Never Take Your View For Granted

This is great. I hate that I absolutely do take it for granted the stuff I can see everyday. A little humbleness coming my way.
 
higney85 said:
You are one doc appt away from losing everything you know and love for; it's amazing what one test can reveal.

Only guarantees in life are death and taxes. Harsh but cannot be proven wrong.

Enjoy every day like it's your last in the air.
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This is very true. Ask me how I know. All you can think of is 'if I had known that my last flight was truly my last flight'........... But I was very lucky in that I got to have one more day and evening several months later in the only place that has ever brought me true peace......the sky. The only place where I had known my entire life that I truly belonged. I got one more sunset, one more starry evening, one more coastline, one more mountain range, one more moment of joy skimming the ocean, one more sun filled day, one more chance to chase through the clouds and one more day of real freedom. I took my one do-over. I figured that I deserved it and I needed some partial closure/relief. Many others aren't so fortunate.

Be passionate. Because when you are truly passionate about what you do, you will find peace, you will know happiness and you seriously will never feel you have wasted your time or that your job is a chore or that life is mundane. Be.......really be in each and every moment you are aloft and savor them like a marvelous beautiful woman.
 
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A Life Aloft said:
This very true. Ask me how I know. All you can think of is 'if I had known that my last flight was truly my last flight'........... But I was very lucky in that I got to have one do over, one more day and evening several months later in the only place that has ever brought me true peace......the sky. The only place where I had known my entire life that I truly belonged. I got one more sunset, one more starry evening, one more coastline, one more mountain range, one more moment of joy skimming the ocean, one more sun filled day, one more chance to chase through the clouds and one more day of real freedom. Many others aren't so fortunate.

Be passionate. Because when you are truly passionate about what you do, you will find peace, you will know happiness and you seriously will never feel you have wasted your time or that your job is a chore or that life is mundane. Be.......really be in each and every moment you are aloft and savor them like a marvelous beautiful woman.
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Cannot agree more. I got a cancer diagnosis on the day I got my last medical in March. Not a fun situation. Beat the cancer and playing the paperwork game now, but what you posted is spot on. You never know what tomorrow will give you and if you don't live each day as it's last, you won't know what you lived. Some may say "whatever, not happening to me", but if/when it does, everything you longed for and enjoyed comes before your eyes. For me the worst case was losing my wife, but for #2, it was the fear of never flying again, never running a checklist, or landing after a day most would want a beer to cure. Sounds stupid, and I hope no one has to experience it, but it exists and far too many pilots will have to deal with it. Be humbled with what you get to do, with the understanding of one mistake or fateful doctor visit, it can all vanish.
 
higney85 said:
Cannot agree more. I got a cancer diagnosis on the day I got my last medical in March. Not a fun situation. Beat the cancer and playing the paperwork game now, but what you posted is spot on. You never know what tomorrow will give you and if you don't live each day as it's last, you won't know what you lived. Some may say "whatever, not happening to me", but if/when it does, everything you longed for and enjoyed comes before your eyes. For me the worst case was losing my wife, but for #2, it was the fear of never flying again, never running a checklist, or landing after a day most would want a beer to cure. Sounds stupid, and I hope no one has to experience it, but it exists and far too many pilots will have to deal with it. Be humbled with what you get to do, with the understanding of one mistake or fateful doctor visit, it can all vanish.
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Best wishes as you move forward.

Ake, ake, kia kaha
 
higney85 said:
Cannot agree more. I got a cancer diagnosis on the day I got my last medical in March. Not a fun situation. Beat the cancer and playing the paperwork game now, but what you posted is spot on. You never know what tomorrow will give you and if you don't live each day as it's last, you won't know what you lived. Some may say "whatever, not happening to me", but if/when it does, everything you longed for and enjoyed comes before your eyes. For me the worst case was losing my wife, but for #2, it was the fear of never flying again, never running a checklist, or landing after a day most would want a beer to cure. Sounds stupid, and I hope no one has to experience it, but it exists and far too many pilots will have to deal with it. Be humbled with what you get to do, with the understanding of one mistake or fateful doctor visit, it can all vanish.
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Man, that is some tough chit. I hope you have this beat for good and are back in the saddle sooner rather than later. People that think it can't happen to them are just kidding themselves.

I was always and I mean always, a very healthy weight, didn't drink, always watched what I ate, worked out almost daily, swam almost daily, played sports, was strong and in very good shape.........had all kinds of tests done every year to make sure everything was working okay. Then as you get older all the little things you did to yourself- that is injuries-sports you played, accidents, start to come back to haunt you. So you get a SI or two for meds and amble forward and then over time, things get begin to get worse and suddenly something else you never expected, hits. And because of what is affected physically and the meds you will need to be put on, there is no way in hell you can hold your ticket. I am very fortunate in that I have flown since I was 16 years old. I have a lifetime of memories, but even so, it's akin to being run over by a freight train. I wasn't ready to retire just yet. You've gone from going to work and this is what I do, I am a pilot, I have a long term plan, I am going to keep flying until the age of what the hell ever, to I am staying at home, in shock, trying to cope with the new medical issues and how can I suddenly realign my life. It's pretty damn traumatic, as I am sure you know. It's stressful as hell. Your identity takes a hit, you scramble to figure it all out, you still cannot believe that you will most likely never fly again and you are lost.

