Politics shares at least a little bit with baseball — at least in the sense that to get something done politically, you’ll occasionally need to rely on your backup. You see this in the theater, as well. Eventually you’ll find that the main player isn’t available for some reason, so an understudy will step into […]
An unexpected mentor
Sitting across the table from a distinguished looking airline pilot who is both youthful and highly experienced, I can’t help but reminisce about the old days. As we chatter away about scheduling, performance, weather issues, family, and mutual friends, I can’t help but remember that this is the man who taught me to fly. It […]
Malcolm, Heather, and you
Consider this brain-teaser if you will. What do Malcolm Gladwell, Heather Locklear, and you all have in common? Malcolm is, of course, the author of a bestseller “The Tipping Point.” Heather Locklear leapt into the national consciousness as a perky, blonde, ever-smiling actress in the 80s, and you’re already pretty familiar with yourself. So what’s […]
Mind your manners
Years ago when I was writing a weekly column for a local newspaper, a reporter asked me, innocently enough, “Where do you get your ideas from?” He meant well. As a reporter he wasn’t paid to be creative. His bread and butter came from being accurate. That was his comfort level and he did his […]
The big dogs came to town
As the political season heats up with candidates on the stump and spokesmen backing them or tearing them down on television, there is one message that is clear to many of us. We will never personally meet or have a substantive conversation with the individuals at the top of the ticket — not unless we […]
The unavoidable nature of ‘No’
If you’re going to advocate for general aviation, or pretty much anything else for that matter, you should probably get comfortable with the notion that you’re going to hear the word “no” from time to time. Frankly, you’re probably going to hear it a lot, so get used to it. Hate it. Get frustrated, annoyed, […]
Airshows, spectators, and the inimitable Fred Rogers
If you’re reading this post, you can be fairly sure that you’re an aviation enthusiast. You might be a pilot, but you might not be, too. Believe it or not, there are massive numbers of people scattered across the globe who are aviation enthusiasts, yet who don’t personally feel the need to grasp the controls […]
Bombing in Valkaria
Valkaria Airport (X59) lies on the eastern coast of Florida, south of the much larger Melbourne International, and north of Vero Beach Municipal, the home of Piper Aircraft. The non-towered, sleepy airport at Valkaria has no self-esteem problem, however. They’re small and casual and friendly and they like it that way. Social and civic organizations […]
The conundrum of community
We who write about general aviation have a tendency to use a particular term to describe the lot of us. It is fairly common for us to describe the collective bunch as “the aviation community.” The intent is to bond us together, at least in the reader’s mind. And in many cases the term is […]