School Pranks...

Apparently CalTech, Harvey Mudd and MIT colleges have a thing for cannons. In 1986, Harvey Mudd (Claremont, Ca) students heisted the CalTech (Pasadena, Ca.) cannon and made a bit of history. Harvey Mudd/CalTech Cannon Story Here

Now it seems MIT has gotten into the fun and games. MIT/CalTech Cannon Story Here

Which reminds me of a couple of pranks pulled in 1982 and 1983 by the respective graduating classes at Upland High School (Upland, Ca.), my Alma Mater.

In 1982, we showed up to school one balmy may morning to find a new transfer student from Ontario, Ca. His name was Bob and he was a big boy. Actually...it WAS Bob's Big Boy. You may recall the restaraunt chain that had a Big Boy holding a plate with a Big Boy Burger on it. Well...the seniors of 1982 "borrowed" Bob from the Ontario Big Boy shop and parked him on top of the Admin Building. Great prank! He stayed there for a day or two then quietly made his way back to Ontario.

Not to be outdone, my buddies and I, from the class of 1983, decided to have a little fun as well. My buddies had found the hulk of an old VW Beetle. It had been spray-painted multiple colors and a giant band aid had been placed over one of the dents. We loaded it on the back of my soon-to-be brother-in-law's pickup and drove around town showing it off to some of our friends. Soon we had a about 15 guys with this Bug wondering what to do with it.

Earlier in the school year, a tree had blown down in the Quad. All that was left was a stump about 2-3 feet above the ground. The light bulb went off. It took ten guys to hoist the bug off the truck (I was one of them) and lug it across campus on a Wednesday night. Now the school hosted Bingo on Wednesday nights, a fact we'd forgotten about. We dropped the Bug, with a loud bang, on the stump and my friend Larry jumped up and down on the bumper to wedge it in for good measure. About that time, one of the janitors heard us and gave chase.

Our plane, if caught was to split up and make our way to our individual homes. We were dumb. We all ran for our cars and trucks and beat feet. Curt dropped us all off at our homes around 10 p.m. Everyone except Dan. Dan got caught. To make matters worse, Dan had a bench warrant out on him for failure to appear. (He tried to fight a traffic ticket, got the cop to the courthouse, then forgot what day it was and blew it off!) Cops got called, Dan got rousted, not looking good. Dan spilled his guts, amid tears, and several of my friends (not me) got a phone call from the police.

"Mr. Hanks...Mr. Curt Hanks? This is the Upland Police Department...yes I know it's almost midnight but some of your friends need help removing a car from the High School campus...yes...we'll see you in a few minutes."

Ten guys had lugged that Bug, now five guys had to unlug it. Back on the truck it went. When asked what they should do with it, Upland P.D. said they didn't care as long as it wasn't within the city limits. For years, if you went up Mountain Avenue, passed 24th. Street, and off to the west to the dam. If you looked over the edge you could see a brightly colored VW Bug resting at the bottom of the drop-off.

Needless to say, the Admin was not amused. We Seniors were called, one by one into the Asst. Vice Principal's office. Mr. Ritter gave us our choice. Pull weeds in the Quad. Clean up at the Senior Breakfast. Or skip Commencement.

I wanted to skip Commencement as did my buddies to make a point. Our parents thought otherwise. We cleaned up after the Senior Breakfast. When people asked why we were doing it, we told them. Many laughed and said, "Great Prank". Others shook their heads. Some nodded their heads and said, "Cool man".

I wonder where that car is today?

Eric

They Gave Me...

...an "on-call" pager.

Argghhhh!

But I don't blame the Chief Pilot...he is just plain sick and tired of the 3:00 AM phone calls to go somewhere. After a while...it just drives you up the bloody wall. It's something that I hated before and am reluctantly doing now. It's my job though...it's what I was hired to do.

Good news is, I am only the "on-call" after hours/weekend pilot every other week. Works for me!

In the job-hunting department...

The Chief Pilot received a call from a local company that has a Beechjet. She was asking him how to find a pilot. He mentioned one of the many pilot job boards and then asked her where she was located.

"In Redding", she said.

"I know you, I flew you to Yuba City once, he said.

"I know you too", she said.

"She know's me too", I hollered. (I had flown her to Yuba City a week after the CP did and then two of her co-workers to Oakland. These two guys had their IPods out on the way home and were ripping up a mean air guitar all the way back to Redding!)

