Well, I guess I should say that today I acted as the sole manipulator of the controls, or pilot in command (PIC) of a low wing airplane for the first time.

I guess the first time I ever flew a low wing airplane was when I was maybe six, and my dad let me "fly" his Beech Bonanza V-tail. The Bonanza had a swing-over yoke with an elevator lock, so in effect, the only control I had was the ailerons. As dad was fond of telling, I did apparently keep the wings level, even though I couldn't see over the panel. I guess I started out flying IFR, since according to dad's story, I used the artificial horizon (that's what we called the attitude indicator back then) to assess the attitude of the aircraft.

Anyway, today, I went out to Empire Aviation to take my first shot at flying left seat in a low wing aircraft. The aircraft in question is their Piper PA-28/140 Cherokee N551PA. The owner, Paul Hesse, started my orientation by showing me what I needed to do to pre-flight the airplane, reviewing airspeeds and procedures, and discussing the differences between the Cherokee and Cessnas I have been accustomed to.

I also decided it was time to finally spring for my own headset, rather than mooching one from Empire every time I flew. Empire carries the Telex brand, and they told me that they had tried a number of different brands and found the Telex to be reliable and to provide good value, so I decided that I'd purchase the entry level Echelon 100. There are a few other companies that offer an entry level headsets, the ASA entry level headset looked pretty good, but without being able to actually try each of them, it is really tough to determine which brand is best. Empire's price was competitive with online stores, they had it in stock, and I'd rather give Empire the business; they have been so nice to me.

Then it was time to hop in the airplane and head off into the wild blue yonder. After performing our run-up, we departed runway 32 and headed over to Person County airport for me to shoot my first few landings. On the way, we did some airwork including turns, stalls and emergency procedures.

I was surprised at how different the Cherokee feels compared to the 152. The "P" factor is much more noticeable, and there is a pronounced tendency for the nose to drop in turns. The ailerons are much heavier, and the rudder is less responsive. On the other hand, the stall is incredibly docile. With the 152, especially in a power-on turning stall, the stall is followed by a fairly abrupt wing drop. The Cherokee's stall just won't break - it just kind of burbles along.

The layout of the controls is very different. The 152s have an elevator trim wheel on the panel and push-pull mixture and throttle controls. The Cherokee has its trim control crank on the ceiling, and has levers for throttle and mixture. The Cherokee has an electric auxiliary fuel pump which must be turned on for take-off and landing, but carb heat is not typically used when landing. I guess after a while, the controls won't feel quite so foreign, I sure hope so, because they sure felt strange today.

The day could not have been more beautiful for flying. I went out early, and the temperature was crisp but not uncomfortably cold, the sky was crystal clear, and the air was as smooth as silk. I was pretty happy with my flying too. I was much smoother and felt more comfortable than at any time since I started flying again. All of my landings were acceptable, and one or two were even somewhat smooth.

Every other time, I have felt like I had to work really hard, and when I pulled back up to the hanger, I felt exhausted and my shirt was damp with perspiration. Today, I felt good.

I don't know if the difference was the airplane or just me having a good day, but, it definitely was a good day.

One day the poodle starts chasing butterflies and before long, Cuddles discovers that she's lost. Wandering about, she notices a leopard heading rapidly in her direction with the intention of having lunch.

The old poodle thinks, "Oh, oh! I'm in deep doo-doo now!" Noticing some bones on the ground close by, she immediately settles down to chew on the bones with her back to the approaching cat. Just as the leopard is about to leap, the old poodle exclaims loudly, "Boy, that was one delicious leopard! I wonder if there are any more around here?"

Hearing this, the young leopard halts his attack in mid-strike, a look of terror comes over him and he slinks away into the trees.

"Whew!", says the leopard, "That was close! That old poodle nearly had me!"

Meanwhile, a monkey who had been watching the whole scene from a nearby tree, figures he can put this knowledge to good use and trade it for protection from the leopard. So off he goes, but the old poodle sees him heading after the leopard with great speed, and figures that something must be up.

The monkey soon catches up with the leopard, spills the beans and strikes a deal for himself with the leopard. The young leopard is furious at being made a fool of and says, "Here, monkey, hop on my back and see what's going to happen to that conniving canine!"

