Wichita Training and White Coat ceremony

Surprise!! I had no idea I was going to be flying two airplanes again in India. The DGCA voted to allow ex-pat pilots to fly more than one type of aircraft again. Some of you will remember that I was flying both when I first came over here but then, in October, they took that privelege away. Now, after companies were begging them to relax the rule, I was asked again to fly both but this required a longer stay in America as I scrambled to schedule and get to a Sim training center with a CJ2 or CJ3 Sim. Our particular aircraft that we have in India is a CJ2 but the Sim can be used for both aircraft with a differences class that is taught onsite.

This was actually very good news to me as I had wished to visit my daughter in Portland, Oregon, to see her white coat ceremony at Pacific University. It was a great program and I was just so proud of her and her intelligence, good looks and the amount of discipline that it takes to get through any kind of medical program. I remember graduate school and the tests, book reports, quizzes, reading, learning, TESTS, and it is definitely a program for young people, although Shayna has a man in his 70's in her class.

This visit I got to spend time with Brad, Jess and Sadie in Loma Linda for several days. I also got to spend some quality time with Judy Winters, Jess's mother. She is such a delightful lady and I certainly enjoyed getting to know her a little better as we both shared the experience of being new grandparents. She is retired from teaching nursing at Southern Adventist University and was a highly loved and recognized teacher there. What a nice surprise it was to have a little bit of overlap time with the new parents and the genious and gorgeous (and quickly growing) granddaughter. Grandpa was super happy after he got her to laugh. FUN can be so simple!!

With the parents both working and going to medical school and taking care of a new baby (when does sleep occur??), Judy took me to the nearby Ontario airport for my trip up to see Shayna, Keith and Portland, where my cousin Dixie picked me up at the airport. Dixie asked me if I wanted to drive and when I deferred, she called me a wussy!! I had been driving around Los Angeles for several days and I actually enjoy being driven around Delhi, so it was nice to have her do the driving and to pick me up at the airport, which is about 45 minutes from where my kids live in Hillsboro. From there, it was straight to Shayna's program and I so enjoyed visiting with the many proud parents and grandparents who had come from all over America to see their kid's proud moment of accomplishment. My cousin Dixie spent many of her growing up years in North Dakota and my mother comes from South Dakota. At the white coat program it seemed like most of the people sitting around us were from the Dakotas and Iowa. Such nice people and everyone was so kind. I took the kids out to Shayna's favorite, Olive Garden, for a celebration dinner. Shayna, Keith and I did manage to get to a miniature golf course and a bowling alley. I could not believe how rusty my skills were. I was leading the golf game, much to Keith's disgust, when I had a blow-out hole with a score of 6 that put me one stroke behind with not much golf left to play. My bowling score was in the two digit range so strikes and spares were rare. We all had a blast, though, and I think Keith will proudly frame the golf score card and hang it on the wall as one of his proudest moments in sport, and that's fine with me!! Fun day for sure. Shayna displayed her continuing talent in the bowling alley as she blew us out. Great fun. One of the pics above shows, Keith, Shayna, Dixie and me on the lawn at Pacific U for the ceremony.

From Portland, it was on to Wichita, which had called and fit me into a last minute class for the CJ3 so I headed for training there. I hadn't been to training in Wichita since I last did my Citation Excell Initial class there exactly 10 years ago. Everything is so convenient there and the mid-west hospitality is so refreshing. I was amazed by the uncrowded highways and the amount of open space, as well as the very cool (for me) temperatures, which were ranging in the 60'sF and low 70'sF. It was a wonderful little respite. Just drinking the water from the faucets and fountains was such a treat.

Well, I am back and have already done a flight. Yesterday we were at Barmer, in Western India near the Pakistan border. The temp when we got ready to depart at 4 in the afternoon was 52C, which is somewhere around 126F. This is by far the hottest departure I have ever had. Both windshield overheat lights were on as the ambient temps had pushed the windshields past their 145F temp limit. A couple of circuit breakers required resetting because they had popped due to the ambient temp in the cockpit. Our fuel temperature, which is measured inside the tanks was 47C, so that is some hot fuel. Thanks to Uncle Clyde (Clyde Cessna was the founder of Cessna Aircraft back in the day), we had no issues and were so thankful for the APU to help us precool the cabin and make a pretty normal departure. Operating limits for the Citation are 54C so we were within two degrees of the maximum. Cessna probably had to go to Death Valley, California in the summer time, where the airport is named Furnace Creek, to find those temps, we were oh so close. Wow! A long ways from Wichita, that's for sure. We were also flying from a military airport where there are bunkers with Mig's of all sorts underground to go against anything developing to the West. Can't take pictures of this, but would love to send Cessna a picture of their beautiful airplane parked on a Fighter Jet base in Western India with ambient temps running near record limits. I am amazed at the adventure that is my everyday life.

