One Lucky Guy - Me

Many of you know that I had been alone in India for over 7 months. The last month has been so much fun because I got to go to America and see my granddaughter, have Karen fly from her home near Pittsburgh to Southern California so we could visit Sadie together and then after a few days we flew to Dallas for my flight training and then on to Chicago and then on over to Delhi after a maintenance delay in Chicago. I was somewhat apprehensive about bringing Karen to India because it is a cultural shock to come here. But, I have to say that she has done wonderfully and has such a good spirit about being here. It means so much to me to have her here with all the support and companionship. We were, after all, newlyweds when this idea of maybe going overseas first occurred and when it came to fruition in India we were both kind of shocked and unready. I talked with both of my kids about it and my daughter Shayna had suggested that it might be an answer to a lot of questions that I had at this station in life. That little insight turned out to be really true and it has been such a blessing to be able to do this.

Without belaboring the point, I was divorced, broke and discouraged just a few years ago and not very loveable when I met Karen. She accepted me at a low point in my life and has been a strong supporter through some very tough times. Shortly after we flew out to Las Vegas and sealed our vows, my boss in Pittsburgh announced to all his employees that he was cancelling our salaries and that we would only get day work and as much as he could supply but that it would not be nearly as much as we had been flying before. At that point, I was 55 years old and thinking that I didn't have a lot of time left for financial foolishness. I decided then and there to put my resume online again and to go international this time. My kids were grown and married and on their own and, for the first time in a long time, I had the actual freedom to do something big like go international. But, now I had a newly wed wife and it was going to take a lot of faith and understanding and patience to talk her into this huge surprise this early in the marriage. I wasn't even sure after I got over here if she would have it within her to stay with me. I had kind of lost faith in myself and in other people to some extent because of all the bad stuff that had happened to me. The sad part is that, inside, I was at the point that I needed to do this and it would help me in so many ways, including helping finish my kids private education. But, who can ask their spouse, in middle age, to move to India? My pilot buddies in America had their doubts, I came here and there were even bets here about whether Karen would come back with me or whether I would do India alone. I didn't rush Karen at all, because I knew if it was my force that brought her over here, it had a high chance of failure. It took longer than I wanted but it did happen and I have to say that I believe it's going to work. She has such a great attitude and spirit about it all. I think those of you who read her letter of a couple of days ago, realize how well she is doing and how we are making a big adventure out of the whole thing. We feel like we see more out of our windows every single day than we did in years back home. It has broadened our understanding of people and our world incredibly to be here. We have some of the best friends that you can have. When you find yourself on the other side of the world and feeling very much in the minority, you find such strong bonds with other ex-pats and an added benefit for me has been that through mutual trust and understanding I have some of my best friends in life here in India. When you have an Indian as a friend, they are the most warm and hospitable people on the face of the earth. I have to admit that I was surprised by that.

Anyway, I have probably said enough and maybe too much, but I did want to let you all know the feelings of my heart. My life has involved some incredible highs and amazing lows. I have literally been snatched from the valley of the shadow of death. God is good - all the time. Please forgive others that you feel may have wronged you in some unimagineable fashion. Harboring hatred and ill will sure uses up a lot of negative energy. Learning to follow our Lord's example of washing Judas' and Peter's feet right along with everyone else is the finest example I can think of for forgiveness and treatment of others. Choosing sides and assigning blame is a task suited for God Himself. I have learned these lessons the very hardest way you can, the school of hard knocks. I pray that I can be a good example of teaching with patience and thoroughness. My mom wouldn't allow her first graders to go to second until they could read and spell and write at their correct level. Her students always excelled because she focused on these very basic things.

I want to follow her lead and stay focused on the basic things, like being a good and safe pilot who teaches with passion and true caring about those in my care. I want to be a person that not only my friends but my family (those that are stuck with me) will be proud of and look up to, not only because of who I am but because I treat them well and truly care. Can we leave a better legacy?

From the luckiest guy on this earth..............Dan

Back in India again

Hi from India,

Karen and I had a long trip back, complicated by aircraft maintenance issues and an overnight stay in Chicago. The flight itself was supposed to leave just after we got to Chicago but they boarded the plane and then decided it wasn't airworthy and offloaded everyone to a hotel at the O'Hare airport. We got food vouchers and then got up the next morning and took a taxi back to the airport finally boarding about 10 a.m. for our flight that took off at 11:30 a.m. That was fine because we flew all day and all night and into the next day and arrived in Delhi at 1 p.m. local time, so it was perfect for Karen to see the roads and cows, pigs, dogs, and the Delhi driving experience, which is a lot like the old E-ticket rides at Disneyland. When our driver missed a turn taking us to the grocery store, I told him where to go and he did a u-turn across 6 lanes of traffic and Karen was about ready to jump ship, but it is routine over here and no one got hurt.