Now, the old poodle sees the leopard coming with the monkey on his back and thinks, "What am I going to do now?", but instead of running, the dog sits down with her back to her attackers, pretending she hasn't seen them yet, and just when they get close enough to hear, the old poodle says: "Where's that damn monkey? I sent him off an hour ago to bring me another leopard!"

Moral of this story?

Don't mess with old people ...age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill! BS and brilliance only come with age and experience!

I was disappointed in the book overall. I found it to be a relatively difficult listen with slow pacing and an unsatisfying ending. My appraisal of the book appears to be in fairly stark contrast to the reviews on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. This is my first Ed McBain book, so it could be that his style just doesn't work for me, it could be that his work doesn't abridge well, or it could be that this particular book just didn't resonate with me.

There were two highlights to the book.

The first was the use of the Fat Ollie character to provide a commentary on what I expect have been criticisms of McBain's work. What I found particularly amusing was that one of the items commented on was that "there are too many characters in his books," which exactly mirrored my feelings up to that point.

The second was Ron McLarty's performance. McLarty is the type of reader who, as AudioFile puts it so well: "voices [the characters] with enough joie de vivre for two readers. McLarty is one of those rare actors who can truly inhabit a voice and a character, which makes for real listening pleasure."

We now have a contract on a house here in Florida.

Jeanie and I had planned all along to live in temporary housing while our house was built. We had just expected that it would be an apartment. Once we started looking at the price of rentals however, we realized that it made more sense economically to buy a small house and either sell it after a year or maybe even keep it as rental property.

We ended up buying a nice house a little smaller (~500 sq ft) than the house we just sold, off-island. In fact, it is in the neighborhood directly across the street from our lot. We can actually walk from our new house to our new lot! This should work out well. We will have a nice home in which to live, and we'll get to make sure we like the area we selected before we build our dream house that we would need to stay in for a number of years before it would be financially viable to move if we didn't like the area.

Assuming everything works out, we will be moving in about five weeks from today.

He shot and dropped a bird, but it fell into a farmer's field on the other side of a fence.

As the lawyer climbed over the fence, an elderly farmer drove up on his tractor and asked him what he was doing.

The litigator responded, "I shot a duck and it fell in this field, and now I'm going to retrieve it."

The old farmer replied, "This is my property, and you are not coming over here."

The indignant lawyer said, "I am one of the best trial attorneys in the United States and, if you don't let me get that duck, I'll sue you and take everything you own."

The old farmer smiled and said, "Apparently, you don't know how we settle disputes in South Dakota. We settle small disagreements like this with the Coyote "Three Kick Rule."

The lawyer asked, "What is the Coyote Three Kick Rule?"

The Farmer replied, "Well, because the dispute occurs on my land, first I kick you three times and then you kick me three times and so on back and forth until someone gives up."

The attorney quickly thought about the proposed contest and decided that he could easily take the old codger. He agreed to abide by the local custom.

The old farmer slowly climbed down from the tractor and walked up to the attorney. His first kick planted the toe of his heavy steel toed work boot into the lawyer's groin and dropped him to his knees. His second kick to the midriff sent the lawyer's last meal gushing from his mouth The lawyer was on all fours when the farmer's third kick to his rear end sent him face-first into a fresh cow pie.

The lawyer summoned every bit of his will and managed to get to his feet. Wiping his face with the arm of his jacket, he said, "Okay, you old coot. Now it's my turn."

[I love this part....]

The old farmer smiled and said, "Naw, I give up. You can have the duck."

A man staggers into an emergency room with a concussion, multiple bruises, two black eyes and a five iron wrapped tightly around his throat.

Naturally, the doctor asks him what happened.

"Well, it was like this," said the man. "I was having a quiet round of golf with my wife, when, at a difficult hole, we both sliced our balls into a pasture of cows. We went to look for them, and while I was rooting around I noticed one of the cows had something white at its rear end. I walked over and lifted up the tail, and sure enough, there was a golf ball with my wife's monogram on it........ stuck right in the middle of the cow's butt. That's when I made my big mistake."

"What did you do?" asks the doctor.

"Well, I lifted the tail and yelled to my wife, "Hey, this looks like yours!"