Please pray for my friends Don and Peggy Williams in Paradise, CA. Their beautiful, young daughter with two kids, aged 3 and 5, was killed in a tragic auto accident a couple of weeks ago. Words cannot express my sorrow and I cannot imagine having to bury your young daughter while her kids and young husband and parents are left to deal. I love you guys and pray for you every single day. They are on my email list and so receive my letters everytime. Some day we will be in a better place, that's for sure.

Until next time,

Dan

Recurrent training

Hello friends,
Well, here I am back in Dallas for recurrent training. My annual training wasn't due until June but the company wanted to take advantage of my copilot getting married and since they gave him 10 days off in early May, they wanted me to go and get the recurrent over with so we could get back to flying as soon as possible.
I took advantage of this trip and again flew into Los Angeles so I could visit with my son and daughter-in-law and, of course, baby Sadie. After a short visit, I went to big D and did the training and then immediately flew back to LA. I was certain I was going to miss seeing my daughter Shayna this time because she was gone with her husband Keith on a cruise for the week.
While in Southern CA I went back to my old church in Garden Grove, where I used to pastor, and paid a visit. I was happy to see that my old friend Dan Smith from Andrews University days, was there and rebuilding the church program in a big way with lots of excitement. It was strange to see my old office and first church job after finishing my theology training at La Sierra in 1976. A couple of years have slipped by. But I saw old friend Steve Zeller from La Sierra days and we had a great catch up conversation. I remember Steve because he had the first Honda car I had ever seen. It was about 1974 0r 5 and this car had a two cylinder motorcycle engine under the hood. They have come a long ways, that's for sure.
I had received an email from my company back in India that they wanted me to extend my stay and also go back to Citation CJ2 recurrency. This would be with FlightSafety in Orlando or Wichita, so I started working on that and now it ended up that I got to fly up to Portland, see my daughter's white coat ceremony in Optometry from Pacific University in Portland before heading out to Wichita, Kansas for the CJ recurrent. The timing was just perfect and I was so happy to be able to do all this.
I called one of my pilot buddies back in India to find out why I am suddenly able to fly 2 airplanes again and I guess the Indian DGCA has changed their rules again and I can now fly 2 separate airplanes for two separate companies again after the 1st of June. So, it's 2 refreshers this time and then from Wichita down to Houston, where I can reconnect with my Emirates flight back to Delhi via Dubai. I can't wait for that wonderful business class travel segment again, that will really spoil you for good.
Shayna had asked me about attending her white coat ceremony when I came to America but I didn't get a positive response from my company about it so I had told her it was off. The whole thing about adding the CJ refresher training was what opened the schedule up because they couldn't fit me in until Thursday so I had three free days to go up to Portland and that's exactly when her program was. I am still amazed and so pleased that it worked out.
I haven't done any training in Wichita since April of 2000 when I first got certified in Citation Excells. I used to go there quite frequently for my training but have been using another company or another location for a long time. It will be interesting to go back and see what has changed.
You can see from my picture on this post what the Simulator looks like from the inside. Just exactly like the airplane. On the outside it looks like something from outer space. But, it keeps us flying safe and that's what its all about.
Karen is all alone in India for these two weeks but is doing great and has her cats to keep her occupied. She will be coming to America in June for a family wedding and to try and take care of more of our Pennsylvania stuff. She should be back over in a month or two. She won't miss much in the HOT Delhi summer. Many folks are gone during that time of year, kind of like Phoenix, where I used to live.
Take care,

Dan

Visit to the Taj Mahal

Hi friends,

Well, I can no longer say that I have not been to the Taj Mahal. It' s quite a road trip from where we live but we buckled in and, despite queasy tummies, we headed out for our big adventure.

Our driver got me a little bit upset because he only knew the way by going back up to Delhi and starting from there so I think we wasted at least 1 and 1/2 to 2 hours on the road. When you are riding on very rough roads and trying not to either throw up or have a case of diarhhea, then you really don't need to add extra miles to the program. But we eventually reached (as they say here) and checked into our very nice hotel while waiting for the sun angles to get low for the sunset shots of the Taj. After a short break, we headed on over and began our tour. Our tour guide, Del, was just a hoot and we enjoyed him thoroughly because of his sensitivity and his sense of humor. One of his great statements about driving on Indian roads was "Good horn, good brakes, and good luck." That really is a great description of the Indian driving adventure. Another statement that he made that has really stuck with me through the weeks here is, when referring to the sales persons who accosted the tourists as you approach the Taj, "I can give you good advice, but I cannot control your hands." I thought that often that is probably how God feels about us when He sees our lives and choices.

