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Flying Legends Airshow~Part 2

2 Sep

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

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 Day 2 – Thursday July 2nd

We landed at London-Gatwick Airport in a typical cloudy/fogy English day. I was surprised when stepping out of the airport to find it as hot and humid there as it had been in Orlando when I left. I took the local commuter train from the airport to Crawley (10 minutes) where I had scheduled the pickup of my rental car.

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It was a 5-minute uphill walk in that heat and humidity to the Arora Hotel where the Budget Rental Car office was located. At check-in, the only instructions I received regarding how to operate the rental car was how to open the trunk. If you haven’t driven a modern car recently, let me tell you, the multitude of bells and whistles can be overwhelming. It took me all day to figure out how to operate the cruise control, and I never did figure out how to turn off the rear window wiper. The avoidance control system on the car was something else. I can see that a one-button programmable trip control for automobiles (while you sleep) is just around the corner.

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Once I got on the road, “Day 1” almost turned into a total disaster! Nothing seemed to be working. My iPhone had no bars and my Garmin wouldn’t work. Ron had told me not to make or receive phone calls while I was in the UK, so I wondered around a large portion of the southeast of England that day, asking for directions, and staying lost almost of the time. It didn’t take me long to realize that I was going to be absolutely lost without “Greta” (my Garmin) during this entire trip, so when I was able, I sent Ron a text for “HELP” hoping he would receive it.

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I learned right-a-way that trying to learn all the rules, regulations and road etiquette in the UK, while driving on the “wrong” side of the road and trying to read the road signs, is a daunting task. Parking is a whole new experience, and I don’t think I’ll ever understand how that works!

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Somehow, during all that running around lost, I did manage to locate the Tangmere Military Aviation Museum situated on the old WWII Tangmere airfield. This museum had a small collection of aircraft outside and in one small hanger.

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The Goodwood Aerodrome in Chichester was RAF Westhampnett during WWII where No. 145 & 602 Squadrons were stationed, during the Battle of Britain. I learned that it was from this airfield that Douglas Bader flew his last sortie. Today it is a private airfield where they host airshows and auto racing events.

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I was so tired and frustrated by 4 o’clock in the afternoon that I just had to stop, take a Stress Gummy, and pray for help from my Friend upstairs. Thankfully Ron called and was able to help me with most of my problems. That allowed me to continue on to find the Solent Sky Museum in Southampton, which is a small museum with one large hanger and 18 beautifully restored aircraft inside.

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Then it was on to check out the Bournemouth Aviation Museum just outside the city of Bournemouth. This museum only had 7 aircraft outside, none of which were in the best condition.

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Then, Greta started acting up, (taking me along farm backroads and through small neighborhoods) before I finally found The Kings Arms, located in the small village of Georgeham, Devon outside Exeter. This 600 year old Pub & Inn was showing its age, but was well kept. When I walked into the pub that evening, the owner looked up from pulling a pint of ale and said, “How can I help you Mate?” He was a great host and carried my bag up the two flights of narrow stairs to my room. Boy did the bed feel good that night!
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—–To be Continued—–

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Flying Legends Airshow~Part 1

26 Aug

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Bill Rocket Plane

 

1Somewhere around the middle of last year DiVoran’s brother, David, sent me a video “teaser” of the 2014 Flying Legends Airshow that had been held at Duxford, England. I was so impressed with the event depicted in that video and all the magnificent aircraft that took part in it, that I decided right then and there that I had to make an effort to attend one of those airshows as soon as possible.

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As I looked into the event closer, I discovered that the theme for the 2015 airshow was going to be the “75th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain.” Well, that did it for me! All those wonderfully restored WWII fighters and bombers brought together, in one place at one time, was more than I could resist. I decided to attend the 2015 airshow, and committed to that decision by using my Delta Skymiles to book a roundtrip flight from Orlando, Florida to London Gatwick for July 1, 2015.

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Since one of my retirement hobbies is visiting Aviation Museums wherever I go, I started my research by Googling aviation museums in the UK. That gave me a huge list, and I discovered that they are located throughout the country. I started looking for museum locations that would allow me to transverse the entire UK, from London clockwise, and as far north as Glasgow and Edinburgh Scotland.This was made somewhat easier, just by chance, when I picked up a copy of the May 2015 issue of “Aeroplane” magazine, which just happened to include a 32-page “UK Aviation Museum Guide.”

