Not About Airplanes

[Joe Patterson]

Wisdom –Acceptance-Patience

 

This BELOW, is MY VIEW, and I realize it is a view NOT shared by all………. But…………

 

I was at the airport today, and was able to watch a few groups of pilots without being noticed. I was reminded of this Forum Group, and Others Like it. I thought of what a boastful and sometimes arrogant group “Pilots” can be.

 

There is a little group of the “REALLY COOL LOOKING” Pilots, wearing Pilot-Shades, Leather Pilot-Jackets, and standing quite to themselves. I thought they were like little boys, playing “PILOT”. When a Lady(My Pilot friend) walked by, their faces lit up, they all stared, slapped each other on the backs as they pointed at the lady by nodding their heads towards her, quite openly. I also have noticed in the past this same group of Pilots, has only time to acknowledge each other. They need each other, to validate themselves.

 

I remembered a few weeks ago, several young (20ish Year Old) Pilots standing just outside a hanger, that had an Experimental Hot-Rod inside, as two young gentlemen were pulling it out. These guys weren’t wearing the “Pilot Garb” but they were indeed, all about looks and power. You could almost hear their eyes roll back, when the Fireman-Part Time Airport Manager, issued a warning about the winds over the mountains. I was being given the tour of the “Job to Come”. The older Fireman/Airport Manager, was wise enough to continue walking, and let the KIDS do what they were going to do.

 

Being pretty much a newbie to Aviation, all the pilot arrogance and attitude is a fresh perspective. It is not unlike the “Fisherman”, or the “Hunter” that I have been associated with in the past, Just another group of “Peoples”. Social Beings making their way through “The Maze Of Life”.

 

I have a few Mentor Pilots, that I sometimes expect everyone to model themselves after.

 

One of my Mentors (Richard Nichols) is an Ex-Vietnam Fighter Pilot/ Delta Pilot, both Passenger and Cargo………a very kind gentle soul. A bit arrogant, I am sure at times. I figure he has “Been There and Done That”, to about anything I could come up with. But Richard always has time to be uplifting. Richard has accepted himself, and has given Himself validation. He never disagrees with the “Young KID Pilots”, to their faces and in front of their “Buddies”. He understands the Social Implications. He WILL pull you off to the side and talk quite openly about the Mistake you are fixing to make, or the Mistake you just made. I have listened to him and NEVER walked away thinking, “He sure is full of himself”.

 

I should stop after the one mentor, as this seems to have turned into a “Short Book”. I hope to model myself after Richard a bit more………TO have more PATIENCE, and to be more ACCEPTING of the different “Social Needs”. I suppose that being able to handle these situations better, would mean I have gained “WISDOM”.

 

Oglala Lakota Proverb:

The First Peace,

Is that which comes within the Souls of Men

When they Realize the Oneness

With the Universe and All its Powers.

[Joe Cygan]

Joe,

Don’t ever change who you are just to fit the “scene”. There are too many followers following the followers. Aviation is full of them!

[John Slade]

There are all type out there, Joe. In the pilot world, just like any other.

 

"Non Illegitimus Carburundum"...

i.e. Don't let the bastards grind you down.

[Joe Patterson]

Whip out the Crystal Balls, and fire up the "Sage Blessing Smudges".

Out here we believe in Kharma, and we see Auras. We believe in the Dream World, and learn from it.

 

I am really into Spiritual & Cosmic Energy. I can not fly in a plane that has "Negative Energy". I do not allow "Negative Energy" in my home, I cannot allow it in my plane. I cannot allow anything but Positive Energy in something that I create.

 

Plenty of times I have chosen not to go with someone, or to eat with someone, or to fly with someone......Simply Because I tuned into some Energy that I didn't like the feel of.

 

Some of you have been VERY KIND , I do appreciate this. I would hate for anyone to be discouraged about building a Cozy. It is a Fine aircraft. To be different I will call mine a Jo-Z...........I vow to be always kind to builders.

[marbleturtle]

I'm planning on making mine a few inches wider, so I was thinkin Fat-Z, Comfee-Z, or King Kozy which would be stealing someone else's idea.

 

Heck, I even thought about Bree-Zee... but that was when I thought an open cockpit might be interesting. I know, I have issues.

[marbleturtle]

One other thing Joe...

 

In my more impetuous years, when I would get bothered by others, my Father would tell me the Crab story.

