US Hawks Hang Gliding Association

Copy/paste of off topic post at HG forum:

wingspan33 wrote:
your thread about US solders "guarding" opium poppy fields in the middle east (as well as your other politically oriented threads) is utterly irrelevant to the development of the US Hawks.
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Bill here free,
This is the point I was trying to make and that anyone wanting to discuss this issue, here is the free speech zone just for off topic posts.
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wingspan33 wrote:
And it can be seen as a purposeful distraction from the business at hand.
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Bill here:
I see this (copy/paste from the US Hawks forum) as a distraction from hang gliding topics.
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wingspan33 wrote:
I would not doubt that some would describe such topics as (at the very least?) bordering on paranoid delusional.
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Bill here:
Free you may have missed when wingspan33 typed the word “some,” in the sentence above. I didn’t jump to the conclusion that wingspan thought this way however it is clear that you did.
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wingspan33 wrote:
On the other hand, I am relatively confident that the US Gov is ripe with corruption so, . . . . ? ? ? ? . . . skepticism is not uncalled for.”
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Bill here:
Free, wingspan33 in the sentence above acknowledges skepticism is NOT uncalled for. It indicates that others also may hold opinions that seem to parallel yours.
__________

wingspan33 wrote:
Still, this is a budding Hang Gliding Organization Forum web site! We do not need to debate the meaning of a picture of US solders standing in a (ding dang) poppy field somewhere in Afghanistan. Their seriously damaged/destroyed economy practically makes illegal agricultural (in the US) "drug" production close to mandatory - regardless of our military presences in the area. Hey, the world is screwed up! The US is not always to blame. It's time to re-enter the world of the US Hawks! End of commentary.
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Free wrote:
Soldiers guarding poppies is real.
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Bill here:
Free, wingspan33 did not state otherwise.
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Free wrote:
The Taliban had all but eradicated poppies before US soldiers invaded Afghanistan. Now production is back up to world record levels. It's been on the news but ex-Rangers don't know and don't bother to google before they call someone a liar.
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Bill here:
Wingspan33 didn’t state anywhere that he was calling you a liar.
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wingspan33 wrote:
Now you are calling me paranoid delusional because you think I'm just making this up.
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Bill here:
No HE didn’t call you paranoid and delusional but did say, “some would,…..”
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Free wrote:
Were you always so easy to deceive?
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Bill here:
Free you have deceived yourself if you believe that wingspan33 called you the things that you accuse him of saying about you.
To think someone is saying things to you and/or about you when they are not could easily be confused with paranoia by some readers.

Over here in the free speech zone is an excellent place to clear up all of these off hang gliding topics.


https://www.youtube.com/results?search_ ... ng+poppies

billcummings wrote: Bill here:
Free you have deceived yourself if you believe that wingspan33 called you the things that you accuse him of saying about you.
To think someone is saying things to you and/or about you when they are not could easily be confused with paranoia by some readers.

First you say he didn't say it and then you sorta say it was a reasonable assumption that any level headed thinker could make.
You are not telling me what Scott is thinking.
You are telling me what you are thinking.

Hi Free,
It’s around seven pm here. I just read your post above. I have to get supper out of the way.
Had a HG flight today at age 66. It’s getting so that each flight for quite some time has me wondering while in the air if this could be the last that this old falling apart body will allow.

Anyway I’ll respond later. I shouldn’t eat late due to GERD.

By the way the train through the snow was interesting.
Even scary.
The Engineer couldn’t see at the road crossing and even if he could he would never have been able to stop the train in time for a car or truck.
Wow! Coming through blind and just hoping for the best, sounding the train whistle steady, so even his ears wouldn’t let him know if he hit a car.
Would he/she even feel it?
Laters
Bill C.

billcummings wrote: Had a HG flight today at age 66. It’s getting so that each flight for quite some time has me wondering while in the air if this could be the last that this old falling apart body will allow.

You never know when you take a last flight. Just remember, that at 66, the Obamacare death panels are kicking in.
They don't just kill you usually, unless you've signed a donor card.
But if you can't take care of yourself on your own they may dehydrate you to death as they did my father in 1999.
He made it to 80 and was on a farmer's social security.
Who could see that coming after old folks home and hospice got all the money they could get?
I didn't understand how it worked back then but I do now.
All us old "useless eaters'" will likely be turned into soylent green before it's all over..

