Encounter at van Gogh

image CC via wikipedia

Picture it, Amsterdam, Summer 2015, the upper levels of the van Gogh Museum near the famous Sunflowers surrounded by masterpieces of the 19th-century Dutch artist. Feeling tired after being in the museum for more than two hours I was searching for a place to sit and admire the paintings from afar. Moving to where the benches were located I realized all the places were full. Noticing that I was looking for a place to sit a white haired gentlemen for some reason decided to offer his spot on the bench to me. I thought this was a bit odd and politely declined. Instead of letting that be that he decided to begin a conversation talking about how he felt that the accomplishments of some painter were not nearly as important as his own.

That was my introduction to the late Robert Farquhar.

He then proceeded to tell me that he was famous also, and that I could find out all about him in the National Air and Space Museum. Of course he was pulling my leg just slightly, not that he wasn’t in the museum, he actually is, it’s just that he put on this impression of having a huge ego, which also seemed true, though in a pretty funny, over the top, way. You see Robert Farquhar was actually a rather famous, or perhaps, a little infamous NASA scientist. You remember the 1980s and all that talk about Halley’s comet and space probe missions to comets and asteroids? Farquhar actually designed those missions. It turns out he was probably the world’s foremost expert at navigating spacecraft around the solar system. He was even involved in the recent mission to Pluto. It turned out that he was quite a character and rather infamous for having ‘borrowed’ a satellite from another mission without telling anyone (he was too important to fire). I spent a good deal of time talking to Dr. Farquhar, sitting there in the Van Gogh Museum forgetting about all the paintings, during which time he encouraged me to buy his book, told me how Buzz Aldrin would call him up on the phone to argue and gave me one of his business cards, lest I forget to actually buy his book.

I told him he should be on Twitter like Buzz.

Anyway time was getting on and he said his young ‘girlfriend’ would be looking for him. Soon enough she appeared, her precise status being left intentionally ambiguous, and we parted company. I placed his business card in my wallet.

Today it seems to be a bit difficult to find a copy of his book which can sell for $160. I got mine for the usual list price.

I have a copy of Dr. Farquar’s book in front of me and, he’d be pleased to know, it really is a fascinating personal account of a journey through the space age.