nor seek to restrict access to the feature, transcript or recording unreasonably after the issue of the magazine is no longer available on store shelves. I feel the conversation with Wally is one that will be of lasting interest to people. But I also wish to treat Wally's thoughts and words with respect in a way that honors him.

So I have to walk a fine line on this one.

I should also mention that I personally have had a tough time finding copies on the stand for me to give to friends, fellow collectors overseas [who have a tough time getting IW] and relatives. In fact, I have three Border's/Barnes & Noble stores within five miles of me and I've only found a couple of copies at one of the Borders and the B&N. So I wouldn't put off stopping by too long.

I hope everyone understands my motives on this one. It's a simple matter of "if you want content like this in the future, you have to buy it when it's available now".

Thanks for your understanding...

Chuck