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Ever stop to think how lucky we are?

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bigD

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 29, 2002
Posts
2,020
A little bit ago, I took advantage of some long overdue VFR weather and headed out to the airport to bore holes in the sky. After tooling around in the Duchess for awhile, I set her down at a small airport nearby and shut down on the grass. I spent about two hours sitting on the wing root watching a 152 and a Decathlon chase each other around the pattern. Anyway, it was one of those moments where you couldn't help but smile and take it all in.

Do you guys (and gals!) ever stop to think how cool it is to be so passionate about something? I used to think that everyone had their passions, and mine was aviation. But really, especially when looking at many of my friends - I think what we have is more rare than we might realize.

One friend recently told me that she didn't have any real passions at all, and was content doing what she was doing. This is a woman who by all accounts is brilliant, and could literally do essentially anything she could dream of. But yet she says she feels like she's destined for a life of mere contentment because she doesn't dream about anything. She works to not be unhappy. It's this conversation that got me thinking that perhaps I'm taking what I have for granted. It's just one of those moments where I realize that although I have a long way to go and the industry looks a little bleak at the moment, I always have something to work towards, and the process of getting there never fails to put a smile on my face. I'd bet that most of you feel the same way.

Okay, I'm done. Sorry for a post that doesn't have anything to do with anything - I'm in one of those moods. :D
 
Funny you should post this. I was thinking about this very thing yesterday. I think that those of us who can be predisposed to getting in the dumps about career prospects, could do well to take some VFR time and just re-discover the joy and excitement that first brought us here.
 
Last night....

I was just thinking how lucky I was last night flying part of my route BOS-PHL. It was CAVU, the lights of NYC were spetacular, the stars were beautiful, the boats in the ocean also looked like stars, and it was very, very peaceful.
 
I grew up in Los Angeles, and did a good amount of my training there. Usually the weather is clear with 5 miles in haze, but especially in the winter time there'd be days where the nights were cool, calm, and the visibility seemed to go on forever. I'd fly out to the Elephant Bar in Santa Barbara with my buddies, and on such nights at a high altitude (for a Warrior, at least), the lights just seemed to go on forever. It was amazing.

I'd love to go back and do some flying there, but I think all the FBO's and clubs that I used to be checked out at have since gone Tango Uniform.
 
This is still the best d@mn business in the world, folks ... let's never forget it! FlyChicaga hit the nail on the head ... most of us got in to aviation because we followed the same advice I got from my dad ... "Find something you love to do so much, you'd do it for free. Then, figure out how to earn a living doing it."

Perhaps we can all think about that in the middle of the next argument about scope, furloughs, or ALPA's latest sins! I'm not downplaying the seriousness of these issues, but I think too many of us lose sight of how fortunate we are to do what we do for a living.

Get the furloughs back in their seats, the swimmers in to class, and the rest of us moving on up ... but don't ever lose sight of the excitement we enjoy every time we call "positive rate".

I could have missed the pain, but I'd have had to miss the dance.

R

(Thanks to Garth for the shameless [no pun intended] ripoff.)
 
Flying - for its own sake

I haven't flown any kind of aircraft for several years. Still, most times, if I hear some kind of engine, I look up at the sky. Been doing it since I was a kid.

My office is a couple of miles away from a big GA airport. I go walking during my lunch hour. Invariably, I see bizjets, Cessnas and KingAirs. Heavies, 1900s, etc. from DEN. We live near a military field. At night we hear loud roars, undoubtedly from the F-16s. Who cares about noise abatement?

Too bad there's so much BS you have to put up with and deal with for flying to put dollars in your billfold. Of course, you can say the same thing about any job.

PS-Thanks, bigD and TDTURBO! Where is Dracos? I'd bet he'd have a great post to contribute on this subject.
 
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There's a golf course near our field, and when inbound for landing, seeing the folks chase the little white ball, I think, "You poor b*****ds."

Too each his own, but no other activity beats flying.
 
Man Bobby - why don't you go get yourself current again? Get a couple of hours of dual in a Skyhawk and you'd be all set! Or better yet, go buy a J-3. Or even better yet, go buy a J-3 and do some part time instructing! I've spent 7 months on this board reading your posts, and if I may be so bold - you need to be teaching again. :)
 

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