Many of the pilots in Region 3 prepare to say our goodbyes to our Friend and former regional director, Bob K, some of us were able to attend Second Sunday at Torrey, I among others were not. Region three will have a HUGE vacancy this week as Bob leaves for a hang gliding tour and finally to settle on the east coast.

To some of us, Bob was a pain in the a**, if you were one of those pilots, you probably deserved it.

If you were not, then he probably championed a cause of yours.

Both camps must admit, once Bob sinks his teeth in something, he is not easily brushed aside.

I know Bob to be a relentless director and politician, a gifted pilot, a loyal friend, even when we're arguing. Others know Bob as a capable enemy, others know Bob as a careful but graceful pilot, some knew Bob as a brilliant scientist (Or Mad Scientist), others knew him as a champion debater and an orator to be reckoned with. However you knew Bob, you'll never forget him.

How ever you knew Bob, no one can ignore the impact that Bob had in our lives here in Region three, and if you were able to share the sky with him, you had seen Bob at his happiest.

You might think I am talking about Bob like he's dead, NOPE, but, when Bob moves, he does it in grand style and distance. So, there you have it.

So, Bob, blue skies to you with gentle upslope winds, accept my wire out, hook in, hang check, No traffic and CLEAR!

Hi Dennis,

Thanks for the very very kind words. I also wish the best for you, and I'm really glad that I got to know you.

By contrast, here's an anonymous email message that I just got from the address "Hater bobk <f-you-bob_k@hotmail.com>" ...


Note that I replaced a few of the original letters with "$$" and "(".

Whenever I get a nasty message from someone like this .... it only confirms that I've been fighting on the right side of the issues.

So thanks to "Hater bobk" ... whoever you are.

Dear "Bob Hater".

There are just some people who feel compelled to be a MEAT WHISTLE at every opportunity, if you consider the effort required to be a meat whistle and the time spent being a meat whistle, you either have too much time on your hands or you are neglectful at other things requiring your attention, in either regard, I must point out that you've been remiss.

Also, it is easiest to be insulting when you hide behind an anonymous screen name, there's no accountability for your words or actions. That's a pretty lame way of going about it. Man up, say who you are, this gives people an opportunity to tell you to go stuff yourself on a personal level. why rob anyone of the chance to know who's behind the remarks? What are you afraid of?

Ten years after ...

This topic was started by Dennis 10 years ago this December. I found it because I was searching for the hateful message quoted above. At that time (December of 2010), I left San Diego to spend some time helping my mother on the east coast. I ended up spending about a year there (with intermittent returns to San Diego) and I enjoyed the break. I returned to San Diego full time after that year and resumed my efforts to support fairness in the sport of hang gliding and at Torrey Pines in particular.

Ten years later, Dennis and I are still good friends (thanks Dennis ). And ten years later, the haters still hate.

I was recently sent this Facebook screen shot of an effort by David Metzger to attempt to get me fired from my job (or retaliated against in some other way?):


In his typical dishonest style, David Metzger takes my words out of context regarding the murder of George Floyd. Here's what I posted on May 27th, 2020 when I first watched the video of George Floyd's murder:


I was on record stating that it was murder from the horrified moment that I saw the video. It's ironic that Dave Metzger would later try to twist my comments after he supported the monstrous actions of former San Diego Police Officer David Jebb and his cronies for decades.

I followed up with this post on June 1st, 2020:


It was very clear where I stood, and yet David Metzger has misrepresented my position in clear retaliation for my efforts to reform the Torrey Pines Gliderport.

For the record, the message below is the message that David Metzger is using to try to get me fired. I sent it after attending an 11 hour San Diego City Council meeting that had been over-run by calls to "defund the police". It was obviously a coordinated effort orchestrated by the social media "Black Lives Matter" movement. Council President Georgette Gomez suspended the rules of council allowing the flood of calls to prolong the meeting until 10pm (normally the number of speakers on a single topic is limited during the Non-Agenda Comment period). This was my comment:

Bob Kuczewski at San Diego City Council Meeting on June 2nd, 2020:


After that 11 hour City Council marathon, I turned to my Salk email to catch up on my work. My in-box was filled with political messages starting with an official message from Salk's "Society of Research Fellows" (SRF). All of the messages (including the official SRF message) were extremely one sided, and the SRF message endorsed and included a link to "Black Lives Matter" and other race-based organizations. At that point, I felt very strongly that there was another view that needed to be heard. So on June 2nd, 2020 at 10:46pm, I posted the message that may end up costing my job:


That's the message that may get me fired. I immediately received 2 positive responses to my message. Those two were followed by a flood of negative responses with a few additional encouraging responses mixed in. The one thing that I regret most in my message was that I did not give it the proper context of my messages condemning the death as murder (see my quotes above). I ended up having to add that to every response so that people didn't misinterpret my message as somehow condoning the horrific murder of George Floyd. Many people who were initially highly critical of my message were much more understanding when they realized my true position on the matter.

At this time, I have not gotten clear direction from the Salk Institute as to whether I am able to share the full context surrounding my message. I will update this topic as that direction becomes clearer.