As we were touring the Taj that evening, the girls were in recovery from "Delhi belly" and Dan was holding out but weakley and finally acceded to the constraints of his tummy. I had thought, at one point, that I was going to throw up on the Queens tomb, but miraculously made it out and only later on the grass did the ladies learn how I really felt during most of the tour. That night we all rested really well and everyone woke up feeling better the next morning. My Taj pictures by the morning light are the favorite photos that I have ever taken and partly because of the subject matter, but also because they came out so well.

Since Karen's mom and Aunt Verda came and went, we have also enjoyed a visit from Lynne, Karen's sister. We took her to Old Delhi and just had a blast around town and seeing all the sights. Lynne was so positive and fun to be with, we really enjoyed the visit and taking her out to see the rare sights of Delhi here.

If things go as planned, I will be packing my suitcase and getting ready to go to America again in order to accomodate my boss's request to go and get my recurrent training done so that we don't have the Citation grounded for too long, since my copilot is getting married the 5th of May. He will be off work from the 1st through the 10th and I am trying to make my break coincide with his time off. It puts a lot of pressure on me to get to America, get trained, visit family and friends a little bit and then get back to work in Delhi by the 10th of May. I am looking forward to getting it all done and to being steadily back at work again soon. Living here is just such a fascinating place to be. The sights and sounds and views out the window are just something that you would see in National Geographic but not out of your home or car window. India is such a mix of old and new, rich and poor, modern and ancient and always interesting.

I hadn't put up a blog for awhile so I wanted to do one quickly since I am possibly going to be gone for a couple of weeks and then back flying again. Since our desktop computer seems to not to want to communicate on Skype, I am leaving my computer so Karen can talk to her family and then, when I get back, I will see about getting it fixed. I will try to access through my son's computer while in America and with my American cell phone.

I have lots to tell you next time I get a chance to sit down and write. Right now I just need a safe trip to America and back and another successful visit to Dallas to get my recurrent flight training done.

Talk soon,

Dan

Family visits us in New Delhi

Last Sunday evening Karen's mom and aunt came to New Delhi to visit us. We are having fun and are excited to have some company over here to do some traveling around with.
Karen likes to dress up and get into costumes, etc. so we got into our Indian clothes that we have purchased to wear to my co-pilot's Indian wedding which is coming up in the middle of May.
They would have never recognized us so I went up to them as they came out of the airport and then I took them over to see Karen. You can see pictures of what we looked like when I post our most recent photo album here in a day or two. We have been doing something just about every other day and then, in between, trying to get rested up and ready for the next, big outing. No one can appreciate the amount of energy and time that it takes to do anything unless you have been over here and experienced what it's like. A two hour errand back home where you could hit several of your desired stores, etc. can take more than one day and by the time you deal with Delhi traffic you are exhausted.
Last night (Thursday) we walked to the Italian restaurant at the mall that is nearby. It was a pretty good dinner and as we walked home in the dark we were walking along the dusty road that crosses a field right before you get to our apartments. It was dark and we were walking and talking when all of a sudden a tiny little kitten came walking right up the road towards us. We were shocked because there just aren't any cats in Delhi or Gurgaon hardly and here was this tiny little cat walking all alone. He wouldn't have lived for an hour as there are many Delhi dogs around and if not for one of them, there are cars and cows and people who don't like cats. This kitten cannot be more than two or three weeks old. It's eyes are open but it is so small. Of course Karen and I picked it up and it had to come live with us or it would die. Today we talked to the manager of our complex and he thought there was a mother somewhere but when I went and talked to an Indian woman who had been giving the kitten milk, she said there was no mother. So, now we have 3 cats, one adult, one teenager cat (probably 4 months old) and now our newest addition, who is so tiny you can't imagine that this little kitty could have survived the night if she hadn't run into us. The cat is so fortunate that even though it is a female I have nicknamed it Lucky. We are having to heat milk slightly in the microwave and put some kitten chow in the milk and hope that it drinks enough and maybe chews a bite now and then to get enough nutrition to survive. It seems to be doing okay for now and I have given the new cat residence in the jacuzzi tub in our master bathroom since it really kind of needs protection from the other cats until it gets just a little bit bigger.
Today we went to Old Delhi. This part of town is as different from where we live as night is from day. It was a one hour taxi ride away but it's a totally different world. The streets are very narrow, the electricity runs through very scary looking wires and the noise level is deafening. We did some shopping at the spice markets, the saree market and the jewerly stores. Everyone came away feeling very good about their purchases and the prices. Moreover, we all had fun and it is so interesting that it's hard to process all the amazing sights that your eyes take in.
One of the highlights of the day for me was a whole row of dentists that were lined up along the sidewalk who offered to sell you dentures. They showed a small picture of your smiling mouth and so I went over with my camera and asked how much. I have no idea what dentures cost in America but you could get a full set of lowers for 2000 Indian Rupees ($42) and uppers for the same price, so you could get a complete set of dentures for less than $85. When I tried to take a photograph they seemed less than excited about the prospect. Maybe they thought I was from the government and they were operating illegally, I don't know. You can also see photos of this operation when I post my latest photos. Having been trained to pull teeth while I was in Africa about 30 years ago, I have always been interested in dentistry in the third world countries.
This weekend I will be singing in the choir for the Easter service at the Sunday church. I have been warming up my trumpet and getting ready to play at church here in a few weeks. Now that I have digital sound tracks recorded on my computer, accompaniment is a much easier chore. I wish I were in Tennessee this weekend so I could enjoy the Easter Sunrise Service at Southern Adventist University. It is always well done and something that I really enjoy every year.
Miss you people and hope to have some of you as visitors here before we come home. We are just enjoying this adventure so much. Karen and I just look around in amazement at what our eyes take in every day. It's not for the faint of heart.
The picture is of Me, Aunt Verda, Karen and Karen's mom Anne on top of the spice market today. Many more pictures to follow with details that are hard to describe.