Our flight itself was routine with a cool screen on the back of every seat that had games and movies and TV shows and a moving map of our flight with all the flight information. Of course I would be interested in that and watched it a lot as we flew almost due North out of Chicago, crossing over Mackinac Island in Northern Michigan and going straight up into Canada finally crossing into Greenland and North of Sweden and coming down through Russia even North and East of Moscow as we crossed a lot of Western Russia and down into Afghanistan and Pakistan and back into India. The last two hours of the route was very familiar as we retraced the trip I had just done in the Citation to Tblisi, Georgia. I was more relaxed this time about flying over a supposed war zone. I was surprised that our fully loaded Boeing 777 started out at 31,000 feet and stayed there for many hours. That is not a flight altitude that I occupy much anymore, but then my airplane doesn't way hundreds of thousands of pounds, either. The highest we got was 37,000 feet and that was only for about the last hour of the flight before we started down into Delhi.

Karen and I were exhausted after we got here. I noticed the jet lag more this time than when I was in the USA. I think I may have been running on adrenaline or something there because of the new grandbaby and seeing my kids, etc., but coming back here we were both noticeably tired and of course I had to go flying the very next morning with a 7:30 a.m. departure so I had a 4:30 a.m. alarm to get up and go flying. It all went well and after arrival at our destination about 10 a.m. I went straight to my room and slept several hours until lunch. Then I got up, ate, and went back to bed for two more hours before we headed back to Delhi. Everything went well and I am starting to feel human again although it will take a week or so before it's totally normal.

I have to go into the office today and get a lot of the financial stuff set straight and so I will keep this relatively short. Look for a long Delhi letter that will explain our Texas visit and more detail about how things are going. We are doing well and I think Karen is adjusting well. She will have some funny stories to tell.

Take care,

Dan

On the way home!!

Hello from 33,000 feet. This is my first time to use wi-fi on an airliner - fun!! Karen and I are enroute from Dallas to Chicago and then we will fly on to Delhi this evening. It's a 15 hour flight and we lose 11 and 1/2 time zones so we get in around 10 p.m. Delhi time on Wednesday evening. Karen has had about 5 heart attacks today starting with me accidentally leaving my flight bag on the hotel courtesy shuttle van. So, when they asked for passports at checkin I already knew we were in trouble. Then, later after that recovery, TSA didn't like the way my company had entered my name on the ticket (it didn't match exactly) so I got thrown out of line and back to the ticket counter where we got permission to fly as listed. She took this time alone with TSA to let them know about their intelligence level, educational backgrounds and power trip meter ratings (that's a joke). Anyway, we cleared that hurdle and then when she went to the restroom I went to sign up for the inflight internet and left the loading area so when she came back I was missing yet again. Then, the boarding gate called our last name to reassign our seats and she had another panic attack. I was laughing my head off!! Then, while boarding the flight to Chicago we needed our carryons to be with us since we have a 15 minute turn around to an international departure in Chicago and the flight attendant tried to check our bags. We didn't go for that and while I arranged people's bags in the overhead bins, Karen deflected nasty comments from passengers about crushing their backpacks, etc. I tried to explain that we needed to have our bags for a quick, international turnaround but people were not in a good humor because the flight was already 30 minutes late. But, we are having fun, and I am so excited about finally getting on the flight to Delhi.

I will write a letter and fill in many details about our wonderful weekend with Errol and Bonnie Eder in Dallas and the wonderful food we ate, the Superbowl game and our tour of the new Texas conference youth camp that is being developed. We saw most of the property on a big, oversize ATV called a Polaris Ranger. It was so cool, we drove over everything and felt no bumps. I was amazed. Karen almost abandoned ship near one of the bluffs we were looking over. It was a blast!!

Granddaughter Sadie and I said our last goodbyes on Friday and so now it will be pictures and Skype until my next visit.

I'll keep in touch.

Dan

Friends and family

I am having so much fun!! I have now seen both of my kids and their spouses AND met my new granddaughter all within the last week. I knew it would be great, but it has been awesome. And Karen flew in from Pittsburgh on Monday night so after 7 months we are rejoining, picking up our new marriage that had a rude interruption. We had only been married four months when the foreign job thing started to pop up and then India got serious. We were together for 7 months after the wedding and now have been apart that long. But, we are so excited about all this and going back to India should be most interesting.

We have received our revised travel plans from the company that involves my training in Dallas and also involves staying one extra day in order to see the Superbowl game. On the trip over I had asked the flight attendant if American Airlines has live TV on long flights and would they be carrying the superbowl. She said they didn't have that option yet, although it was being installed in many of the planes. Last year I was AT the superbowl in Tampa, although the only part of the game I saw live was the flyby by the Air Force Thunderbirds from the parking lot of the huge hangar where we were having our superbowl party courtesy of Bombardier. So, to totally miss the game this year was just unacceptable. Staying in Dallas over the weekend will also allow me to see some friends in Texas so that will be great. I am looking forward to lunch with Errol and Bonnie Eder. Errol is the Texas Conference treasurer and Bonnie is Educational Superintendant for the conference.

