Free Preview: Playmate of the Month August 1968 - Gale Olson

STAR-SPANGLED AND STARRY-EYED an ex-army brat, August's out-of-this-world Playmate aspires to be an astronaut Twenty-year-old Gale Olson has lived in more places than most people her age get a chance to visit. At various times in her life, Gale, who was born in Oklahoma, has resided in Alabama, Germany, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Zealand and, currently, California. Says Gale, "My dad was an Army career officer and every time we were just getting used to a new place, it was time to move again." Her father, Major Theodore Olson (Ret.), fought in World War Two, Korea and Vietnam and accumulated a drawerful of medals. The Olsons, who now live in Costa Mesa, are a large, closely knit family. "Having six brothers and three sisters really teaches you a lot about sharing things, materially and emotionally," Gale says. Our August Playmate hopes one day to raise a family almost as large, but that won't come about until she first fully satisfies her penchant for adventure. "Last year I decided to become an astronaut, so I called the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in Houston to find out qualification requirements." Gale spent enough time being briefed on the phone by NASA officials to acquire four pages of notes. "So far, things are turning out fine for me," she reports. "NASA prefers prospective female astronauts to have a strong background in mathematics, my strongest subject." Miss Olson, who's attended Orange Coast Junior College in Costa M...