Inspiration

It seems like every time our piano tuner John comes to our house, he scolds me for waiting too long between tunings. I agree with him that it should be done every six months, but I don't really think about it until the piano sounds off-key.

The last time he came over, I was on the defensive. "If you would send out a postcard reminder like the dentist does every 6 months," I declared, "I would make sure to call you for an appointment in a timely fashion."

Without hesitating, he replied, "OK -- from now on, when the dentist sends you a postcard, call me."

"Sometimes you won't know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory."

- Dr. Seuss

In his book, Sled Driver, SR-71 Blackbird pilot Brian Shul writes:

I'll always remember a certain radio exchange that occurred one day as Walt (my back-seater) and I were screaming across Southern California 13 miles high. We were monitoring various radio transmissions from other aircraft as we entered Los Angeles airspace. Though they didn't really control us, they did monitor our movement across their scope. I heard a Cessna ask for a readout of its ground speed.

"90 knots" Center replied. Moments later, a Twin Beech required the same.

"120 knots," Center answered. We weren't the only ones proud of our ground speed that day as almost instantly an F-18 smugly transmitted, "Ah, Center, Dusty 52 requests ground speed readout."

"I think of a hero as someone who understands the degree of responsibility that comes with his freedom."

- Bob Dylan