Jimmy died. 76 years old, less than a decade older than me. My generation is mourning him…and my kids and I are mourning him. “Parrotheads” who were/are deeply into his lifestyle are mourning for reasons other than my family’s reasons.
“Margaritaville”, and “Why Don’t We Get Drunk and…..” are very well known. Buffett’s philosophical bent never was as popular. The album “Beach House On The Moon” had great philosophical truths….and humor.
Continue reading →Five decades. Fifty years. I remember Mother’s “50 year high school reunion”, which to me at the time seemed very odd…who wants to remember things from 50 years ago?
Continue reading →An odd combination of circumstances led to the trip. I flew a turboprop out to New Mexico, dropped the owner’s family off, and was headed home. Due to distance and time, an overnight stop was necessary.
Continue reading →Late in the afternoon, on my last load of the day, with enough fuel to safely make the trip, I headed north. The other SEATs had either had to stop for fuel, leaving them with insufficient time to fuel, get a load of retardant, and return to the fire.
The air was smooth. The smoke column was stable, and the ridge that we had been “painting” was acquiring its red coat along the spine.
Continue reading →She vividly recalls begging for airplane rides. Bubbly laughter, curly hair, skinny little legs. Best of all, she didn’t weigh much. West Texas in July was hot, density altitude was high, and the performance of the ancient Cessna 140 wasn’t stellar on a good day. Reduced weight was a bonus.
“Do it Again!” she would order….she still gives orders, and I still take them…. Continue reading →
Time had changed things. The once-vivacious personality had quietened. The sweetness had not faded. She leaned on my arm as I walked her down my sister’s drive, and she peered at the automobile with a bit of confusion. The car that she and my father had purchased less than a year ago sat waiting. It was the only car there….
Visibility, vis, or viz…matters not the label. You simply cannot see adequately.
ZZ Top (or at least, a darn good clone) came out of the trailer that serves as Base Ops.
“Whaddya think?”
Is this a trick question?
Continue reading →Yeah, you’ve seen the acronym…”BFF” (Best Friends Forever). Seems to be eternally popular among teenage girls. Consider…what *does* make someone your “best friend”…..Forever?
Late in my life, I found out… Continue reading →
For years I heard that expression. I always equated it with flying “in the soup” (in clouds, where you couldn’t see outside).
Smoke in California this year has changed that. Wildfires are widespread, and at times we have had active fires that we simply could not fight with aircraft, because of the dense smoke Continue reading →
The voice was cheery. “Xxx Aviation Insurance!”. You could hear the exclamation point. For many years, she answered the phone with the same cheerful tone. As my business with them increased, and my travels spread, she would conspiratorially whisper “Are you in the Witness Protection Program?” when I would call from a landline number that wasn’t familiar. My cell number would get an enthusiastic greeting by name.
Details were tiny “whack-a-moles” to be Continue reading →
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