Where Did This Come From?
The Lucky One explores the beginning of my aviation career, starting with my first job as a flight instructor.I was surprised to find I liked it. Perhaps because I was good at it, I have no death-defying stories of students trying to kill me.
Who Came Up with This One?
When I was learning to fly in Alaska, I had already lived a perilous life. First riding with an outlaw motorcycle club in California. After moving to the Last Frontier, I would go into the wilderness on hunting trips, often alone. I probably didn’t realize how risky flying up there could be. At least no worse than my previous life. Maybe I had no idea what normal was.
Who Came Up with This?
It’s been said that “Four wheels move the body, but two wheels move the soul.” There is something about riding a motorcycle that only a rider can understand. The sense of adventure, the individuality, the freedom. Just you and the bike, the road, the wind.
Who’s Idea Was This?
One day someone derisively asked, “Who’s the ‘novelist’ writing those match reports?” I decided, maybe that’s what I should be doing instead. Not novels or course, but memoirs. Ernest Hemingway said, “Before you can write about life, you have to live it.” I figured I had a pretty good start on that, so that’s where I began.
An Evening in Modesto
It was late and the Old Mill Diner on 9th Street already seemed ancient in 1972. Curt and I sat in vinyl booths polished smooth by millions of bodies over the years. The Formica table had gouges, and a few initials carved into it. Just a few customers sat at the counter and the waitress lazily performed her duties with what seemed a minimum of effort.
It Was the Best of Time… It Is the Best of Times…
Personally, I don’t make New Years resolutions, partly because, like most people, I will forget about them in a month or so. What I do have is goals. Short term goals that will last as long as they are needed.
Driving Into the Past
Somehow, I felt like a road trip. So, in late October I decided to head east, but not on a bike this time. It’s getting a little cold in some parts of the country, so I hopped in my Ford Edge. Yes, I know, I’m getting old… but I am doing my best, and while adventurous, I’m not crazy.
Choppers Never Die!
I am constantly amazed at the long life of choppers. It was a fad in the sixties when I came around, but it has not gone away. Just the opposite, their appeal seems to get stronger and more popular. And not just in America but all over the world.
The Cabin
What you're about to read might seem like fiction, and it’s actually part of my upcoming book, the sequel to The Lucky One. But as you already know, all of my stories are rooted in real-life experiences—things that have truly happened to me...