Airport Cafe

Jay Honeck concluded a great post with....
All the way back to Iowa City I couldn't help but ponder the strange
attraction that airport cafes have for the best of people, even for those
who no longer fly. In my experience, no other place is so imbued with
such
a powerful appeal for the doers and dreamers amongst us. And on this day,
at this time, we were made all the richer because of one selfless old man,
one beautiful old car, and our ability to let down our guard in the
natural
ambience and warmth of the airport cafe.


A truly great post, Jay. I grew up (still am, I guess) here in the wilds of
Southern California. The first 4 years of my life were spent at a small
little airport in Huntington Beach called Meadowlark, and on the grounds was
of course a cafe where you could meet people like you describe day in and
day out. The airport is now gone, though it lives on in memory and online
( www.l16.com ). One of the most colorful characters to frequent that
airport was a guy by the name of Ray Rice. He used to drive trucks, fly a
Tri-Pacer, and be in the constant company of his small dog, all of which
have since passed from his life. Looking at him, you might be a bit wary.

But if you had the fortune to know him, you knew he was one of the most
genuine, honest, and caring people in the world. If you wanted to talk about
anything aviation, he was up for it and probably had a half dozen stories to
go with it. He had a knack for getting himself into interesting, even
amazing, places - talking his way up to the tops of control towers during
airshows, rides in the Goodyear blimp, etc. Anyone who's been around Chino,
Flabob, Riverside, and other So Cal airports enough has surely seen him.
Chances are he had his trusty camera with him.

He passed away last December, having stepped off a curb too early to cross a
major street not far from our house. The last few years he didn't have a
permanent residence, but we were sort of his adopted family and he was
always welcome in our home. The paper listed the death of "an older man,
possibly a drifter." Oh if they only knew....


-Tony Goetz