I don't remember much after that."

We had to agree to work with (read pay commission to) a buyer's agent, but we still saved 1/2 of what we would have had to pay had we listed with a Realtor.

We are set to close in six weeks, so needless to say, we're going to be pretty busy between now and then...

Finding a place to live in Florida...

Lining up a mover...

Packing...

All while I try to move the deal I'm leading at work toward closure.

Initially, we had thought that we would rent an apartment. After seeing what the rental rates were, we decided we should evaluate other options.

We thought about renting or buying a relocatable domicile (aka mobile home, oka trailer) but we couldn't find a suitable park, and the covenants in our to be new neighborhood forbid such residences.

So, we are now considering purchasing a small house on-island that we can either easily turn around and sell in a year, or possibly even keep as rental property. Buying a small house has a number of advantages over renting, including potential appreciation, not having to store our furniture, and retaining an income tax deduction.

So, barring another back out on the part of the prospective purchaser...

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to Florida we go...

I guess I should have read the reviews before I started, since they seem spot on to me.

The basic theme of the reviews is that this is NOT the first work of Heinlein you should start with. In fact, you shouldn't broach it until you've read at least a half-dozen or so of his other works. And then, you still might not enjoy it if you aren't a fairly hard core fan. And even then, because of its highly unusual construction, you still might not enjoy it.

I wasn't too keen on the style anyway, so I'm guessing this is one book (and maybe author) I probably won't get back to...

I quite enjoyed it. The mystery kept me guessing and I found the character development interesting. The modest amount of sex added a little spice that I hadn't expected. Sandra Brown will get added to the "A" list.

The bottom line - I once again have a third class airman's medical certificate - yea!

The asterisk - it is a "special issuance" certificate. In layman's terms, this means that there are some conditions associated with the certificate. Fortunately, the conditions aren't too onerous. First, the certificate is only valid for one year, rather than the standard two years for someone over forty. Second, in three months, my physician must provide the FAA with an update which indicates that no problems have surfaced which would impair my ability to operate an airplane in a manner consistent with providing for the safety of myself, my passengers, or the greater public.

If after review, the flight surgeon determines that I appear to truly be okay, then he has the option of extending the authorization to the standard two years.

In one of the interesting quirks of FAA regulations, the one year is from my original medical exam - not from the date of issuance. Since it took six months - to the day - to actually receive my certificate, that means that I only have six months left on my "one year." Similarly, the extension to the standard two years would be relative to my initial examination date.

What specific part of the regulations, you might be wondering, did I run afoul of? What explicitly stated medical condition do I have which causes the FAA to question my ability to safely pilot an aircraft?

None.

Yes, that's right. I don't remember the exact sub-paragraph at the moment, and I ironically can't look it up since I am sitting in an airplane (as a passenger), but the part to which my initial deferral refers basically boils down to a catch all "and anything else which the FAA feels might impair one's ability to safely pilot an aircraft."

The really amusing part is that if I never again seek a medical certificate, I could legally act as a pilot under the new sport pilot regulations, operating basically the same sort of aircraft I've been flying, in the same conditions, since the sport pilot regulations only require that you have a valid driver's license as proof of medical fitness. There are a number of limitations to the sport pilot license as compared to the private license, so assuming there is no change for the worse in my "condition," I'll continue to work to keep my medical current.

I had learned that I had received my certificate week before last via my weekly call to the FAA to get a status update. I decided I didn't want to say anything to anyone until I actually had the paper in my hot little hand. By the time I actually did have it, I had gotten really busy with work - thus the delay in the post.

They say that every cloud has a silver lining, and today justifies the cliché.

The weather had been unsuitable for flying for the last few days, but the forecast had called for today to be absolutely beautiful: clear skies, light winds, moderate temperatures. Based on this forecast, I had made a reservation to rent a plane for an hour this afternoon, just prior to my departure on a quick business trip.

My initial plan had been to fly one or two passes around the pattern with an instructor, then go solo, but, the FBO operator told me that it would be unlikely that an instructor would want to be at the airport for just a part of an hour lesson, so I bit the bullet and told him I'd just wing it.

Sorry, sometimes I just can't resist.