They laughed.

She asked if he was available and how much he wanted for pay. He said yes and gave the $$ amount. I said I was available too for the same $$ amount. She said, "Keep this on the QT...I'll call you back."

I pulled out my checkbook and said, "How much should I make this out for you to mention my name?"

Chief Pilot laughed and said, "They're looking for two pilots...I'll make sure she knows about you too!"

She called back, he emailed his resume and added my name as a potential candidate.

So...got one in the hopper.

Eric

The Boy Flys!

My son really hasn't expressed an interest in flying and I haven't encouraged it either. It's a tough life. His gifts and talents lie elsewhere. But I had to fly an airplane on Saturday to break in a new engine. 45 minutes of running high power just flying around to nowhere in particular. My wife said to take the boy. I figured he'd be bored but he perked right up when I asked him.

Out to the airport we went. Hopped in and took off. Not a bad day...a little rain around the hills but the valley was fairly clear. I showed him the inside of a cloud, we circled around Red Bluff, looked at our old house in Shasta Lake City, flew over his school and I let him fly a bit.

Here's some pics...












Eric

Blowed Stuff Up!

We went to the Inaugural California Capital Airshow at Mather Field in Rancho Cordova on Sunday.

I went there for one reason and one reason only...





Yup...to watch things go boom!

It was pretty cool. I've never seen a pyrotechnic display at an airshow before and have always wanted to see one. It was worth the 2 hour and 15 minute drive and the 1 1/2 hour wait in traffic to go 3 miles to see it. I thought it would be done with the WWII warbirds; the Bearcat, the Hellcat, The T28 Trojan, the P51 Mustang and the P40 Warhawk. But no...it was done with an A-10 Warthog!

The Blues were good too. An acquantance of mine (he has a better digital camera) got some pretty good shots of the Blues.





Not too bad of an airshow. It was the first one they've done in Rancho Cordova and Mather. I hope next time they get some cops out to direct traffic on the way IN to the airshow instead of on the way OUT of the airshow.

Eric

I Was Gonna Blog...

...about the airshow I just saw but I'll do that later.

Instead I want to talk about a 21 year old girl who died last night. I first met her at her 4th birthday party. She was the daughter of my wife's best friend's sister. Melissa was Madeline's only daughter and she grew up strong in the Catholic church. She had a good head on her shoulders and had announced 2 weeks ago that she wanted to be an organ donor.

She didn't know it would happen so quick.

The full details can be had at www.kcal9.com. You'll need to go to the right hand side or scroll down a bit and find the video link that says, "Witness helps identify hit and run".

Just like that, a life is gone. Just like that, someone decides to leave the scene of an accident. Just like that, two lives are destroyed. One by death, the other by not doing the right thing.

One beautiful girl is gone but her cornea's are helping someone see; her heart valves are giving someone a second chance on life and her skin is easing the pain of a burn victim.

One 24-year-old boy (and I use that word on purpose because at 40 I can see that at 24 I knew shite and was a boy) will probably spend some time in jail on vehicular manslaughter charges. At least, he damn well better. I'd prefer to see a vehicular homicide charge dropped on his head. Thank God for conscientious citizens like the person who followed him from Lakewood to Downey, to his street and watched as he opened his garage, parked his truck and shut the door.

His life will never be the same again. But he has something Melissa doesn't...he gets to live to see another sunrise. He gets to contemplate his life. He might have the opportunity to marry, have kids, grow old.

Melissa won't.

Her mother will never see her only child graduate college. Meet a man. Get married. Have children.

Sometimes life sucks.

Some people will ask, "Where was God in all of this?"

I think He was standing right beside Melissa when the lights went out. I like to think that when the jolt stopped, she opened her eyes and saw Jesus there waiting to take her to someplace nicer than the urban jungle of Southern California. Why He allowed her to die is not something I can answer nor will I even try. He knows the reason. If it is for us to know, we will know. If not, then it's none of out business. Faith can be a bitch sometimes, but for many of us, it is all we have.

Melissa's mom, Madeline, could use your prayers. So could her Dad with whom she was living. So could all of the Bautista family who are mourning the loss of one of their own. (BTW...there are 17 kids in the Bautista family with an extended family of near 50. They are all close.)

Kiss your loved ones tonight and tell them you love them. Pray for them as they leave your protection. Life is short, that we all know. Facing mortality is not a pleasant business but it is life. Enjoy what you have. Enjoy the people you have. Enjoy the time you have. For one day, it will be gone.