Missing Sadie

Hi friends,
As positive a picture as we paint over here and showing all the adventure and good times, there are also times when you really miss seeing family. Especially new granddaughters. It's early morning over here in Delhi, late night in the USA and I just wish I had a few moments to hold my precious little Sadie and tell her how much she is loved. I know she is getting maximum attention this week, as Brad is taking advantage of his paternity leave from work and has full time to establish with his new daughter and my daughter Shayna is on break and is spending quality time with Sadie, too. For once, grandpa is jealous and wishes he was there, too, looking into those expectant, bright eyes and assuring Sadie that despite the crazy world she has been born into, she is going to be alright and love is this amazing thing that gets us through life.
Back in Gurgaon, things have been very busy for me. I have been doing some interesting flights and going to some new places. The most recent trip was a quick one over to the East Coast of India, South of Calcutta (now Kolkutta) and the place is called Bhubaneshwar. It's at sea level and on the ocean on the Bay of Bengal, which is my first time to see this ocean and to look East from India and see water. As soon as I got out of the airplane, it felt so different because even though the temperature was very warm, it was very humid and there was an ocean breeze so there were no mosquitoes. We were only there for a few hours in the evening so I didn't get a chance to go see the city or look around much. People from India know the different way that people look in different parts of this big country and when we went into the airport it was obvious that we weren't in Delhi or Mumbai. Just a different look to the folks here and a different dialect. I was pleasantly surprised that in the airport itself, there were a couple of nice stores, including a book store. Anyone that knows me knows that I can spend hours in a bookstore and almost all of the books were in English. I had my eye on one that tells the stories that are behind many of the gods of Hinduism. I would have bought it but my passengers showed up before I got to the cash register and so that will have to come later. Anyway, I got to see another city and another part of this mysterious country so I was glad for that.
Karen and I have been enjoying doing some new things. She decided to wait til she got to India to get her vaccinations since I had spent nearly $2000 with the franchise called Passport Health that now handles innoculations and vaccinations in the USA. We just went to the brand new (open 3 months) gorgeous highrise hospital that is about 3 miles from where we live. We just walked in, asked to get some vaccinations and innoculations, and were immediately shown upstairs to a doctor's office. He saw us within a couple of minutes and after a 15 minute consultation we had prescriptions for all that she needed. No fees, no forms, just see the doctor and go down to ER where they administered hepatitus B and tetanus, since she hadn't had one for many years. We waited to make sure there was no adverse reaction and then went to the pay desk. I wondered what this would be like. We had tied up a private doctor and the ER for almost an hour. I paid 640 rupees, which is about $13. This is in a beautiful, air-conditioned, modern hospital, not what you might be imagining. I will have to take my camera next time and take a picture so you can see this. I like this country better now. Medicine is affordable. Karen and I were shocked at how inexpensive it was. Our company provides full hospitalization covereage with the medical policy so here medical expense is not one of those things that looms to possibly bankrupt you if you get sick or something unexpected happens. Since we are obviously foreigners we were treated like royalty, with a young man who was assigned to guide us around this big hospital to keep us from getting lost while we went from one place to another.
I have another interesting trip coming up in a couple of weeks. We are going back to Tblisi, Georgia again and my ski guide tells me that the Spring skiing is fantastic so I am certainly going to try and squeeze that in again. But this time we are going on a side trip to Kazakhstan and then to Baku, Azerbaijan, on the Caspian Sea. The best part is that I talked to my passenger and he changed his trip by a few days so that I could focus on a family visit by Karen's mom and aunt, who are coming from the USA this coming Sunday night. They will be here for a couple of weeks and we are obviously trying to give them some focused attention while they are here. One of the things we have planned is a trip to the Taj Mahal, which is about a 4 hour drive from where we live. Then we are going to Jaipur, where there are several famous forts, etc. from the Mogul era. I would love to have done this by train but it's a triangle shaped trip on the map and trains don't run that way here. We don't have time to go down and back and down and back another direction, so we will do it by car. A three day luxury trip with 5 star hotels and personal English speaking guides provided is only $300/person. Another benefit of travel in India, it's affordable.
I think Karen and her mom and aunt are going to go to Katmandu, Nepal. I won't have time to break away for that and so Karen and I will have to do that later. Karen's sister, Lynne, is going to be in Hong Kong on business so is going to take a side trip to come and visit just a few days after her mom leaves so we are excited about all the company and visits.
It's so amazing to watch the second fastest growing ecomony in the world changing gears and getting into their industrial age. I read about this in American history textbooks but to watch it happen is wild.
My debit card number was stolen from the bank back in Pennsylvania. I have been reimbursed for most of the $2500 that was fraudulently used. The company that I bought my new computer here from charged me twice. I am working with the bank to get that back. I finally got my American pay into the bank. It's supposed to go in around the 1st of the month. I got it transferred by many phone calls on Skype on the 20th. State Bank of India in New York City was to blame this time. It's only money, folks. It takes patience to live here.
Miss you guys,
Dan

