Rest in peace - Sounds like the man had a great sense of humor. Talking about a Rorschach test during his psychological examinations: "I leafed through a whole series of them, and then the last...
Rest in peace - Sounds like the man had a great sense of humor.
Talking about a Rorschach test during his psychological examinations:
"I leafed through a whole series of them, and then the last one was a blank sheet of paper, pure white, 8 by 10," he said. " 'Here, so what do you see?' they asked. I say, 'well, of course that's eleven polar bears fornicating in a snowbank.' And I could see the examiner's eyes kind of tighten. He didn't think that was funny. He didn't like people making light of his card set. Anyway, for whatever reason, I flunked. The next year, (in the inkblot) I saw my mother and my father, and my father was slightly larger and more authoritarian but not too much more than my mother, and I passed."
There was also an Atlantic article about him a few years ago with some pretty funny quips from him too: And speaking of his books, in case anyone is interested in checking them out:...
While the memory of the mission remains vivid in his mind, one piece from that time escapes him: how he found out he’d be on it.
“I cannot for the life of me remember how I acquired this information, from Neil or Deke [Slayton, the director of flight-crew operations] most likely,” Collins wrote in his autobiography, published in 1974, five years after the moon landing. “But I feel like an ass checking the point. ‘Er … say, Neil, did you ever tell me I was supposed to be on your crew, you remember that one that went to the moon?’”
Before the launch, Armstrong and Aldrin got into a tense discussion one night in their crew quarters at Cape Canaveral. Armstrong had crashed the Eagle lander in a simulation earlier in the day, killing himself and Aldrin. The real maneuver was less than a month away. As the men argued, Collins gave thanks for the sole companion he would have in his module: the computer.
“Politely I excused myself and gratefully crept off to bed, not wishing to intrude in an interview clash of technique or personality,” he wrote in his book. “Thank god, in the CM there were only me and Colossus IIA, and if that son of a bitch mouthed off, I would turn off its power supply.”
Collins wishes people would ask him something else about his trip to the moon, something that he’s heard is one of the most common questions for astronauts these days. “I’ve never had it before—I’m not sure why—but how do you go potty in space?” Collins says. “I’ve been waiting for it, because the answer is: carefully.”
I would highly recommend Carrying the Fire by Michael Collins. You get to really see what kind of guy he was and is an incredible insight to the Astronaut program and space flight. As another user...
I would highly recommend Carrying the Fire by Michael Collins. You get to really see what kind of guy he was and is an incredible insight to the Astronaut program and space flight. As another user mentioned, he seemed like a funny, likeable guy. I'm saddened to hear of his passing, but he lived one hell of a life.
Rest in peace - Sounds like the man had a great sense of humor.
Talking about a Rorschach test during his psychological examinations:
"I leafed through a whole series of them, and then the last one was a blank sheet of paper, pure white, 8 by 10," he said. " 'Here, so what do you see?' they asked. I say, 'well, of course that's eleven polar bears fornicating in a snowbank.' And I could see the examiner's eyes kind of tighten. He didn't think that was funny. He didn't like people making light of his card set. Anyway, for whatever reason, I flunked. The next year, (in the inkblot) I saw my mother and my father, and my father was slightly larger and more authoritarian but not too much more than my mother, and I passed."
There was also an Atlantic article about him a few years ago with some pretty funny quips from him too:
And speaking of his books, in case anyone is interested in checking them out:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Collins_(astronaut)#Works
I'm so sad
I would highly recommend Carrying the Fire by Michael Collins. You get to really see what kind of guy he was and is an incredible insight to the Astronaut program and space flight. As another user mentioned, he seemed like a funny, likeable guy. I'm saddened to hear of his passing, but he lived one hell of a life.
NASA Press Release:
Statements on Passing of Michael Collins