So, off my fearless bride and I set, for our adventure.

Jeanie really is a sport. I'm guessing, even though she assured me that it was not so, that she was terrified. Heck, I was nervous enough for the both of us. Even though I have had three instructors assure me that I was ready to fly solo, my confidence was less than 100%. Obviously, while not 100%, I did believe that I could safely get us up and down, or I wouldn't have taken a chance with the love of my life sitting in the right seat.

To ease into things, I decided to take one trip around the pattern. I considered my performance acceptable - not great - but acceptable. The takeoff was a pretty good soft field departure. I did a pretty good job of maintaining airspeed. Kept the pattern fairly tight. Made the appropriate radio calls at the appropriate times. Even made a reasonably smooth landing. I had to brake a little harder than I would have preferred, but, it wasn't embarrassing.

After taxiing back to the departure end of the runway, I made a second decent takeoff and headed toward Person County Airport. Person County is about sixteen miles away from Lake Ridge. Far enough to be able to do a little sightseeing but close enough to not take too long to get there.

Anyone who knows me knows that I can get lost going from my bedroom to my bathroom. I was therefore much relieved when I saw the airport in generally the direction I expected it to be. I even managed to dial in the correct frequency for the ATIS report, then switch to the correct CTAF, and select the correct runway upon which to land.

Person County has a 6000 foot runway, so needless to say, even though I was a little long, I didn't have to stand on the brakes. I wasn't super happy with my landing as I flared a little high and dropped the last few feet. Not enough to bounce, but not a "grease job" either.

Takeoff from Person County was smooth, although the trip back to Lake Ridge wasn't due to convective heating of the earth. The down side of a clear, warm, sunny day is that the air tends to be a bumpy. I was able to navigate directly back to the airport and enter the traffic pattern properly.

I was high on my approach, so I decided to do a go-around. The good news / bad news was that all three instructors happened to be sitting outside watching my approach. The good news was that they informed me that the winds had shifted almost 180 degrees in the half-hour that I had been away (which was not anticipated in my weather briefing) so I should use runway 14 rather than 32. The bad news was that my second approach was not at all pretty, so they got to see two bad approaches. On my second approach, I was still high, so I tried to perform a forward slip, but the feedback from the assembly was that I didn't really hold the slip long enough to be effective, and instead just looked sloppy. I did end up with a decent landing for the last twenty feet or so - fairly smooth roll-out, stall buzzer going off right at touchdown, no sideways motion, aligned with the center line, no need to apply brakes before exiting the runway.

All in all, it was a very nice day. I really enjoyed the time with Jeanie, and given the fact that neither we nor the airplane suffered any damage, I'll chalk it up to a good first day "back in the saddle."

I enjoyed it. I thought the character development was good, and the story moved along at a good pace. Ken Howard was a good narrator, although his presentation was more of a narration than a performance. By that, I mean that he did not really differentiate the characters by using different voices or add much inflection or emotion into the dialog portions. Nonetheless, his reading was not distracting, nor did it diminish the experience.

Given that the book was over ten hours, it is hard to believe that it was abridged, but after reading some reviews of the actual book, I guess the full version would have approached a forced march if listened to just due to sheer volume.

I was a little disappointed with the ending, because it didn't wrap things up cleanly, but given that the story centered around Vietnam, having no clear, clean, neatly tied up ending did seem somewhat fitting. Based on this book, I will definitely give DeMille another try.

Sometimes, it seems that everything that can go wrong does, and then some. Other times, it seems that everything that can go wrong, doesn't or even comes out better.

I headed "up" on Tuesday. Weather in Raleigh was clear for my 6:55 AM flight, so things should go smoothly... HA!

The first delay was encountered before we even left the ground. The crew had arrived late the night before, and so departure was delayed for "crew rest." Okay, I don't want a bleary eyed pilot driving the bus I'm riding in anyway.

That put us behind about thirty minutes. Considering my connection was only about an hour, that would make things tight, but, I should still be able to make my 2:00 PM meeting.

After about a half hour aloft, our pilot informs us that we will be flying "racetrack patterns" for a while due to weather delays in New York. Okay, not much I can do about it at this point, and besides, usually, if there are weather delays, that impacts departing flights too, so maybe I'll still make my connection... HA!