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I needed to arrive in the Duxford area in time to attend the Flying Legends Airshow on the 12th of July. This required pacing daily museum visits to keep driving averages reasonable. Once the basic route and museum locations had been established, next I had to locate and book lodging accommodations at the end of each day. In addition there were several special ticket arrangements that needed to be made, and all this kept me busy for a good six months.

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Day 1 – Wednesday July 1st

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When “The Big Day” finally arrived, I was really excited about my flight that day. I would be flying on a Virgin Atlantic (Delta’s “non-stop” partner airline) Boeing 747-400; leaving Orlando International Airport at 7:25 PM and arriving at London-Gatwick Airport at 8:35 AM the next morning. This would be the first time I would be flying on a Boeing 747 and I hoped I would be able to get some sleep.

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After reading the passenger reviews for seat selection for this particular airplane, I selected an Economy seat in the upper deck. A friend of one of my doctors, who works for Virgin Atlantic, was going to try to see if she could upgrade my ticket for this flight. Well, as it turned out, she was able to upgrade my ticket to Premium Economy (kind of like Business Class) which made the trip much more enjoyable.

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Boy this airplane (White Rose) is really big! Just the upper deck of this airplane can seat as many people as some smaller airplanes. We took off right on time, and as we climbed out, banking east from the airport, we actually flew over our house. As we did that we were flying above a rain cloud and there was a rainbow. I had never seen a rainbow from an airplane before and wasn’t surprised to see that both ends reached all the way to the ground.

I have to say the service on the flight was first rate, and our English flight attendant (with a very interesting hairdo) made the flight quite enjoyable for us all. The food was wonderful, but I didn’t get much sleep.

`

—–To be Continued—–

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You Can’t Outgive God~Part 3

19 Aug

A Slice of Life

 Bill Lites

Bill Red Spot Plane

 

DiVoran remembers that when it was time for lunch that day, we went upstairs to a fancy Trattoria. After we were seated, Erika discerned a small spot on the white tablecloth. When the waiter came to take our orders, she insisted, in rapid Italian and much hand waving, that the waiter immediately change the tablecloth for her American friends. DiVoran and I really felt sorry for that poor waiter but, the way Erika brow beat him, it was all we could do to keep from laughing out loud.

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On the train back to Venice, we joked and laughed so hard, about all of our experiences of the day that the four hour trip passed like one. We were each given a small package of cookies as a snack and, later, when DiVoran said she wished she had more, a young man who had been listening and enjoying our jokes, tossed his package of cookies onto her small table as he walked past to get off at his stop. That brought on another round of giggles.

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That day’s experiences will give you just a small idea of how many of our wonderful Italian vacation days went for us. Some were better than others, but they were all marvelous and we treasure the memory of each one of them. We really hated to leave when our vacation time was up, but all good things can’t last forever. We also learned that Marcia was instrumental in helping Erika’s father Lorenzo get a job with DCL as translator and Italian coordinator with the shipyard workers. She really had her hand on the pulse of that DCL office.

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So, when construction on the “Wonder” was finished Marcia and Erika, along with Lorenzo and his wife Ornella, were among the Disney team members who worked their way across the Atlantic, on the ship making it ready for its first Disney cruise from Port Canaveral, FL. DCL had made some special arrangements for their two cruise ships to arrive at Port Canaveral at the same time for PR purposes. The “Wonder” was arriving from Italy, and the “Magic” was returning from a regularly scheduled cruise. Our whole family went to the port to see the two ships arrive and it was quite a sight. There were news helicopters everywhere, “Welcome“ signs towed by airplanes, daylight fireworks fired off from the two ships, and “Mickey” hands for all of us to wave at each other with. It was a typical Disney gala event.

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DiVoran and I invited Marcia, Erika, Lorenzo and Ornella to a birthday dinner for my sister Judy, where they were able to meet our entire family. Judy and her husband Fred, our daughter Charlene and her husband Ron, our son Billy and his wife Lisa, and their two children Jacob and Lacey all crowded around the dinner table, getting acquainted while we ate. It was Lorenzo and Ornella’s first trip to America and they were interested in everything they saw and heard.

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We all had a great time and Erika invited DiVoran and me to be her guests on the first training cruise to the Bahamas on the “Wonder.” You can imagine our surprise! Neither of us had ever been on a pleasure cruise of any kind, so this was too wonderful for us to believe. And let me tell you, it was every bit as WONDERFUL as you might imagine!

