[Ads-l] Alan Shepard Quotation

[David Wilton]

"U.S.'s 'Baby Space Step' Recalled," Los Angeles Times, 5 May 1966, p. A3.
"At one point during a hold in the countdown, Shepard barked into his
microphone: "I'm cooler than you are. Why don't you fix your little problem
and light this candle."

Benedict, Howard, "Alan Shepard Set for Moon Flight," Austin American
Statesman, 5 May 1970, p. 17. "At one point during a hold in the countdown,
Shepard barked into his microphone: "I'm cooler than you are. Why don't you
fix your little problem and light this candle." [Yes, identical wording to
the earlier article.]

Wilford, John Noble, "Cape Kennedy Recalls 10 Years in Space," NY Times, 6
May 1971, p. 36. "There had been several delays because of technical
problems, provoking Captain Shepard to complain testily, 'Why don't you fix
your little problem and light this candle.'"

The communications transcript for Shepard's flight that NASA has put online
starts at liftoff, so that's no help.

-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of
Shapiro, Fred
Sent: Sunday, December 03, 2017 4:03 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: [ADS-L] Alan Shepard Quotation

I am trying to find the earliest documentation for Alan Shepard's statement
while waiting for his 1961 space flight to commence, "Why don't you fix your
little problem and light this candle?"  Any suggestions of early citations
or reliable secondary sources would be welcome.


Fred Shapiro




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