Eric

Quotes The Third

(I got a million of them!)

“This song isn’t about anything, and it was recorded for no particular reason.” - Liner notes from This Train’s “Mimes of the Old West.”

“We want to be good neighbors, but it’s hard to blow things up and not make noise.” - Larry Rogers

“Crises always reveals a person’s true character.” - Oswald Chambers

"If you steal from only one guy it's plagiarism; If you steal from two or more it's research." - Howard Roberts, Jazz guitarist

"Talent borrows; Genius steals." - Friedrich Nietzsche

"Thou shalt not steal." - God

"She's a taker." - The Artist Formerly Known as Prince

“Deja fu The feeling that somewhere, somehow you've been kicked in the head like this before.” - Anonymous

"The art of Kung Fu San Soo lies not in victory or defeat, but in the building of human character." - Grand Master Jimmy
H. Woo

“The Trojan Cross is a hollow (or rather empty) cross that is brought into a group of believers and when opened, Rev. Ike, Benny Hinn, Robert Shueller and others get out and contaminate the congregation.” Rabbi Dale

“Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.” – Mao Tse Tung

“The ballot is stronger than the bullet.” – Abraham Lincoln

And last but not least...

“I don’t have that great a faith, and yet when I talk about it, it all comes back.” – Martin Luther

Eric

Quotes Part Duex

Just some more...

“Some of the church fathers goofed. Irenaeus (about 180 A.D.) reported that Gnostic’s believed ‘that marriage and procreation are from Satan.’ Marcion (another heretic in the 2nd. century) spoke of the ‘disgusting paraphernalia of reproduction.’ Augustine (a great church leader about A.D. 300) wrote that ‘the highway to hell lay between a woman’s thighs.’ Jerome (another great church leader A.D. 300) spoke of ‘the bestial act of intercourse.’ He also said, “Anyone who is too passionate a lover with his own wife is himself an adulterer.” Peter Lombard (theologian about A.D. 1100) warned ‘that the Holy Spirit left the room when a married couple had relations, even if for the purpose of conceiving a child.’ Fortunately, Martin Luther (about A.D. 1540) held a healthier view - that ‘the marital embrace might be a good posture in which to be found when Jesus returns.’ Cornelius Plantinga, Jr., said, in line with Hebrews 13:4 - ‘Sex for Christians . . . is a joy . . . not a toy. You do not play with fire. Sex needs context. It needs a fireplace.” - Jim Townsend

“My purpose here is to clearly demonstrate to all concerned that you are indeed insane. Please don’t change color when I am talking to you!” - Unknown

“Flesh‘ is a strong almost crude way of referring to human nature. John does not say, ‘the Word became man’, nor ‘the Word took a body’. He chooses that form of expression which puts what he wants to say most bluntly.” - Leon Morris

“The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. The beauty of capitalism is that you can choose which group to be in. The ranks of the rich and the poor to include different people all the time.” - Anonymous

“The rich man needs to know how the poor man feels, and the poor man needs to know how hard the rich man works.” - Anonymous

“There is a cost to everything. That’s why every choice is a tradeoff.” - Anonymous

“Life is tough on the prairie and only the fittest survive. You live in a cruel universe. Don’t fool yourself.” - Anonymous

“Actions have consequences.” - Anonymous

“Life is a tragedy for those who feel, and a comedy for those who think.” - Jean De La Bruyere

“It is never fun to die.” - A.W. Tozer

Eric

Quotes

For some years now I have been collecting quotes. Things that people say, or things I read that catch my fancy. I've got about 16 pages now of quotes and as I read back through them I can see the different stages of my life.

I've selected a few quotes from each "era" and posted them here. Some are funny. Some are deep. Some are sarcastic. Some are just...well...different. Hope you enjoy!