 

Do you know why you can leave a big pile of crabs in an open tub without worrying about any of them getting out? If you sit and watch them for a while, its easy to discover why. The fish market will pile them all up in a big metal tub so deep that they are just inches from the rim. Slowly, one or two will start to make a move. They will start to climb up the side, or maybe climb up on top of others and reach for the highest point. But something strange happens. If a crab starts to get close to the top, the other crabs will grab him and drag him back down. Maybe one of the crabs who pulled back the first one will make his move. When he does, the other crabs in turn will pull him back down.

 

Instead of working together to achieve a simple goal, it seems that crabs think that the only way to get ahead is by pulling others down.

 

Now I like to think of this place as a school of whales. We work together to achieve a common goal. Each of us by ourselves can continue on the journey alone, but we enjoy each other's company and work better together.

 

Just because we run across a few ugly crabs along the way, doesn't mean the ocean is a miserable place.

 

My $0.02

[Spodman]

Cliques are part of human nature.

 

My main form of transport is a Triumph Sprint, which I rode over some fantastic mountain roads for 3 hours to visit a Cozy builder last week. (Had a great time, talked for hours and did a lay-up). On such roads there are plenty of bikes out on a Saturday, either riding or drinking coffee, and they're all in packs.

 

It's a bit like those strange 3d pictures of endless waterfalls. The Jap bike riders look down their noses at the Euros. The Euro bike riders look down at the Hogs. The Hog riders look down at the Jap bikes. Everybody ignores the trail bikes.

 

And it all gets left in the shed on Monday when they're punting the Toyota to work to rubber-stamp stuff...

[Joe Cygan]

Joe,

I want to fly with you man. I mean I really want to fly with you.

 

Marbleturtle,

Dude your hanging on too tight. Why don’t you and I go get a beer.

 

Spodman,

Could not of said it better.

[marbleturtle]

Alcohol interferes with my Lithium. ... oh, and I have a Yamaha R1 but its for my anti-social moments. I ride with no-one.

[Joe Cygan]

You really have one of those thirty-thousand dollar R1's? Use to have a FZR1000 w/slide carbs.

Best therapy.

[marbleturtle]

$30k? Over here they're only $14k! Maybe its because when you ride around here, AL, and TN in a Harley, people cheer and give you the thumbs up... when you ride a rice burner, people boo and throw rocks!

 

I suppose the demand is less here than in Southern CA.

[Joe Cygan]

...I’m sorry. I was thinking you had the super import 2 stroke Honda R1. I like that bike and when I hear R1 I automatically think of it. You have the YZF R1, right? Super bike!

 

It’s funny you mentioned the Harley thing. It’s not as bad here but similar. If only those guys riding those hogs knew that the Harley’s coming off the production line today have more than 20% Japanese parts on them today.

[Joe Patterson]

I am not a victim, and he is not a predator.

Let us not condemn only one man, everyone can be more considerate. I feel there is a direction of frustration directed towards one Individual. This time I feel, it is Mr. Z. It is ,sometimes, that we do this, to lessen the burden we ourselves must bare. He did not prey on me, and I am no victim.

 

Marc, gave his response to my question. In that response was something of merit, and there was also something that I thought had NO MERIT. I quickly pointed out( so that all may see) that while you may wonder if someone did their "Homework", and you may think it your duty to assure they do their "Homework"........... it is a waste of your time and mine to defend such a position in reference to my question.

 

We should all take into consideration that we KNOW NOTHING about the day to day life of the person we are responding to. The person we are talking to could have very easily lost their mother the same week, and never mentioned it to you. It could be they come here for brotherhood , alone. The human soul is fragile. The pressures on a man are the accumulations of all things, not the last straw.

As both Mike/Dust and Marc have said, You can build this plane without anyone else. At the risk of being called a "Fruit-cake" or a "Free Loving Hippy", I come here for Brotherly Love. Let me share this..........................

 

A Salish Elder underlines the role of Love below:

Love is something you and I must have. We must have it because our Spirit feeds on it. We must have it because without it we become weak and faint. Without love our self esteem weakens.Without it our courage fails.Without love we can no longer look out confidently at the world. We turn inwards and begin to feed upon our own personalitties, and little by little WE Destroy Ourselves.

With love we are creative. With it we march timelessly. With it, and with it alone, we are able to sacrafice for others.

