“Land in River, Write a Book”

            I was reading Capt. Chesley Sullenburger’s book about his life as an a Air Force fighter pilot then as an airline pilot. He’s the guy that landed in the Hudson river and saved all those people. Lately I have been writing about some of my experiences working on the ground at an airport so guys like him could take off or land those planes…. I don’t mean anything by that. I just loved my job. I always thought of it as a very exciting thing to do for a living. I mean who else gets to see a plane land with no landing gear. Or a F-105 fighter make a 300 foot pass over main runway at just below the sound barrier speed. That’s about 600 miles an hour. Talk about earth shaking…. You can’t imagine what that sounds like. You cannot duplicate that sound in the movies. We, the air traffic controllers, flight deck personal and myself are called Penguins.…. The birds that don’t fly… We just make sure that the pilots can…We get them off the ground or land them as safely as possible…I was reading an excerpt on how he diverted to another destination airport to try to save a woman who had a heart attack. She didn’t make it. He said, “She died as he was landing the plane“. I never told the story of the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) pilot who was landing on the same runway I was working on. I glanced up towards the approach and in the distance seen that a Cessna Citation was landing. I seen him in the air coming towards us. I just cleared the runway in time as he touched down where the car was……I saved some lives that day. …Me and my helper, the pilot, the co-pilot and the people on that plane…..I think I’ll write a book about that, leading up to events that happened that day. I’ll describe how I got ready to go to work, not knowing I could be close to losing my life if it wasn’t for my quick decision making and experience. If I didn’t see that plane people would have lost their lives…I could write about how I went over to that pilot and got really close to his face and with my finger pointing at him told him what I thought of the way he landed. I could describe in detail how I reported him to FAA officials… Well, I don’t want bore with details…After all, I didn’t land in a river…….

“Peace”

         I moved to the shoreline of Connecticut in August of 2008. Lately I have been able to withdraw into myself to think deep thoughts about my fate in the not to distant future.
With the help of my God, it is so peaceful and calming I don’t believe it myself. The miracle of letting go of the past and the willingness to be alone. Getting old is a one time experience that I have been blessed to accept with grace and happiness. I don’t worry about the unknown or what happens.. What ever the future holds for me I have a confidence that I will be peaceful and content.. I accept that..

“Drug Testing”

Written on Thursday, December 15, 2011
Being tough has to start somewhere…..A while ago the state of Florida passed the Welfare drug test law…I hope it’s a supervised test by the State Police. The way things are these days, you should have a drug test to get school loan or to borrow any federal money for anything. Personally I think it should be mandatory for you to be a U.S. citizen and have a drug test before getting food stamps or any state program…Too many tax dollars a going up someone’s nose for drugs and cigarettes. Hey, what can I say. Now you have the illegal prescription drugs on the internet, Alcohol and the power drinks that are laced with addictive ingredients designed to hook you, to get you to come back and spend more money. Remember? Its always about the money…These are all all stepping stone products to addict you in the future.. All designed to get you try more powerful things. Sooner or later you will and before you know it you are out of control. You can’t stop. The triggers then will be denial, anger, paranoia, fear and resentment. All these lead to jail or death. Don’t believe me? In the past drug dealers gave you a free sample of what they wanted to sell you to get you to come back for more. It didn’t take long before you would do just about anything (steal, sell yourself, Do you remember girls?) to get the drug. Today anything goes and they do that to sell you just about anything. You know the stories. The tragic death of the high school kid who used just a little too much or committed suicide because he or she thought they couldn’t stop. In Enfield Connecticut last night they had a suicide prevention instruction class for parents to spot certain behavior before their children commit suicide. To get any money (tax dollars) from any state or federal program there should be a mandatory supervised drug test. No Exceptions….

Note……This is truly unbelievable, The Mayor of New Haven Connecticut wants to to let Illegal’s vote in municipal elections…Check link…This is where and how the insanity begins…

“On This Day in American History”

On May 26, 1868, President Andrew Johnson is acquitted during a Senate impeachment trial. The House of Representatives had found Johnson guilty of violating the Tenure in Office Act, which curbed presidential powers to remove cabinet members from office. The law was later found to be unconstitutional. Thirty-five senators found the president guilty, while 19 voted not guilty. That fell one vote short of the two-thirds majority needed to remove the president. Ten days earlier, Johnson narrowly survived another impeachment trial by the same vote. Johnson, a Democrat, was Republican president Abraham Lincoln’s vice president and became president after Lincoln was assassinated.

“Virus”

The year is 2020 and even with all the medical information and knowledge, we still have a deadly virus in this world.. I have never seen anything like this. Why? What happened? All of a sudden people are dying all over the world.. Someone said it started in a Virology laboratory, whatever that is, in Wuhan, China. How and why did this happen? Who could ever imagine something like this still happening? I have friends all over the world and its the same everywhere.. Live videos of locked down city’s and who would ever think Times Square as having only a few people wandering around during the day.. Some City’s are worse than others but people are dying everywhere.. When I was a little kid I remember the Smallpox Vaccinations, Mumps, Sickle Cell Anemia, Aids, Chicken Pox, Measles, Whooping cough, Flu shots and now this.. In the building I live they are constantly wiping door handles and tables.. I have a daily routine and have changed it somewhat which means no crowds and staying home unless I need something then its a long ride in the Mustang.. My walking the beach everyday will never stop… Again, this is the Modern world..Why did this happen or did someone start the Pandemic?