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As you can see, that original gesture of love and acceptance DiVoran showed Marcia way back in 1987, began a friendship that has lasted many years. And, for us, has been returned many times over and in many different ways over in the years since then. Our God is so good about keeping His promises to us when we listen and follow His instructions and directions.

 

Luke 6:38

 

—–The End—–

 

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You Can’t Outgive God~Part 2

12 Aug

A Slice of Life

 Bill Lites

Bill Cross Plane

 One of the people Marcia made friends with during her time in Italy was Erika, a 26-year-old single Italian office worker who had agreed to be Marcia’s Italian teacher. When construction on the “Magic” was finished, Marcia and Erika were among the DCL Team members who worked their way across the Atlantic on the ship making it ready for its first Disney cruise from Port Canaveral, FL. Upon completion of that “Shakedown Cruise,” Erika went back to Italy and Marcia went back to work with WDI here in Florida. DiVoran and Marcia reconnected and it wasn’t long before she asked us to join her, as her guest, for another “Employee Day” at Disney World’s Epcot Center. It was a wonderful day, and we loved every minute of it

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When the DCL crew was assembled in 1998 to support the building of the second DCL ship “Wonder” in Italy, Marcia was part of that group from the start. About six months after she got to Italy and settled in, she invited us to come to Italy for a visit and to stay with her for part of our trip. In February of 1999 DiVoran and I took our “Italian Vacation Trip of a Lifetime.” Most days were hazy (with some heavy fog) and very cold (30F – 40F) but we just bundled up and enjoyed the adventure.

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Marcia introduced us to Erika and many of her other Italian friends, who received us into their circle as if we were family. “Any friend of Marcia is a friend of ours.” We stayed with Marcia in her apartment in the small town of Mogliano Veneto and she and Erika were our very own personal traveling companions, tour guides, and interpreters, which made our visit to Italy the best and most wonderfully memorable trip it could have been. One of the funniest things was the day (early in our stay) when Erika confided in us, out of Marcia’s hearing, that it was her opinion that Marcia really had limited language skills and she would appreciate it if we didn’t tell anyone that she was Marcia’s Italian teacher. We kept her secret. Our special tour guides showed us all the beautiful and interesting sites as we visited places like Venice, Padua, Verona, Bologna, Florence, Murano, Burano and the beautiful little mountain village of Asolo.

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Just to give you an idea of how many of our days went, I remember it was cold and foggy the morning the four of us hurried to Venice to catch the train to Florence. There were so many wonderful things to see, that upon arrival in Florence, Erika and DiVoran took off one way and Marcia and I went another. There is not time enough to tell you about the beauty of that city and the vast historic art treasures housed in their museums and cathedrals.

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But…as the story goes, sometime during their stroll around that beautiful city of Florence and its marvelous museums, DiVoran told Erika she would like a warmer pair of gloves, to wear over the thin leather ones she had. So, Erika took her into a glove shop and asked to see gloves.

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The very proper clerk behind the counter showed them several styles and colors. DiVoran picked a pair she thought she would like, and the clerk propped her elbow on a wooden stand made for that purpose. He carefully smoothed one beautiful bright red glove and then the other on her hands, and buttoned the small round buttons at her wrists. DiVoran liked them so much that she asked Erika to help her use her credit card to pay for them. DiVoran has always loved those gloves, but to this day I don’t think she has ever asked anyone how much they cost.

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   —–To Be Continued—–

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You Can’t Outgive God~Part 1

5 Aug

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Bill Small Red Plane

DiVoran met our friend Marcia in 1987 at the first Christian Writer’s Conference hosted by Park Avenue Baptist Church (PAB) here in Titusville. Marcia was one of the invited conference speakers, and she was holding classes on “Script Writing.” It was a difficult time for Marcia as she had used up all the family resources caring for her husband who had just died of M.S. after an extended illness. She had arrived in Florida to attend the Writer’s Conference with all her belongings in a very old van, which she was also living in. As she and DiVoran talked about writing subjects, Marcia happened to ask where she could find a laundromat. DiVoran offered to take the few things she needed washed home and do them for her. This small act of kindness on DiVoran’s part was the beginning of a long and wonderful friendship.

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After the Writer’s Conference, Marcia decided to stay in Florida and got a job with a small Central Florida town newspaper. That job allowed her to spend a lot of her spare time writing and selling dinner theater mysteries. For a place to live she took up house sitting. This caused her to do a lot of living out of boxes, but she liked getting paid for a place to stay instead of having to pay rent. In 1988 we invited Marcia to stay with us while she and DiVoran attended the next Christian Writers conference at PAB.