Trip to Muscat, Oman

Hi friends,

My adventure continues as I just got back from flying a trip to Muscat, Oman in the Citation. These trips across Pakistan and Iran are starting to feel a little familiar and that is so different for me. How often do you seen Panjgur on your navigation box?? Or how often do you fly over territory where if the plane had to land you aren't sure what the greeting might be on the ground when you put down? Panjgur is in the middle of Pakistan and it apparently has some elevation. We had another hurry up trip to a foreign country. It was about 1100 nautical miles from Delhi to Muscat, and against very strong headwinds and with very strong tailwinds the next day, the trip was 3:45 out and 2:25 back to Delhi. Too fun, and we had a very nice hotel with a beautiful pool in Muscat. I wasn't aware of it but apparently this can be a very beautiful place to go scuba diving so we are going back and when we do I will be signing up for a scuba trip just to save I have. After all, have you gone scuba diving off the coast of Oman in the Indian Ocean (here it is called the Gulf of Oman)? I didn't think so.

Having traveled by commercial jet to Doha, Qatar for thanksgiving, I was quite well prepared for the sights and sounds of Muscat, Oman. The combination is sand, ocean and money with a side dose of nice highways, beautiful cars and nice places to spend time. There was a British man out by the pool escaping the brutal English winter and he said that this was the best time of the year to come here. The temps were perfect and I was surprized at how cool it was and that the visibility was so poor due to blowing sand and haze.

Nice trip, though, and I love seeing new places so this one goes in my logbook with pride and joy.

Got home at 5 a.m. because of a late departure and the loss of an hour and a half in time zone crossings. One thing I liked about Muscat is that it is exactly 12 hours different from the West coast of the US, so I could easily tell what time my kids were on.

There were lots of burkas and the men prefer the long white smocks that seem to be cooler than traditional clothes. Mall shopping was expensive and it's apparent that people have money here as the cars were very nice.

Karen continues to do well in India and we are looking forward to a visit from her mother and aunt in just 3 weeks, at the end of March. It will be the first family to visit us since our big sojourn to India. We hope to do some fun trips while they are here!!

My boss told me on the way to Muscat that he wants me to stay and work with his company for as long as I want. I told him I was thinking about 5 years and then semi-retiring to a cabin on a lake somewhere with a ski boat and a fishing boat, and letting the grandkids come visit me. He said that sounded wonderful and was very positive about my future here. So much so, that I am actually thinking about buying a car and staying awhile.

Keep in touch and let me hear from you. I will be posting the photos from Muscat as soon as I can put up the captions. This gets to be a career.

Love you guys.

Dan and Karen

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