"Our non-Christian contemporaries are looking for something real. What we offer them must be genuine enough to withstand a careful and thorough probing. Sick of phony solutions, they're even more feed up with phony people." - Paul E. Little

"It has become fashionable to be "broad-minded", a category into which more and more segments of society are striving to fit. Broad-mindedness is the keynote of our generation. Hollywood broad-mindedly hustles the philandering husband and faithless wife onto the wide screen for the applause of the broad-minded masses. The chiseling cheat has his applauders, the price-fixing executive his apologists. Minds have been stretched so broad that in many cases little of moral substance seems to be left between the ears." - Liberty Magazine

"A parallel expression we hear is, 'I don't feel the need of religion', as if the truth or falsehood of Christianity depended upon one's feeling of need ...The truth of Christianity cannot be determined by psychology. The truth can never be determined by what we want it to be." - R.C. Sproul

“Sometimes I look at Sandy sleeping, unaware of me, vulnerable as a child, and remember that she lived a good part of her life before I even entered it. The face of a sleeping woman, of this sleeping woman, is profound. With its soft lines, with its hidden eyes, with its closed lips, it says: ‘Eleven years are barely enough to get beneath the skin - let alone to the heart - of the mystery that is a woman.’ This woman is my wife. But she is also a sweet stranger, beyond the knowing of a lifetime. She surprises me, and I am glad for that because it renews our marriage.” - Rodney Clapp

“If I took Jesus seriously, and truly asked God to let me do His will in my life, would I be where I am right now?” - Jack Perry

“The dumber people think you are, the more surprised they’re going to be when you kill them.” - William Clayton

Eric

So Much For Lent

I'm a bad Catholic. Okay...I'm not Catholic (I wear orange on St. Paddy's Day!) but I tried this whole "give up something for Lent to focus myself on Christ and His suffering" deal. What I found out is that giving up food is dumb. I need to give up something else...maybe a kidney or something. ;)

Actually, I've spent more time in prayer and thinking about Christ and my life in Him in the last week or so because of my desire to observe Lent. While I'm still eating lunch, I do wind up praying more. It's not so much "praying" as we are taught in Sunday School, more along the lines of conversations between me and God. Actually, more along the lines of me talking, God (like a stereotypical therapist) going, "mmmhmmm...I see" and me understanding what He's talking about. Make sense?

Sure it doesn't. You see, I've never been able to sit still enough to hear the still small voice; to see the moral behind the story; to appreciate the sublety of the meaning behind the painting. Being ADHD...I see, acknowledge, go "WOW" and move on. This week, I've been hearing the still small voice a lot more than before; I am beginning to see the moral of the story before it's spelled out for me and the sublety of the art, which I could see in retrospective, is becoming more apparent on the first viewing. It's as if the clouds of ADHD-induced fog is beginning to lift somewhat after 40 years of trying to determine if that large lump of stuff was something that maybe I shouldn't have stepped into. Usually, I discover too late that the lump of stuff I stepped into was dog-poo and the odor I first smelled was a good clue!


Out of the mouths...

My son warmed the cockles of my heart (I think I posted this but can't remember). He stated to his mother how he couldn't understand why men would be attracted to other men when woman are so hot.

Yes.

My boy.

Straight and horny at 13.

Thank you Jesus!

This comes about from the fact that one of the teachers at his school who also choreographs the kids singing/dancing program in the summer, www.kuia.org, is gay. The teacher is "married" and my son also wanted to know, "Who's the man and who's the wife?" My wife shot me a look saying, "Don't you EVEN go there!" And it comes from the buzz from "Brokeback Mountain".

He's so straight and horny at 13 that on "Deal or No Deal" on TV...he chooses his briefcase based on the hottness of the girl holding it!

Now...I just need to keep my little girl (11) from discovering boys. ;)

Eric

Looks Like I Picked A Bad Week To Stop Eating!

Whoo Boy. Looks like I picked a bad week to skip lunch for Lent! It seems every day this week I've had a late flight that would make me miss dinner which meant I would be flying in a hypoglycemic state.

Not a good idea with paying passengers on board. Thank God for "Balance Bars". Lots of protein!

So maybe I need to give up something else? I don't know. I do know that I have been praying more now that I'm thinking about it more. I do know that letting it growl a little longer instead of satisfying the desire has focused my attention on what I think about most...my stomach! I don't know if the last two years of dieting and keeping off the 30 pounds I lost has made me crave some of the old foods I...well...craved or if it is just the stress but I swear, if someone plopped down a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts, hot from the store, I'd eat every last one of them and woe to the person who tried to stop me...you'd pull back a bloody stump!

I'll try something else to fast from next week. Maybe my weekly frou-frou coffee.

In other news...I'm being tempted to jump the Microsoft ship and go to Linspire. Linspire

Check out Chris Whitehead's blog from the sidebar...he's the one who's been tempting me with Linspire.

That's all for today...

Eric