Take care of yourself, no matter what. Stay strong. If you ever need to chat, pm me.
 
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Absolutely beautiful. I had the heart break of losing my medical a little more than two years ago. Worked the sea of paperwork and doctor appointments, returning to the sky next month.

Never take it for granted folks, we have the best jobs in the world.
 
Congrats!!! I am so happy for you. That's awesome. Savor that first day back, you'll never forget it. Everything else in life from now on will be easier psychologically and emotionally. Nothing will seem as serious as before. It's an interesting change of perspective isn't it? It's also a huge struggle. You realize even more than you did before, what really matters and what really is of value and important in your life. Wishing you the best.
 
Thanks man, I wish you the best. The first few months is the hardest. You'll figure out who you are, and it's interesting to see how life changes. In all that time, I got married, bought a house, and we are preparing for our first child. I was incredibly blessed with great friends and family to help me sort through it all.
 
fisher37 said:
Thanks man, I wish you the best. The first few months is the hardest. You'll figure out who you are, and it's interesting to see how life changes. In all that time, I got married, bought a house, and we are preparing for our first child. I was incredibly blessed with great friends and family to help me sort through it all.
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Wow. That is remarkable. Amazing what can develop out of the pile of crap that life sometimes hands us. Life happily, does evolve. After the floundering and unsteadiness, a bit of shock and depression, you finally decide to keep moving forward even if it's on a different path than the one you knew and you aren't quite sure where you are headed.

The first few months were hell......real hell. But now, I am okay with how things have worked out. It brought some powerful and meaningful changes into my life and has given me more time to make a difference where I can. So no regrets right now. And yes, without the love and support of family and friends, it would be so much more difficult and maybe damn impossible.

Congrats on getting married and for that baby. You'll love being a Dad. It truly is the best job on earth. Plus, there is nothing like the love of a good woman.
 
Although from a different angle, the perspective is similar. The only thing we bring to the future is the person we are.

"She was a lass of Irish heritage, proud and with a strength born of hardship, both culturally and of a personal nature. Her name was Heather. That I would write of her would be a disappointment, even to the point of anger, as she is a private person. I do so, here, because you will never meet her, in order to recognize a remarkable woman, and to note that (pilot or not) life changes. We bring the person we are to our future, whatever it may be.

Five foot and an inch, maybe, she stood, with a weight proportionate to her runner's frame. Small-breasted, with strong legs and 'buns of steel,' she had a ready laugh, keen insight into the world around her, and was willing to trust, for a while, beyond her previous experience in life.

Her back is what sticks in my mind, oddly enough. It flowed as an hourglass from the nape of her neck to the small hollow just below her waistline, muscles defined but not overwhelming, strong arms flowing with beautiful symmetry.

God, could she kiss ... and then laugh with abandon at a joke no one said, simply at the glorious beauty of life and passion stirred, and then she offered another kiss and a tangle with her tongue. We walked dogs in the moonlight for miles, laughed at the mindless nonsense of life, shared the hurt of days long gone that we both knew.

She was witty, intelligent, reflective and thoughtful, and she chose to be with me, for a season.

That she moved on to other places is a sorrow; that she wanted to be with me for a while, is a joy that will endure.

The moment is what matters - not the things which might be (for those can change in the blinking of an eye). Build for your future, but live in the "now." This moment in time is all you (or I) will ever know with certainty. We ought never to take for granted the things which are easily lost, yet - somehow - we often do."

'And sometimes, when I'm drifting and through my memories I'm sifting ... '
 
Excellent video, touching, inspirational. I still fly, I'm lucky in that but I still remeber my last flight in the Navy. A two plane lead, coming into the break at 350 KIAS, I couldn't say the words, tears welled up in my eyes, so difficult to speak, even breath. So when the next comes, is it better to not know or to know? Regardless, excellent thread by the OP, bravo zulu.
 
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Call me weird, but I have numerous gorgeous views imprinted in my brain, and almost all of them are from flying myself in my four seater airplane.
Granted, work took me places I wouldn't otherwise go, but these days sitting in the 40s I think of space much more so than of flying. And that space thing is bugging me, because it's out of my reach.
So I fly a jet - woohoo. Can't wait to get back home and grab my DA40.
I love the challenge of higher/faster/more complex.. but even at my not-so-starry-eyed-but-still-far-from-retirement-age of 35 I'm leaning towards going back to the non-flying moneymaking and flying just for the heck of it.
Attached is the FL400 pic from earlier this morning
 
higney85 said:
Cannot agree more. I got a cancer diagnosis on the day I got my last medical in March. Not a fun situation. Beat the cancer and playing the paperwork game now, but what you posted is spot on. You never know what tomorrow will give you and if you don't live each day as it's last, you won't know what you lived. Some may say "whatever, not happening to me", but if/when it does, everything you longed for and enjoyed comes before your eyes. For me the worst case was losing my wife, but for #2, it was the fear of never flying again, never running a checklist, or landing after a day most would want a beer to cure. Sounds stupid, and I hope no one has to experience it, but it exists and far too many pilots will have to deal with it. Be humbled with what you get to do, with the understanding of one mistake or fateful doctor visit, it can all vanish.
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Cheers to kicking cancer in the ass!
 
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