“Trump the Bottom Line”

When I was a kid I made a monthly drive to Atlantic City with a Cool Chick to stay in those beautiful hotels, Trump Plaza and the Taj Mahal and go to the beach and walk the boardwalk. Very rarely I would play the 25 cent slots but I didn’t go there for that.. I remember the Trump BAC-111 Jet flying over the New Jersey Tnpk…   Really think about this … Trump has always had everything given to him ALL his life.. He doesn’t worry about having a first class seat. He has always had his own Jet airliner.. He doesn’t know what its like to work for a living to feed your family. He has had no reason to learn anything except how to call the maid to clean the mess or driver for his car…His Hotel room is always the Penthouse… He doesn’t know anything else and has nothing to compare it too…. The idea is when you are elected by the people and sent to Washington you to try to represent the people fairly and be a decent human being by setting an example for the good people of this country…It would also be a good idea to stop the lawyers from running this country and give it back to the people. Just my opinion..

“Windsor Locks Memory Test”

 Memory test.. How many people knew there was a Bidwell’s Brick Yard in Windsor Locks on North St. across from Logan’s Appliance Store. I don’t remember Mr. Bidwell’s first name.. Yes, there was an Appliance store.. Later Frank Logan moved his store. Do you know where?  I do.. Richard and his brother Robert Tambussi were the lumber yard Kings. What was their Father’s Name? His first name was, you guess and yes I knew him well..I worked at the Lumber yard for 3 years… How about that Paul Bunyan statue in front of the lumber Yard? What happened to that? Was Bidwell a King also? Where was Bidwell’s lumber yard? At the bottom of what one way street? I think “at that point in time” there was only one.. Always wanted to say that…

 

Where was the original Terminal at Bradley, the one the Army Air Force built? Yes, there was an Army Air Force. Did you know there was a grass swimming pool at bottom end of Whiten St. Before the cement one on top of the hill. I remember when they built that one.. Was really a big deal then..

Behind the Italian Progressive club on Suffield St. there was huge water tank on stilts (the only way to describe it) My Dad said when he was a kid he climbed it and wrapped (his words) his legs around the ball on top.. What a way to set an example. I thought about it but never did it.. I put (with help of coarse) the three lights on top of the mountain in East Granby.. They were longer than usual telephone poles with lights on top.. I maintained those lights and all the beacons and towers at all the State owned airports climbing the towers and poles for maintenance and changing the lamps. I guess climbing towers and poles runs in the family..

There was also a USO on Spring St. Do you know where that was? Do you know what USO means? Did you know there was WAC’s (Woman’s Army Corp) barracks in Windsor Locks? Yes there was.. I started working at Bradley when the Control Tower was, do you know where? I do..

P.S. The picture is of the Trolley Car Trestle and when we were kids walked out to the end of it where it was broken.. Do you know who owned the property that bordered the trestle? I do…

“From Where I Sit”

The Plague.. There I said it.. I seem to remember thinking or saying, when you can’t breath the air what’s the point of being here.. You are probably thinking, you have got to put your mask on before you read this. Putting on a Surgeon’s mask to go outside to get some fresh air is absolutely insane.. Wait.. All this mask stuff is important to some people.. I’m going to go as far as saying if you are unhealthy for any reason by all means, wear the Surgeons mask.. In my case, yes I’m an old man but I’m very healthy..There was a time I went to the Doctor for regular check ups. The last time I went she told me no more appointments and to call if I wasn’t well…. I don’t remember when it was that I had a cold.. I haven’t had a Cold or a Flu shot for at least 10 years. However I do have really bad Spring Allergy’s. Hey, nobody’s perfect.. Why don’t you get sick, is what you are thinking? Well, I haven’t had a drink of Alcohol in 42 years. I haven’t smoked a cigarette in 20 years and I have been a Vegetarian for 10 years.. In other words I have very good resistance to what ever is going on out there. I’ve seen the types of people who are getting sick.. I feel really bad for them..

“Give it a Try”

With all these drug overdoses and drinking sicknesses and yes if you drink alcohol and use drugs you get sick quicker because your natural resistance to diseases is broken down. Did you know that if you didn’t smoke, drink or use drugs these days they call it being, “clean and sober”. Did you even know being sick is usually related to the excessive drinking of alcohol. Do you know what its like not to smoke, use drugs or drink alcohol? Do you know how you feel when you don’t smoke, drink or use drugs? Do you know what its like when you are healthy enough not to need pharmaceuticals to be well and happy most of the time?  Do you know what its like not crave anything but food because you are hungry… I do.. And I can safely say, stay tuned and God bless…

 

 

 

 

“Words that make you think“

Now, a little bit of some, “Words that make you think“…I was talking to a friend of mine who just happens to be Catholic priest about God and the mystery of a strength greater than myself. I asked him about the connection of God and the church and a drug addict or an alcoholic who has denied God but now needs a power greater than him or her self to stay clean or stop drinking. He said “Lar, The people who go to church every Sunday are afraid to go to Hell. The people who ask God to help them stay clean and sober have already been there“. “That’s the difference“…I still have goose bumps….