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DiVoran and Marcia saw each other at several more Writers’ Conferences after that, and their friendship continued to grow. Then one day we got a call from Marcia inviting us to come visit her in the town where she was working and house sitting. She showed us around her newspaper office and took us to a collectibles museum. What a grand time that was. In 1995 Marcia invited our family to go with her to the Annual Renaissance Festival in Sarasota, Florida. We camped at the Myakka River State Park and our whole family had a wonderful time at the festival with Marcia and visiting the many places of interest around that area.

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The next thing we knew, Marcia had a job with Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI) here in Florida. Her job was as an Administrative Assistant/Office Manager. Then in 1998 Marcia invited us to join her for the “Employee Day” at the new Disney Animal Kingdom Park. A wonderful time was had by all as we explored that wonderfully creative new Disney theme park. Marcia moved up in her job responsibilities at WDI and with her innovative ideas she became a real asset to the company.

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As it happened, Disney Cruise Line (DCL) had begun construction on their first cruise ship “Magic” in Italy sometime in 1996. It wasn’t long after that huge construction project got under way, according to Marcia, that the DCL office there in Italy began having a lot of trouble with the Italian office staff being able to understanding the DCL paperwork systems. Marcia was selected to be sent to Italy to help organize the Italian DCL office and coordinate the many various needs that the DCL office had to deal with on a daily basis. It wasn’t long before she became the unofficial office manager and the Italian DCL office began to run a lot smoother after that. 

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—–To Be Continued—–

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The Light Bulb

29 Jul

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Bill Cross Plane

Last night when I got up to get a glass of water, I noticed the small night light in our China cabinet was out.  I made a mental note to replace the bulb in the morning.  This morning I located a new bulb and went to the cabinet to replace the bulb.  To my surprise, as soon as I touched the bulb it came on.  I loosened the bulb and tightened it again and it worked fine.  Then it came to me that this was another perfect analogy of how our all-powerful God works in my life.

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Somehow that small light bulb had worked loose (thru vibration or a thin layer of corrosion) and was not making contact with its electrical socket (power source).  If I’m not careful I can end up like that small light bulb.   In the midst of my busy life, for one reason or another, and by my own choice, I can slip away from my personal relationship with God, and end up depending on my own power to live my life.  Then, the next thing I know I find myself in some kind of a problem and wonder how I got there.  When I finally realize what I have done, I have to make another choice; to ask God to forgive me for my foolishness and for not listening to Him, and for Him to put me back on the right track.  That’s when I am plugged back into His almighty power and I can be enlightened once again with His wisdom, knowledge and understanding. What a blessing that is!

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I often ask myself “Why do I muddle around in confusion and frustration when I know God has the answer or direction I need?”  For some reason it seems like He is the last Person I turn to for the answer to a problem.  And there I go again, losing His almighty power source to help me live the kind of life He created me live; a life of love, joy, peace and rest.

Proverbs 3-5

You might enjoy Proverbs 3:5 The Message version

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Midnight Excitement Part 2

15 Jul

A Slice of Life

 Bill Lites

Bill Small Red Plane

 

 

The helicopter left the scene and officers began to return to their cars, so I assumed the excitement was over and went back to bed. My neighbor told me that later, after I had gone back to bed, they retrieved a pickup truck and an unmarked police car from the woods, and carried them away on a tow-truck. I had only seen what was going on in the street in front of my house, but my neighbor also informed me that she had seen and heard Sheriff’s vehicles on the power line sand clearing (trail) that runs alongside her house while all this activity was going on. That apparently was where the police officers/sheriff deputies had finally apprehended the suspect.

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And now for the rest of the story!

 A couple of days later I was able to view the 30-minute Sheriff’s Department helicopter video of the chase and discovered that the suspect was driving a pickup truck during the chase, and that the small dark car (with its lights off) was actually an unmarked police car at the front of the chase. When I had first been awakened and looked out the window, the suspect’s truck had already passed our house and rounded the corner, and I had thought the unmarked police car (with its lights off) was the suspect’s car. And, when I saw the two cars facing in opposite directions in the intersection, it was really two police cars, and the two officers must have been trying to work out their next move in the chase of the suspect. I also learned that, before racing thru our quiet little neighborhood, the suspect had been chased through a fatal hit-and-run police crime scene on U.S. #1, where he hit two police cars and nearly hit at least one officer. The video also showed the truck being chased off the paved streets into the woods and onto a power line clearing (trail) and a walking trail, where at one point a second person jumped out of the truck and ran off into the woods.