One thing my dad used to say, "If I knew I was going to live so long I would've taken better care of myself".
His name was Bill.

Anyway I’ll respond later. I shouldn’t eat late due to GERD.

Not needing any explanation. I don't mind.
I'm ok that you replied with anything.
You aren't the first or last to call me a nutter.

By the way the train through the snow was interesting.
Even scary.
The Engineer couldn’t see at the road crossing and even if he could he would never have been able to stop the train in time for a car or truck.

There isn't much chance the train could stop even if they could see.
All ties in a race at rail crossings go to the train.

Wow! Coming through blind and just hoping for the best, sounding the train whistle steady, so even his ears wouldn’t let him know if he hit a car.
Would he/she even feel it?

He was likely running on cab signals inside the engine. Simple lights to show what your last signal was.
The one you just passed. But they can't tell you where the next signal is, or where the train is actually sitting just beyond that next signal.

It ~is~ creepy to run completely blind for that long. Fog at night is even creepier.
And yes, they would have known if they hit a vehicle of any size.
Bicycle size stuff would probably feel like hitting icy globs and such.

Engineer Benson, can't remember a first name and Dale Young, once overtook a dirt bike going down the track one night, doing about 50mph.
For some reason engineers usually just went by last names..

There was no way to stop and they watched as he pounded that bike over the ties as fast as he could go.
The train was faster and all they could do was watch as he gradually went out of sight in front of the engine.
There was a sound and feel of the bike getting chewed up under the cow catcher. They knew he was a gonner.

Stopping the train as fast as they could, (about a half mile in emergency brake application) here comes the guy climbing up and over the front hand rails! They were still doing about 30 and there he was, wide eyed and looking at 'em! Talk about crazy..

He had been able to reach around behind him as the nose of the engine closed on him, and grab on.
Conductor Dale Young, actually became religious after this.
I think Benson, went the other direction. (stayed there)

True story.

Free wrote:

billcummings wrote: Bill here:
Free you have deceived yourself if you believe that wingspan33 called you the things that you accuse him of saying about you.
To think someone is saying things to you and/or about you when they are not could easily be confused with paranoia by some readers.

First you say he didn't say it and then you sorta say it was a reasonable assumption that any level headed thinker could make.
You are not telling me what Scott is thinking.
You are telling me what you are thinking.

____________________________________________
Level headed

Postby Free » Mon Feb 09, 2015 12:25 pm

billcummings wrote: Bill here:
Free you have deceived yourself if you believe that wingspan33 called you the things that you accuse him of saying about you.
To think someone is saying things to you and/or about you when they are not could easily be confused with paranoia by some readers.

Free wrote:
First you say he didn't say it and then you sorta say it was a reasonable assumption that any level headed thinker could make.
You are not telling me what Scott is thinking.
You are telling me what you are thinking.

--Bill here only, “sorta,” weaseling out of what I said:

--Free,
--Thankfully I don’t have to defend against, almost said, but only, “sorta say.”
-- "Sorta say,” doesn’t rise to the level of almost said on the new Brian Williams ---- scale of exaggeration, (AKA poetic license) or puffing.
-- As Judge Judy would admonish, “You can’t tell me what Scott was thinking
-- because that would require you knowing the processes of his mind.”
--Therefore you can’t tell me, “You are telling me what you are thinking,”
-- because that would require you knowing the processes of my mind. Even I’m
-- not qualified in that area.
-- At best after I leave a post the most anyone will be able to say is, “There was
-- very little thought if any behind it.”
-- As to you reading between my lines that my implication was as you
-- advanced, “ ---sorta say it was a reasonable assumption that a any level
-- headed thinker could make.” ---- I figured out how to remedy you reading
-- between my lines. I’ll just respond with one liners. What could go wrong?

____________________________________________
Level headed

Postby Free » Mon Feb 09, 2015 12:25 pm

billcummings wrote: Bill here:
Free you have deceived yourself if you believe that wingspan33 called you the things that you accuse him of saying about you.
To think someone is saying things to you and/or about you when they are not could easily be confused with paranoia by some readers.

Free wrote:
First you say he didn't say it and then you sorta say it was a reasonable assumption that any level headed thinker could make.
You are not telling me what Scott is thinking.
You are telling me what you are thinking.

