I'm rereading the 1964 edition of J. H. Pollack's paperback on Gerard Croiset (1909 – 1980), who showed unusual psychic powers. "The Man Who Mystifies Europe" used his gifts to find missing objects, documents and people, repair machinery, and heal the sick, solve crimes. "The Dutchman with the X-Ray Mind" was one of the earliest "guinea pigs" of parapsychology and was the subject of Professor Tenhaeff at the University of Utrecht.
It's humbling to read what "the Miracle Man from Holland" did. It's more puzzling that some people are still so vehemently opposed to discussions and even mention of the things that Croiset and people like him have lived and died for. Totally baffling.
As I reread the life story of the man with the radar brain, an ordinary event in his life spoke most to me. It was in 1958. He was flying from Milan, Italy, to the Schipol Airport in Amsterdam. A heavy fog forced his plane to land in Brussels, Belgium. When the news of the landing was announced, "The Wizard of Utrecht" burst into a hearty laughter. The Dutch woman passenger sitting next him looked at him as if he were crazy.
"Why am I laughing?" Croiset asked the woman. "Here I am, the great Croiset, and I couldn't see that we wouldn't be able to land in Amsterdam!"
The author comments: "This ability to laugh at his own antics and to freely admit it when he is wrong are perhaps Croiset's most endearing qualities."
I'm still working on that.
It's humbling to read what "the Miracle Man from Holland" did. It's more puzzling that some people are still so vehemently opposed to discussions and even mention of the things that Croiset and people like him have lived and died for. Totally baffling.
As I reread the life story of the man with the radar brain, an ordinary event in his life spoke most to me. It was in 1958. He was flying from Milan, Italy, to the Schipol Airport in Amsterdam. A heavy fog forced his plane to land in Brussels, Belgium. When the news of the landing was announced, "The Wizard of Utrecht" burst into a hearty laughter. The Dutch woman passenger sitting next him looked at him as if he were crazy.
"Why am I laughing?" Croiset asked the woman. "Here I am, the great Croiset, and I couldn't see that we wouldn't be able to land in Amsterdam!"
The author comments: "This ability to laugh at his own antics and to freely admit it when he is wrong are perhaps Croiset's most endearing qualities."
I'm still working on that.
