The Flying of the People.

Posted by Kevin.......

I cannot remember the last time I wore four different neckties in one week. That's, like, almost all the ties I own!

I was pulled from my cargo route to fly passengers this week for our charter department in Pierre, SD.

First I was scheduled to fly the whole week, Sunday through Saturday. Then it was reduced to trips on Monday through Thursday, because I had to return to the Twin Cities to do my cargo route on Friday.

The highpoint (literally) of the week was flying into Custer County Airport, SD. At and elevation of 5600ft, it sits high up in the black hills next to the Crazy Horse National Monument, and near Mount Rushmore.

A very turbulent ride, flying into this mountain airport was like riding a the back of a pick-up truck driving down a dirt road.

After about an hour at the airport, a guy in a shirt and tie walked into the mobile home that serves as a pilots' lounge next to the ramp.

He said to me, "Hi. Are you a pilot?"

"Hi. Yes I am." I said.

"Is that your plane out there"?

"Yep."

(Oh oh.)

"Do you have your license and medical certificate on you?"

I was being "ramp checked" by an FAA inspector.

Everything was in order and we chatted for a while. Another inspector came in and said he checked my plane and it was "clean". I don't know whether that means it was washed recently, or there were no drugs or guns on the seats.

BOY, OH BOY!

Posted by Kevin.....

Well, it's a boy for sure. You can't tell from this view, but BELIEVE ME! We have the other picture that we will not share here.

He was very active, kicking and rolling around, and stretching his legs and arching his back. We watched his little heart bangin' away, and we could count his toes.

We zoomed in on his face. He yawned. He knows he has it made.

The doctor mulled over the views of the arm bones, leg bones, the spine, and declared that every aspect was normal.

The doctor was showing us the umbilical cord and the blood flowing through it when there was a change in sound of the blood flow and a change in picture and he said, "oh, he's kicked me out of the artery..." Apparently the baby is "active".

That's our boy.

End of the Season?

Posted by Kevin......

A local radio station has a bit called "Weekend, High or Low?". Listeners call in and tell everyone why their weekend was a good one or a bad one.

It's pathetic. People call in and say stuff like, "My weekend was a low. I went to buy tickets to see RUSH, and it turned out they played the night before!" "My weekend was a high! My in-laws are from Atlanta, and the Vikings beat Atlanta, so take that in-laws!!"

Lame. But humor me now. Here was our weekend:

Low: Stace had to work Saturday.

High: I rode the 100 mile Jesse James Bike tour with the Northfield Bike Club.








Very Low: During the ride, I had a flat, then I almost got hit by a car (my fault), then some biker crashed in front of me (his fault), at 70 miles I fell behind my group, and around 98 miles two riders in front of me sped through a RR crossing as a train was coming!! (I stopped). High: I finished the ride! I feel great!

Low: There were thousands of out-of-towners in Northfield for the Defeat of Jesse James Days.

Very High: Stace and I went to Blue Nile in Minneapolis for dinner.

Low: Sunday was perfect weather as Stace and I walked downtown to see all the garbage that outsiders decided to throw on our community's sidewalks and lawns. (Stace pulled an ice cream stick out of a bush in the town square!)














Medium High: Watched the Jesse James shoot out reenactment, then watched the "Defeat of Jesse James Days' never ending continuous cavalcade-on-a-loop celebration festival parade that never seems to stop, ever".




















Very High: We waved to all the outsiders as they left our town.

Dificult News From the Doc

posted by Stace
Upon informing my doctor that my diet has almost exclusively consisted of pasta and sweets (little tip: don't ever tell your doctor this), my little happy world got turned on its head. He promptly reminded me that this is what my diet should not consist of, and suggested more vegetables, more complex fats, more grains. Maybe more chicken, he suggested helpfully. I gagged a little at the thought. Fish?, he offered. For the most part, that doesn't excite me either. While I have always been tickled to eat this in the past, it's something about the cooking of it that turns me off quick, and instead I think - hey, what about lasagna??? How about that, doctor? With a nice side of big crusty bread. Oh, he tells me, less bread too. &*$^%%!!#$ off, I think. But I like him a lot, and so I bite my tongue.

Today I went out and bought broccoli - which my intestines will have my head for, and whole grain bread, polenta, tomatoes, and lettuce. I have some ideas that interest me - but this day is a somber one, let me tell you. I fondly look back on last night when craving chocolate, Kevin and I walked to the store to check out Cadbury's finest, and after eating some Baby was poking and prodding big time until I finally fell asleep. It either loves Cadbury and wants more, or it was very distraught. I am afraid to think which. My doctor thinks that's a cute story.