On 8/28/04 1:34 PM, in article _m3Yc.159179$sh.9794@fed1read06, "Darrell"
wrote:

Trying for an aviation career is somewhat like trying to be a rock star.
Because of the "glamour" of the job and the big bucks you can make it you
make it to the "big time" airlines, people are willing to work for peanuts
to have a chance to grab the brass ring. But unlike artists, pilots not
only have to work for almost nothing, they also have to first spend lots of
their own money to gain the experience and ratings necessary to fly for pay.

I'd say most artists spend more time learning their craft than pilots. I've
been drawing since I could hold a crayon and that doesn't seem to be
unusual. I remember drawing a caricature of my mother in the dirt as a kid.

It took a lot of money and time (I gave Uncle Sam 4 years in order to have
him to pay for college) to get to the point that people are willing to pay
me for my artwork, and it took a lot of experience (which cost me more
money) before I learned how to charge anywhere near what I'm worth.

But like flying, I can't begrudge a single moment of the work that it took
to get to this point. I have a talent that a lot of people envy and will pay
for, and it finances my flying. How many people have that opportunity?

It's a great time and place to be alive. I was born at a time in history
where piloting a private plane is (nearly) commonplace, the US lets me fly
virtually unrestricted, the internet gives me a global client base to help
pay for it, and technologies like GPS makes it so much safer and easier to
get from place to place I almost feel like I'm cheating when I use it.
--
Jeff 'The Wizard of Draws' Bucchino
Cartoons with a Touch of Magic�
www.wizardofdraws.com
www.cartoonclipart.com