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who walked on the moon in 1969, is no has-Bean. Even though he retired last month from NASA, Bean still ranks as a man of the moon. His self-appointed mission: to paint lunar landscapes. A 20-year dabbler who once imitated the apples and oranges of his favorite painters, Cezanne and Degas, Bean switched three years ago to moonscapes. His works, featuring black sky, gray ground and American lunar craft are a spacy combination of impressionism and realism. So far, he has finished six such oils and plans a show for next year. Snaps Bean: "I want to be known as the definitive Apollo painter."
From the bidigital look of things, his typing speed may fall short of Competitors Ann Landers and Dear Abby, but make no mistake about it, Representative Claude Pepper, 80, is really keyed up over his new advice column, syndicated to some 700 newspapers. Since he is also chairman of the House Select Committee on Aging, Congressman Pepper's "Lonely Heart's Club" banter will deal with the concerns of the elderly. But like any columnist worth his salt, Pepper will spice up matters with advice to the lovelorn. Asked one reader: "I am 74 years old, a widower, and am seriously considering marriage to a woman who is 68. We are curious to know whether a lot of people our age get married." His reply: "They sure do. In ,1977, there were 21,180 brides and 38,820 grooms over 65. For 90% of these, it was the second marriage." Taking note of
Muriel Humphrey's decision to wed High School Friend Max Brown (both over 65), Pepper nodded cheerful approval.
Concluded he: "Good luck to them. Good luck to you." For now at least, Pepper shakes off any notions of retiring to devote his full energies to his new vocation. Says he: "I contemplated retiring, and I sort of tentatively fixed a date—the year 2000."
Everybody seems to be buying a gun for self-protection, even some convicted criminals. Consider the case of E. Howard Hunt, 62, who served 33 months in federal prisons, was fined $10,000 for his role in the 1972 Watergate break-in at Democratic National Headquarters, and is now living in Miami Shores, Fla. As a felon, Hunt is barred by law from owning a firearm. The former CIA agent appealed last April to state authorities, telling them he wanted a shotgun to carry on a family tradition —hunting. Last week, the writer and sometime lecturer also declared that he needed a gun to protect his home. Pleaded Hunt: "All of my neighbors are armed. Everyone I know is armed." Before making an exception to the gun-ownership law, Governor Robert Graham had to know if a firearm had been involved in his crime.
Hunt disarmingly assured him that his conviction was not for burglary but merely for conspiracy to intercept telephone conversations. The Florida cabinet decided to show him clemency, and the Hunting license was granted.
For 24 years he was called "Father," but never just "Dad." Last week the Rev.