 

Ok, I Love You, My Brothers.

[Joe Cygan]

Joe P.

Dude, your starting to scare me!

[marbleturtle]

Actually, I wasn't picking on Mr. Z this time. I see the same thing here and other places as well. Too many people are quick to tell new builders with questions to just go look up the answer in the archives.

 

Well I'm not sorry if their mother didn't get the bunny they wanted as a child... that's no excuse to be rude. Material and Engine technology is changing yearly. Electronic Technology is changing even faster. Every quarter we get a newsletter with some recommended changes. I see no problem with giving a new builder an answer to a question even if it has been answered 100 times already in the archives. The 101 answer may be different.

 

Oh... and I think the motorcycle your talking about JC is the Honda RC51. Fast bike but power modulation too abrubt to work through a corner smoothly.

 

Okay, now I've said too much.

[LargePrime]

I think...

I think this is also about personalities and trust.

 

I find that alot of people arent asking the question they are asking. They are asking if someone will help them. It doesnt matter if there is an answer to the question. They desire an answer to "is someone their to help?" Helping them begets trust.

 

This isnt a forum of a bunch of children crying for help. It's about real people seeing if other real people do this sort of thing.

 

Some people do this and some dont.

 

Thats about as far as I got with that idea.

 

I dont come here much anymore because of the Newbie abuse. It turns my stomach.

[Joe Patterson]

M.T.

I did not mean to imply you did, Just didn't want it to go that way.

 

L.P.

 

I Agree.

[Joe Patterson]

I don't know where it is best to say this.......so I picked here.

 

About Chuck-The-Dogs, P.S., .that I responded to , quite willingly...........and may I say, I was not offended.......(Well not much anyway)

 

Chuck-The-Dog, has valuable input to this forum. I would imagine also, He Served With Honor. I doubt he meant to be confrontational, I just saw it as an Open Door.

 

I would imagine that my acting like a “Hippy” brought this up. I will be a bit more cautious, and thoughtful to others. I live in a neighborhood, with a gold course, out my window……nothing Hippy about it. My family threw me out, when I decided to, hang out with Blacks, Latin’s, and Boat People from Viet-Nam. We have a brother that served in Viet Nam, and between “The Grandpa WW1, The Father WW2, and the Brother Nam………I was too liberal. So I chose to call myself a Hippy. All of those Old Issues still hurt deep inside a lot of people, it is understandable.

 

I do not want to be Offensive,By saying I am a hippy. I will drop it.....Even the Hippies would be Offended.

 

peace, uh.I mean...hope:cool:

[Jim Sower]

<... I would imagine that my acting like a “Hippy” brought this up ...>

Bullp**p! That has all the intellectual allure of saying that getting mugged was your fault because you were dressed too well for that neighborhood. The remark was polarizing, inflamatory, irrelevant to the subject under discussion and basically not very well thought out ~ and very much out of character for C-t-D. It wasn't about you, Joe.

 

I served as well (and did a pretty credible job). At the end of the day, I feel I have a whole lot in common with the hippies and protesters .... after all, we were ALL betrayed by our leaders while doing the best we could under the circumstances.

 

I'm for moving on ....

After all, if we can elect a deserter to high office, we should be able to forgive a hippy his protesting ...

(the Devil made me say that ...)

[Joe Patterson]

Uh....yes sir.

 

 

<Running for Cover>

[chuckthedog]

Please except my most humble apology to all it offended fo my P.S. post. It was most inapproiate.

[Jon Matcho]

I noticed religion, government, and war mixed into a single sentence... similar to a powder keg looking for a match.

 

Now that we're off-topic: http://www.veteransforpeace.org

[Jim Sower]

Originally posted by Jon Matcho

I noticed religion, government, and war mixed into a single sentence... similar to a powder keg looking for a match.

 

Now that we're off-topic: http://www.veteransforpeace.org

Yup. All the stuff we aren't supposed to discuss in the ward room.

 

Hey! Vets for peace! My guys! Took me a while to find them, but I got into it 5 or 6 years ago.

Now we could have some GREAT fun with this bit!

[Joe Patterson]

Hey , I like this better

 

<----- Whatcha think? Not as Offensive, when coupled with My Quote.

[marbleturtle]

Since we are all broaching the subject with wreckless abandon...

 

There are some problems a hug just can't cure. Give WAR a chance!