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In a subsequent newspaper article, I learned that at some point in the chase, the suspect stopped long enough for deputies to attempt to arrest him. As they approach his truck, he refused to exit his vehicle and suddenly accelerated, ramming into a deputy’s car and speeding away. When the suspect was finally apprehended, having gotten stuck in the deep sand portion of the power line clearing (trail), he resisted arrest to the extent that officers had to TASER him. So, that was why the EMTs had been called, to make sure the suspect was OK after having been TASERED. That same newspaper article listed the following charges that had been filed against this suspect:

 ‘Grand theft of a motor vehicle, DUI with property damage, driving while license suspended/revoked/canceled with knowledge of first offense, reckless driving, leaving the scene of an accident without giving information, four counts of aggravated assault of law enforcement officers with a weapon or firearm, two counts of aggravated fleeing or eluding an accident with injury or property damage, and one count each of fleeing or eluding with lights, siren, high speed or recklessness.’

 And if that isn’t enough!

 Today we learned, on the local NEWS, that Law Enforcement Authorities believed that the suspect, driving another vehicle, was the same person who hours before the chase I had witnessed, was the one who had caused the death of a motor cyclist on U.S. #1, and fled the scene. This was the very crime scene location on U.S. #1 at which the suspect, in the stolen truck, later had been chased through, hitting two police cars, before being chased into and through our neighborhood.

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NEXT STOP FOR THIS SUSPECT

 Now that’s what I call some real “Midnight Excitement” part of which had taken place right here in our very own quiet little neighborhood!

 

—–The End—–

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Midnight Excitement~Part 1

8 Jul

A Slice of Life

 Bill Lites

Bill Cross Plane

 

The other night, at 2:30 in the morning, the wailing of sirens and flashing red and blue lights bouncing off my bedroom walls jolted me out of a sound sleep. “What was going on?” I said to myself. I sat up and looked out my front bedroom window just in time to see a small dark car (with its lights off), followed by four Titusville city police cars, zip around the corner in front of our house and race off up the street. I thought, “Wow, a movie style chase scene right here in our quiet little neighborhood!”   I had never seen a movie or TV chase scene that took place anywhere but on a busy city freeway or on an open two-lane road out in the middle of nowhere. I wondered, “How could anyone expect to get away from the police in this maze of one-block and curving streets that make up our small neighborhood?”

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I waited a few minutes to see if anything else was going to happen, and then laid back down to try to go to sleep. A short time later I heard the wamp-wamp-wamp of a helicopter buzzing around overhead and more flashing red and blue lights. When I looked out the window this time, there were two cars at the intersection, a police car facing one direction and the other car (with its lights off), facing the opposite direction. I thought “What kind of a standoff is this?” Just then, the car (with its lights off) sped off up the street, and the police car wheeled around to follow after it. This time I sat there waiting to see if there would be any more activity. I could see the helicopter flying around in large circles with its search light probing the area.

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It wasn’t long before the first car (with his lights off) came speeding back down the street it had just gone up, whipping around the corner, and headed for the dead-end of our street just two houses down. I said to myself, “They’ve got you now Dude.” That short portion of our street has a big steel barrier across it with nothing but thick woods on the other side. Just then the three other police cars came roaring up and uniformed officers piled out of their cars and headed for the woods.

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A couple minutes later, as the helicopter continued to circle overhead, illuminating the woods with its search light, several Brevard County Sherriff cars, red and blue lights flashing, came zipping into the intersection to join the fracas.

The whole area was swarming with uniformed officers, and one of the Sherriff Deputies removed a German Shepherd dog from his K-9 SUV on a leash.

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As this scene unfolded before my eyes, I wondered what the suspect(s) could have done to warrant such an extensive manhunt. I would have to watch the local NEWS in the morning for sure. About ten minutes later an EMT vehicle threaded its way through the crush of official vehicles in the intersection and stopped. The EMTs got out with their emergency bag and headed for the woods. I couldn’t see where they went, but my neighbor told me later that by then they had the suspect out of the woods and handcuffed, at the dead end, out in front of her house. She said that after putting on gloves, it appeared the EMTs didn’t have anything to deal with on that suspect, as it seemed that they only questioned him.