Anyway, back to California and my friends Doug and Penny Jones from the above picture. When I totally changed careers and left the ministry to become a corporate pilot 30 years ago next month, one of the first people I got acquainted with in Tennessee was Doug, who at the time was flying a King Air for his father's business while I moved there to fly first a Pressurized Beech Baron and then 6 months later, a brand new King Air, in the hangar right new door. Doug and I had a lot in common with both of us being flying nuts and water skiiers. Many a night we would talk on the radios as we flew back in to Cleveland, TN airport and decide not to even go home but to head straight to the lake and ski until dark. That is why Brad, my son that I am visiting in CA who has the new daughter, basically grew up on the lake, going out camping and skiing all the time. Doug and I have been through a lot together and we are so comfortable with each other. Our families just groan when we are together because we can talk nothing but airplanes and flying for hours at a time. But, our stories are SO GOOD. My son Brad lived at Doug and Penny's house the first year he was in California and he heard I was coming all the way from India to see my grandchild so we all got together and of course it was our favorite Mexican restaurant. We have that in common, too. Mexican food is always at the top of the list. Penny is an animal lover just like Karen and so the trip to visit their house was wonderful. There are at least 10 cats and 8 dogs, as well as a ferret and a sugar glider. Penny has a big heart when it comes to animals. Strays have been picked up off the roadside or when they come to her house they never need to check out. Karen was just thrilled to see so many animals and to be able to play with so many at one time. Our favorites were the Scottish Fold cats. They just have this look about them that says, "I run this show and you better pay attention." My son Brad says that the gray one, Princess, likes to sit like a baby human in your arms and act like she is in charge of everything.

The time with friends just flew by so fast. Tomorrow morning we have to again be at the airport and leave for Dallas.

My little granddaughter, Sadie, has been busy sleeping, eating, and doing what babies do. She is so sweet and fun. We have taken her out to eat, last night we were going out to eat Indian food at Brad and Jessica's favorite Indian restaurant and so Sadie got to wear her new baby Sari. She was so cute in it. I will put some pictures up with that soon. A friend in India bought it for me and it is just so cute.

Well, it's time to take the 145 pound dog for a walk to chase her frisbee's. Ursa is a wonderful big, black Newfoundland dog. They are so big and gentle. She loves her frisbee chase and I need some exercise so here we go. I'll put up some more pictures soon.

Take care, my friends. Dan

Meeting Sadie

Meet the new lady in my life - Sadie!! I have always heard people talking about their grandchildren and gushing all these amazing statements about how beautiful, talented and brilliant they were but I hadn't paid that much attention to it all. Now it's my turn. This is one of the most thrilling experiences of my life and you guys all know that I have had some thrills, especially recently.

I spent the weekend in Portland, Oregon with my daughter Shayna and her husband Keith. We went out to eat, played music, went to church, went to a movie, and did a little shopping. We generally had a good time. Now it was time to fly South to Ontario, California and spend a few days with my son Brad, his wife Jessica, and their new daughter Sadie Ann. I can't remember being this excited for a long, long time.

Brad picked me up at the airport and off we went to meet the little lady. She and mom were just sitting home waiting for grandpa to come visit. When I walked in and saw her, it was love at first sight. I think you can see the look on my face and tell that it is a special moment.

When I was skiing in Tblisi last week and going to all these amazing places that I hadn't been before, I thought life couldn't get much better but, BOY, was I wrong. This little lady, Sadie, has grabbed my heart and won't let go. In some strange way, I keep flashing back to her father, Brad, almost 29 years ago, when he looked just like this. I don't feel much different from how I felt back then, but the pictures sure look different. Time takes its toll.

This week I have so much going on. I am visiting cousins, friends, family, old, familiar places and just generally enjoying being in America again after a 7 month absence. Everyday seems like a compressed time capsule of things to do, although I am really taking it pretty easy.

I am so proud of my children and I realize that even though there is a lot of luck involved, that we did a pretty good job of it. I pray that the kids will have the same kind of blessings in their lives that we do because of them.

And now, this evening, we are driving to the airport and picking up Karen, my newlywed wife, from whom I have been apart for 7 months. I am so excited about her coming to California with me to see the grandbaby and because soon we will be flying to India together. The last few days have been really crazy for her as she got ready to come to India. Many of her family members saw her off from Pittsburgh both last night for dinner and today at the airport. They probably think that she married some crazy guy who is dragging her off to the other side of the world. Maybe she did, I don't know. But, it's going to be our big adventure and since I am all settled over there, it will be comfortable for me as she adjusts to this new life.

You all take care and I'll keep you posted on what's going on with us.

Dan