Category: Auto-biographical
-
A Lonely Cockpit
A LONELY COCKPIT I guess I can recognize danger pretty well. I bloody hope so anyway. Especially in Aviation. And even more especially with helicopters. The fact that I am still alive, having logged more than 10,000 flying hours in helicopters, aerobatic “stunt ” aircraft, open cockpit biplanes, and other somewhat oddball contraptions,.. in a…
-
A Blip on the Radar (Part 4) “Apples and Pears “
A Blip on the Radar (4) Our ship had once again put into the port of Wewak, on the northern coast of Papua New Guinea, to offload her catch onto a refrigerated container ship. I, faced with three or four days of leisure, had gone ashore in search of adventure, and maybe some fresh fruit.…
-
Diary (5) “A turtle stuck on a pole “
Diary (5) A Turtle stuck on a pole Nov 9th, 2008 Well, the elections are over, and Obama has won. I’m enthused. Not. I didn’t vote for him. But I didn’t vote for McCain either. I didn’t vote at all. Now before you accuse me of lethargy, and apathy, and tell me that it’s because…
-
Diary (4); “The Eye of the Hurricane “
Diary (4) THE EYE OF THE HURRICANE The wind howled at the night and pitiful humanity, and unknown hostile forces were beating on our walls and roof. The electricity had long since failed. If I peered out furtively through the curtains, past the improvised plywood shutters, I could vaguely make out sheets of rain intertwined…
-
A Blip on the Radar (Part 3) “Sunshine “
A Blip on the Radar Part 3: Sunshine Of all the human beings I have encountered on this planet during the course of my little life, the proud, the humble, the kind, the selfish, the arrogant and the meek, there is one man who occupies a special place in my heart. He was more than…
-
Diary (3) – “Dark skies approaching – again “
Diary (3) Dark skies approaching – again I stand nonchalantly under our front porch, provisionally sheltered from the first onslaught. The Louisiana skies are darkening ominously. A gray and black sheen is appearing in the distance now. It’s unnatural. And so was the eerie silence earlier on. That’s changing now, as the wind has come…
-
Sugarloaf Mountain
SUGARLOAF MOUNTAIN
-
Diary (2) “Suspects jailed in LSU killings “
DIARY (2) “Suspects jailed in LSU killings “ 5/24/2008 “Suspects jailed in LSU killings “. The Louisiana paper screamed the headlines. I sighed with relief. That particular murder had shocked even me. I’ve been around the block, Worked a few years in the Law Enforcement field, traveled and worked around the world, and I’ve seen…
-
Diary (1) “Over the waves, alone “
5/23/2008 Diary (1) “Over the waves, alone “ 500 feet… I can’t go much higher. I’d like to, but the clouds are too low. And the visibility sucks… I’m required to have three miles. As per operations manual specifications. Have I got that? Maybe. Just. It’s only marginal, though. And it’s hazy as hell. The…
-
Bird of Prey
Bird of Prey photo credit: Juan My confidence was growing. I realized that. I was actually even beginning to find time to look around during my free-fall. I was… almost enjoying it. Gone was that absolute “I’m going to DIE ” type of unholy terror. No, now I was just scared shitless in an ordinary…