I arrive in LaGuardia to find out that I am in concourse "C" and my next flight is departing concourse "D." Not only do I have to switch concourses, but there is no way to go directly from the gates in "C" to the gates in "D." I must exit the concourse and go back through security. Considering I only have four minutes to accomplish this, things are starting to look sketchy...

When I finally arrive at my departure gate, I discover that the Toronto flight did in fact leave on time - without me. The gate agent is nice enough to inform me that I have been placed on the waiting list for the noon flight, and have a reservation on the 2:00 PM flight. Thanks, but that isn't going to do much for my 2:00 PM meeting. Arrg!

Since I have over two hours to kill, I wander over to the Admiral's Club. As I am checking in, I share my travel woes with the helpful person at the desk. Once again, I am reminded of just how good an investment that annual membership is. Patti the desk agent makes a call, schmoozes whoever is on the other end of the conversation, and all of a sudden, I have a confirmed seat on the noon flight. Hey, could be worse... the noon flight arrives at 1:45 PM, so I should only be about 15 minutes late to the meeting. Ah, but fate is not finished playing with me yet.

Around 11:20, I wander back to the gate to board the plane. Hmmm, what plane? I see no plane at the gate... Upon inquiry with the friendly gate agent, I learn that the plane which was supposed to be at the gate is still sitting in Boston. Uh oh! After waiting a few minutes wondering "what now?" the agent informs the huddled masses that we will instead be using a plane which is coming in from Detroit - and should be here in an hour or so. Back to the Admiral's club I go. Patti doesn't even ask to see my card this time...

Back to the gate I go at 12:30 - guess what? The incoming flight is once again delayed. "But really Mr. Sanders, it will be here at 1:45 PM, see you around quarter past." This time, when I return to the Admirals Club, Patti just gives me one of those "one of those days?" smiles.

The good news was that the third time was the charm, and I did actually end up getting on a plane, that did take off, and did arrive in Toronto. Of course, I was about an hour and a half late for me meeting, but, such is life some days.

I wish I could say that this was the end of my travel woes, but, the hotel had one more little zinger to offer. When I went to check in, the desk clerk did the normal check-in routine, but at the end, at the point at which he was supposed to hand me my room key, he gets this pained look on his face and asks me to hold on just a moment. This is followed by him making a call during which he offers more pained expressions. After hanging up, he informs me that he is terribly sorry, but my room is not ready - mind you, it is after 6:00 PM - and would I mind having a seat in the lobby while he tries to work things out. Well, long story short, after fifteen minutes or so, he gets things worked out, and I get my key - to a very nice room on one of the executive floors.

Fast forward to the next day, and my trip home.

I end up getting to the airport a little earlier than usual, and invite one of my business associates to join me in the Admiral's Club. After checking in, the desk agent inquires about my destination. When I tell her that I am going to Raleigh via New York, she pauses... Uh oh! But, much to my delight, she says "the flight that you are booked on is showing that it will be delayed, which will cause you to miss your connection, but, there is an earlier flight that I can get you on if you'd like." "Uh, yeah, thanks," I say. She tap tap taps on the keyboard, and out spits a new boarding pass. Once again, I think "Membership has its privileges;" okay, that's some other company's slogan, but, when the foo sh*ts... "When will the flight start boarding I ask," figuring I'll have to rush the beer I had planned to have with my associate. "Right now," she replies. So much for the beer... At least my associate got to stay in the club until his flight departed.

Cool, I think. Now, rather than stressing out about missing my flight, I'll have plenty of time to make my connection in New York, I think. But, it gets even better. We end up arriving a little early in New York. I look on the board to see which gate my connection will depart from. Guess what? There are two flights scheduled for Raleigh, the one I'm on, and another that is leaving from the same gate - which is only four gates away - boarding in five minutes. So, I rush up to the gate, and ask the nice gate agent if there is any way I can sneak on to this flight, rather than having to wait. "Sure," she says. Tap tap tap, and out spits a new boarding pass. As soon as she hands the pass to me, the door agent announces the boarding call, and on I walk, turning what could have been another ugly trip with another late arrival, into a smooth trip that resulted in me getting home over an hour early!