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—–To Be Continued—–

 

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The Greasy Pork Chops

1 Jul

A Slice of Life

 Bill Lites

Bill Rocket Plane

 

In 1974 I was between jobs and our family took a 6-week camping trip (see “Our Trip Across America“ blog posted 10/10/2012) to see some of the wonders of America and visit friends and relatives along the way. We had a great time visiting some of my relatives in Louisiana and New Mexico and high school friends in Arizona. We stopped to see DiVoran’s brother and his family in Bonita, CA which is just south of San Diego, CA and one of my work friends in Diamond Bar, CA which is located just east of Los Angeles, CA. From there our trip took us up the scenic California coast to Fort Bragg, CA where DiVoran’s parents were living at the time.

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Her father, Ivan, was a fisherman who “Lived to Fish” and his longtime dream was to own a commercial fishing boat and ply the Pacific Ocean for its rich verity of salmon. To fulfill this dream he had bought a 50 foot commercial fishing boat the year before and was an old hand at ocean salmon fishing by the time we arrived.

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We were having a wonderful visit with Ivan and Dora, but Ivan couldn’t wait to take me out on his boat and show me how he was realizing his dream. The day we went out the weather was overcast and cool when we left. By the time Ivan had finished setting his lines, the seas were up and it was getting pretty rough. As we headed back in, taking in the lines and fish, the boat was rolling and pitching so bad it was all I could do to hold on.

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Ivan got on the radio to tell Dora how bad the weather was and that we were heading home. Before she signed off, she told Ivan that DiVoran wanted to say something.

 I have to put the story on pause for a moment at this point and give you a little background on how Ivan had teased Divoran as she was growing up. He was always telling her that the meal they were eating was Bambi or one of her pet animals, and teasing her about how weak her stomach was when she would get car sick during family trips on those winding Colorado roads.

 Well, DiVoran got on the radio and asked Ivan how the fishing was going; how many fish we had caught, how bad the weather was and all that. When he told her he had to go, she said for him to be careful and to hurry home because she and Dora had a nice hot meal of pork chops waiting for him. Nice greasy pork chops…. nice big greasy pork chops, just swimming in grease. Ivan started turning a little green around the gills and told DiVoran to “SHUT UP!” The last thing I heard on the radio before Ivan signed off was DiVoran laughing. “Sweet Revenge!” I thought to myself. Over the many years we had gone fishing together I had never known Ivan to get sick on a boat, but this was the one exception, and it was perfectly played by DiVoran.

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After we got back to the marina, got the boat tied up and cleaned the boat and the fish, no one talked much about the incident. But, at dinner that evening (and by the way it wasn’t pork chops), I noticed an occasional smile when DiVoran and Dora would exchange glances. I guess that just goes to prove the old saying, “What goes around, comes around.” At least it did for Ivan that day.

 

Luke 6:31

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The Space Race Part

24 Jun

A Slice of Life

 Bill Lites

Bill Small Red Plane

 

 

I started teaching my kids and grandkids all about things related to rocketry and aviation early in their lives. Since I was part of the U.S. Space Program when my children were growing up, they got a heavy dose of rocketry. My son built and flew his first model rocket at age 9 or 10. We went on to enjoy that hobby together for years to come.

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When the grandkids came along, the aviation bug that had bit their granddad, in his early years, was still there to infect them while they were young and spending monthly weekends with Grandmother & Granddad. Of course, my son and I had to teach my grandson the art and joy of model rocketry as well, during his teen years (and you know the youngsters are the ones who have the energy to chase the errant model airplanes and model rockets).

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I hope you can forgive me for digressing some from my original subject. But, this blog is a quick overview of how “Aviation” and the “Space Race” have influenced and directed my life and work over the 35 of my Aerospace career. And, overall, how those same interests and desires have continued to influence my life to this very day.   I’m just as determined to experience as many “Aviation” related things (museums & airshows) today as I was when I was a teenager. In fact, every time an airplane flies over our house, I can’t resist looking up to see if my first guess as to what type of airplane it is (by the engine sound) was right or not. And then there are the periodic rocket launches that wake us up at all hours of the night. We have to jump up, grab the binoculars, and follow its fiery trail until it is out of sight. I’ve heard it said, “Some people never grow up.”   I guess I must be one of them.

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—–The End—–

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