where did the time go ...?????
that's it .. i'm out the door next stop LA
and onto Tonga

wow ... it's been a month since i left American Airlines ... quite the head trip leaving a career i loved to jump into the void of the unknown.... the collective negative energy @ American Airlines & the airline industry in general was a big contributing factor in choosing to retire @ this time ... i wish all those that continue to live "the dream" ... health, happiness and a new contract !!!!
it's been a few weeks since i received my "invitation" to join the Tonga group 74 ... what a roller coaster ... budget cuts had all but eliminated me and then out of the blue i was back in the game ... i look forward to meeting everyone in LA and then onto Tonga ... thank you Steve and Sarah in Tonga ( group 73 ) for all the help and information you have given to me ... the whole process has been a little bit like riding a bull ...

2 days ago i was asked to join in on an North American Indian sweat lodge... to help with the transition to an ever changing life ... absolutely amazzzzzing ... and the whole time in the dark and steam filled shelter i thought of how indigenous American people respected the earth and how it must be that the Tongans turned to the sea with that same kind of respect ... in that darkened space i dreamt about the amazzzzing star filled sky that umbrellas the south pacific

then last night to help close the deal on my transition i went to see Paul Winter play his alto sax, if you are not familiar with Paul ... he brings his music to the outdoors and plays to whales, wolves, elk and other animals ... and he records how they will just naturally join him in song ...
it was Paul's birthday ... an native American Indian medicine man was there to bless us all...
32 years ago i first encountered Paul Winter as i left my career as an air force officer/pilot to live freely on top of a mountain without electricity, running water, or indoor plumbing .... his music put my mind at rest .... and last night 32 years later he appeared from no where once again to put my mind at rest

well "THE DAY" has come ... my last day of employment .... it's all so bittersweet. the matrix is hard to explain; a combination of stock market values and declining working conditions. On one hand i wish that i could fly 4ever and yet making a bold move to re-invent myself takes much more courage than it does to fly in bad weather. Still no definitive word about the Peace Corps invitation .....

as of 2day very little has changed ... my go/2 recruiter @ the Boston Peace Corps office has left the PC.
I'm left not knowing anything new about my invitation status .... when/where or "if" I'll be going anywhere in October ...
considering that on very short notice i will not only have to find a renter for my house; but i will also have to jettison years of clutter, it is all soooo very frustrating ...
No tag sale planned; just one big give away !!!!!

there have been 2 postings on the PC South Pacific web site about others that have been given a date of 9 October ... sooo in the most vague of terms i will also use that as an important date in which to plan ... PATIENCE & FLEXIBILITY a PC must....

In the back of my mind i'm starting to make back up plans to travel to India, Nepal and then Africa. i certainly will not do another New England winter ... no matter how much global warming has made winters here much more of a crap shoot with green grass into December ... i'm outta here !!!

as for my final days @ American Airlines,(7 days left ) it turns out that because of my A/A leave status until 7/31 i will not have a final flight ... at least not in an A/A aircraft but what i'm now planning is; a hot air balloon ride over the Berkshires @ sunset with Teva and Anastasia ... should be kool !!!! yes there will be Champagne !!!!

it all has to start somewhere

??? what was the jetman thinking ???

this is the first of what will be many inquiries and reflections over the next several years.
right now i'm sitting on my deck @ home in Great Barrington ... it is a beautiful summer day ... i'm surrounded with flowers and the sounds of birds singing
i have only 12 more days as a Captain @ American Airlines;.... perhaps 2 more flights ... @ this point they are optional as i continue 2/b on the sick list. i would love to take Teva and Anastasia on my last flight 07/28/2008 .... jfk-sdq 30 hour layover sdq-jfk

i'm still waiting word from the Peace Corps about my assignment ... this whole process started in august of 2007 ... one year ago ....in January i was told only that i would be going to the south pacific ... and as of today that is all that i know .... there is some hints that it will be Tonga

well getting back to the theme of what i was thinking .... actually the PC was a back up plan.... i thought i would be flying JETS for an overseas airline ... things changed ... first the law in America to allow airline pilots to continue flying until age 65 ... @ 60 plus one month i knew i could no longer continue ... the fun/thrill was gone ... now that i had been given a choice .... there no longer was a choice ... although i had done my work in Nepal ... i wanted a greater, more organized sense of "giving back" ..... sooo soon i will let the front door slam against my backside as i walk out the door on what will be the newest adventure in the life of pMs