Are we crazy, or just stupid?

Jay Honeck wrote:
I just returned from one of the hardest evenings of my life. Mary, my
kids, and I just attended the visitation for Blane Anderson, our
friend and fellow pilot who lost his life in the crash of a Spencer
Air Car (and amphibious homebuilt craft) last Friday, just west of
Iowa City. He was less than 20 minutes from home when his plane went
down, hard.

My sincere condolences as well. I won't try to expand on what others
have said, but from a practical point of view, I always hope that these
younger guys with kids have life insurance, because I remember when I
was young enough to need it it was difficult to get if you were a pilot.
If one had gotten a policy before taking up flying, that policy stayed
in force. If one tried to get a policy after starting to fly it was
nearly impossible, or one could get it with an exclusion for flying. At
one time I had a policy that wouldn't cover death in an airplane, but I
was covered in a glider.

A friend of mine recently suffered the death of his 93 year
old father. Hew died in his own bed, with several
generations of family present.

I told my friend, "Your father did not perish, he merely
died."



"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
ups.com...
| Charles Lindbergh said, "I decided that if I could fly
for ten years
| before I was killed in a crash, it would be a worthwhile
trade for an
| ordinary lifetime." He challanged the Atlantic on a
single engine and
| flew for decades. A few years ago a fiance of mine, a
young lady with
| two children, started out on a "riskless" 30 mile drive
on an
| interstate highway and did not survive. In our grief we
look for a
| reason. There is none except that death waits for us
all. We look for
| something or someone to blame. Aviation is easy to
blame, but
| aviation is not death. Aviation has brought life to
many, both
| figuratively and literally.
|
| Very well put, as always.
|
| Thanks, Gene.
| --
| Jay Honeck
| Iowa City, IA
| Pathfinder N56993
| www.AlexisParkInn.com
| "Your Aviation Destination"
|

Death is always an unwelcome intruder. I have 3 acquaintances who
have each lost a lovely daughter, 2 of them teen-agers, another in her
20s. One lost control of her car on ice; one was killed by excessive
speed while riding as passenger on a snowmobile; the third of Lupus,
an immune deficiency disease. Each family was devastated, and the
loss is irreparable.

Personally, my own life was at risk when the driver of a Toyota in
which I was riding as a passenger fell asleep at 70 mph, and
subsequently rolled over 3 times before coming to rest on the
shoulder. I was able to walk away from the car with only heavy
bruising. It would have taken only a culvert, bridge abutment, or
nearby truck to terminate my life.

In a sense, we all live on borrowed time. Knowing this, I accept the
risk of flying and enjoy life. I don't think it's either crazy or
stupid. I frankly feel safer in the plane than I do on urban
freeways, though that's probably an illusion.

The theme of this thread is that we should know the risks we're
willing to take on.

There's little doubt an hour in a GA airplane is more risky than an
hour in front of the TV, but the risk is quantifiable and to some of
us, acceptable. I don't subscribe to the notion that when our time
comes, that's it -- there's little reason to offer too much temptation
to that reaper or use that as an excuse for bad judgment..

We -- that is, most of us who read this newsgroup -- are luckier and
lead a more full life than many others. This lifestyle does us at
greater risk of an accidental death, and for many of us, more likely
to have lost good friends too early.

I know all of that, have experienced those kinds of losses, and still,
I'm happy to be at this particular dance. We chose to be here, we know
the risks, and I'm richer for having known some people these life
choices have brought close to me.

Jay, even now you'd likely say knowing this man was better than not
known him. Your grief is testament to that.










On Feb 6, 4:51 pm, "Paul kgyy" wrote:
Death is always an unwelcome intruder. I have 3 acquaintances who
have each lost a lovely daughter, 2 of them teen-agers, another in her
20s. One lost control of her car on ice; one was killed by excessive
speed while riding as passenger on a snowmobile; the third of Lupus,
an immune deficiency disease. Each family was devastated, and the
loss is irreparable.

Personally, my own life was at risk when the driver of a Toyota in
which I was riding as a passenger fell asleep at 70 mph, and
subsequently rolled over 3 times before coming to rest on the
shoulder. I was able to walk away from the car with only heavy
bruising. It would have taken only a culvert, bridge abutment, or
nearby truck to terminate my life.

In a sense, we all live on borrowed time. Knowing this, I accept the
risk of flying and enjoy life. I don't think it's either crazy or
stupid. I frankly feel safer in the plane than I do on urban
freeways, though that's probably an illusion.

"Mxsmanic" wrote in message
...
Steve Foley writes:

So far, I've only lost one friend to a crash. I have lost more in
automobile
crashes.

Only one friend lost to a plane crash? That's more friends
than I have

In addition to being stupid, you are rude beyond any question. Your
idiotic remark above is a blatant attempt at hijacking the thread. STFU....

"BT" wrote in message ...
::
: You cannot have a life, if you never leave home.
:
: BT
:


Well said, BT. There once was a book, Fate is the Hunter...

We are neither crazy or stupid. We love life and will live every day to the fullest. There are lessons to be leared all
the time, but we are not stupid if we learn from them.

I feel for your (our!) loss and wish there was an easy answer, but the only one I can think of is that life always ends
in death, and we all given time on this earth. It is what we do with that time that sets us apart...

Blueskies!

Dan D.

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Casey Wilson writes:

In addition to being stupid, you are rude beyond any question. Your
idiotic remark above is a blatant attempt at hijacking the thread. STFU....

It wasn't my post. Only digitally-signed posts are reliably mine.
And posts that contain spelling or punctuation errors are probably not
mine.

I take note of your tendency to jump to conclusions.

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--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

so what was the problem they had that kept them grounded for 5 days in route? what parts did they have to wait on and install to continue the trip?

"Casey Wilson" wrote:
"Mxsmanic" wrote in message
...
Steve Foley writes:

So far, I've only lost one friend to a crash. I have lost more in
automobile
crashes.

Only one friend lost to a plane crash? That's more friends
than I have

In addition to being stupid, you are rude beyond any question. Your
idiotic remark above is a blatant attempt at hijacking the thread.
STFU....

The post in question did not originate from Mxsmanic. Some nitwit thinks
they are being clever by posting forgeries.