Thread: Grumpy pilots?
View Single Post
  #6  
Old November 15th 04, 04:28 PM
Andrew Gideon
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Jay Honeck wrote:

In groups of our own kind, pilots are pretty gregarious, often waxing
eloquent (for probably too long!) about pattern entries and near misses.
Get us out of our groups, however, and we may appear to be sullen and
surly, speaking only when spoken to and often in clipped tones.


I think perhaps the sullen/surly comment is overstated. However, not
necessarily by much laugh.

I was at a party this weekend where I knew very few people. I was speaking
to the few I knew, which was okay, but...

My wife is extremely gregarious. She noticed a couple that appeared to know
even fewer people than I. So she brought them into our little
conversational circle. We chatted about various things for a while, and it
was nice enough. When we were speaking of childen, I mentioned that - as a
pilot - a significant factor in my life was getting my son in the air as
much as possible.

It turns out that the fellow was a pilot too. He and his wife had, in fact,
done some nice "trip" flying including from Oakland CA to Alaska. In a
172!

At that point, the conversation shifted completely for me. I was far more
verbose and expressive as we spoke of Garmin and XM, working on the
commercial rating, flying Alaska (sounds like a great trip, BTW), club
management, ownership issues (he owns his 172 and leases it to his club),
etc.

It was as if my party face fell away and my pilot face appeared. Kind of
weird, in retrospect.

- Andrew

P.S. I get the same way, FWIW, when discussing certain aspects of
software development. I suppose it's a matter of passion: conversations
on topics on which we're passionate bring out that passion and
excitement.