--Bill here only, “sorta,” weaseling out of what I said:

--Free,
--Thankfully I don’t have to defend against, almost said, but only, “sorta say.”
-- "Sorta say,” doesn’t rise to the level of almost said on the new Brian Williams ---- scale of exaggeration, (AKA poetic license) or puffing.
-- As Judge Judy would admonish, “You can’t tell me what Scott was thinking
-- because that would require you knowing the processes of his mind.”
--Therefore you can’t tell me, “You are telling me what you are thinking,”
-- because that would require you knowing the processes of my mind. Even I’m
-- not qualified in that area.
-- At best after I leave a post the most anyone will be able to say is, “There was
-- very little thought if any behind it.”
-- As to you reading between my lines that my implication was as you
-- advanced, “ ---sorta say it was a reasonable assumption that a any level
-- headed thinker could make.” ---- I figured out how to remedy you reading
-- between my lines. I’ll just respond with one liners. What could go wrong?

I love it! Really, what could go wrong?

Did you hear about, Bob?

Yes Bob gets to spend more money.

Free wrote:You never know when you take a last flight. Just remember, that at 66, the Obamacare death panels are kicking in.
They don't just kill you usually, unless you've signed a donor card.
But if you can't take care of yourself on your own they may dehydrate you to death as they did my father in 1999.
He made it to 80 and was on a farmer's social security.
Who could see that coming after old folks home and hospice got all the money they could get?
I didn't understand how it worked back then but I do now.
All us old "useless eaters'" will likely be turned into soylent green before it's all over..

One thing my dad used to say, "If I knew I was going to live so long I would've taken better care of myself".

My own father passed away a little over 2 years ago. He was in the hospital for COPD and I flew back east to spend some time with him to help him recover. He was on a ventilator, and they were trying to wean him off of it. I went to the hospital every day to coach and encourage him. I really wanted to know what was going on, so I asked lots of questions about things like the ventilator and the pulse/oximeter. I looked up the specifications and user's manual for the ventilator so I could understand it better and talk intelligently with the technician. We (my father and I) worked on getting him breathing more and more on his own, and we "high fived" whenever he had a particularly good session off the ventilator. Since I was in the area, I took one day off to go visit Wingspan (who I'd never met until then). I came back the next day, and somehow my Dad had been convinced that he wanted to be taken off of life support to die. I couldn't believe it. The previous day that I'd been there was his best, and we were making steady progress. But some of the staff members had somehow convinced my father that he would not be recovering. In fact, if I had gotten there a few hours later, he might have been gone. I protested their plan and demanded that they could not "pull the plug" without a more consistent "wish" than a single day. I can understand someone wanting to die, but you can't make such an irreversible decision on one comment on one bad day. So they held a hearing a few days later, and indeed, my father did NOT express the desire to be removed from the respirator. So they kept him on it. Unfortunately, a few days later, he took a turn for the worse, and did end up passing. At that time, I had decided to stay in the room with him 24 hours a day since I no longer trusted them with him alone. I was holding his hand around 3am on his 80th birthday when he died. My brother and some other family friends were on their way, and I continued to hold his hand until they arrived several hours later. Then I went outside in the bitter cold morning ... and cried.

We cannot trust our lives and our health to anyone who doesn't actually care about us.

Bob's story, and crash tests and running blind..
this crazy titled thread now has stirred up more powerful emotions than I can remember ever having before.

At this time, I can't deal with writing anything about my dad, or my mom's death 6 years later. But it is something I need to do.
It might be therapy? Just a way to deal with unsettled issues? I don't know.
It may be just for the "record". Let the chips fall where they may..
It's something I now need to do.
Thanks a lot, Bob.

Starting with your "stunt" at Torrey Pines, you have dragged me out of the cobwebs.
I was nearly completed in my transition to simple recluse crank.
Life is simpler that way, but it doesn't always work out for the best.
I guess. . Who knows?

Free wrote:Starting with your "stunt" at Torrey Pines, you have dragged me out of the cobwebs.
I was nearly completed in my transition to simple recluse crank.
Life is simpler that way, but it doesn't always work out for the best.
I guess. . Who knows?

Welcome back from the cobwebs Warren.

I hope you'll reach out to that fellow interested in the Mo Hawks.

It's good to lend a hand to someone climbing the ladder of life.

Hang Gliding ... pass it on.