Gettin' Mushy
Link to this week's column at USAToday.com/travel:
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/columnist/getline/2005-02-21-ask-the-captain_
x.htm
"Gettin' Mushy"
ANNNOUNCEMENT: First "Ground School for
Passengers" was a HIT. See what one attendee had
to say:
"As one of those flyers who grabs the armrest
every time the plane jiggles or bounces, after
spending two hours with Meryl Getline I am looking
forward to my next flight anticipating a much more
relaxed experience. She went through every topic
that terrifies us fearful ones and replaced the
fear with knowledge and understanding, and trust.
It was worth every penny." Connie Nelson -
Fremont, CA
My next Teleseminar is scheduled for May 18th.
Please visit www.flyingfearless.com for details.
Strangely enough, BEFORE I put out my first poem
for my Weekly Update, called "Over The Pole to the
Orient," my Mom told me that my Dad made a comment
about my writing like a poet, with reference to my
descriptions. They were both stunned when I put
out that first poem. As a matter of fact, I was
stunned. I've just never been into poetry
especially.
For those of you who are new to this newsletter
and want to see my previous stabs at what I
loosely refer to as poetry, please click here for
"Over The
Pole to the Orient":
http://www.fromthecockpit.com/Blogg/
then click on Feb. 2005 on the right-hand side.
The poem is in the second piece, also called "Over
the Pole to the Orient."
Click here to listen to or read "Ode to A
Jellyfish."
http://www.fromthecockpit.com/jellyfish.htm
My newest poem is based on the syntax of Robert
Frost's poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy
Evening." Although I was absolutely NOT into
poetry while in school, for some reason this poem
is one I memorized and never forgot. I was
intrigued by the rhyming of the third line of each
verse to the first, second and fourth lines of the
next verse, and of the overall feeling of serenity
of the poem.
In any case, I wrote the poem below with Cap'n
Al(yes, Al The Web Guy), in mind. We used to fly
the Pacific together in the late eighties when he
flew as captain on the DC-10 and I was his
copilot. A little on the mushy side, but you'll
get over it in due time. "Ode to a Jellyfish" is
really more my style, but this stuff just writes
itself and when it does, I feel I have an
obligation to share it with at least a limited
audience of several thousand, and that's you.
Before I do the poetry thing, though, last time I
wrote I was unsure where I was flying next but
guessed it would be a domestic trip and for once I
was right. As a reserve pilot, I fly leftover
trips and never really know until a day or to
prior to leaving where I'm headed.
My trip was a four-day extravaganza which went
from Chicago to San Francisco where we had a full
day downtown. Our layover hotel is right at the
gate to Chinatown. I got my Chinese food fix and,
even more importantly, my almond cookie fetish got
taken care of. I have a "thing" for almond
cookies.
My stunning view from the 21st floor of our hotel
looked out at Coit Tower with the bay behind it.
In fact, I've added quite a few pictures to my US
Album in my Photo Gallery if you want to peek.
You'll see I added some shots of both the arrival
and departure into San Francisco, and a few of
shots of Chicago as well.
TIP: Look for a link that says "Last Uploads" in
the last line just under the web address, at the
top of the Photo Gallery when you first get there.
This link will take you right to all the latest
shots, dated in May. I added five photos to the
Hawaii Album and a bunch to the U.S. Album. You
can look at them all by clicking this link right
from the main page of the Photo Gallery. No need
to click on a specific Album for this, although
you can. Here's the link to the Photo Gallery:
www.fromthecockpit.com/gallery.
At night, when I have a room high up in my hotel
with a great view, I leave my curtains wide open.
There was a flashing light reflecting off the wall
of my San Francisco hotel, which I initially
thought was my smoke detector. When I realized it
was coming from outside, I got up to go stand in
the reflection and see exactly where it was coming
from. It was the beacon from Alcatraz! I am
highly impressionable and when I fell asleep, I
dreamed about jumping off the island as an escaped
prisoner and swimming to shore. I'm one of the few
who made it, in case you're wondering how it
turned out.
From San Francisco it was just flights to Denver
and Washington, D.C.'s Dulles Airport, then back
to Chicago. Pretty hum-drum stuff. There were
two Denver layovers but I live an hour and a half
away so I didn't get to go home.
After that it was another Kona run, where I
visited with a few more friends I've made through
my column and this newsletter. Apparently many of
my readers are living the good life out in Hawaii.
The noteworthy thing about this trip is that my
primary first officer, Mike Marcano, has a
girlfriend in China. When he told me he'd been
there 134 times I almost fell out of the airplane.
Of course, that's just as a pilot and doesn't
count the approximately 150 total times he's flown
there---the rest on passes to visit his Sweetie.
He taught me and our relief pilot, Troy Avery,
some useful Chinese phrases during our flight.
Oh, and did I mention Mike's 114 (or so) flights
to Frankfurt? This guy's been just about
everywhere to the point I was exhausted (but
fascinated) listening to him. Stories of travels
to Mongolia, Tunisia and all sorts of other exotic
locales.
Troy, our relief pilot, and I flew together on the
Airbus at one time as well, even taking an annual
checkride together in the simulator. He's also an
aviation attorney and has worked on some major
cases. A delightful trip with a delightful crew.
Mike and Troy were added to my Hawaii Album, or
you can find them in the "Last Uploads" as
described above.
I also added some new shots of final approaches
(San Francisco and Chicago) and departures from
San Francisco, along with some other shots in
various locales, all in the U.S. Album. Check out
this photo of Mt. Hood taken shortly before we
headed out to sea on our Kona flight:
http://www.fromthecockpit.com/gallery/displayimage.php?&pos=-337
I went swimming in my usual cove on Kona but Ernie
the Jellyfish (see the link above to read the
story told by the poem) must have packed up his
little jellyfish bag and left town, so I swam
unscathed this time. I kind of missed him, but
not that much.
And now to the scary stuff---Cap'n Meryl's newest
poem. At least it's short. Here's a link to
Robert Frost's poem for comparison if you care to
see where the inspiration for the rhythm of own
poem originated:
http://www.ketzle.com/frost/snowyeve.htm
And here is my own, about Cap'n Al and me:
Night Flight
Across the frigid sea we fly,
A moonless night, a velvet sky.
Ten million points of light above
The only sound a gentle sigh.
I turn to see the man I love
And wonder what he's thinking of.
His brow is creased, he's deep in thought.
He doesn't see the stars above.
I wonder if I really ought
To rouse him and decide I'll not
The sky above is deep and vast
The craft we fly a tiny dot.
Our plane is silver, sleek and fast.
The night is long but now has passed,
The distant shore in sight at last.
The distant shore in sight at last.
I'm telling you I can't HELP it! I did warn you
previously, many times, that I am a hopeless
romantic. I've even joined HRA (Hopeless
Romantics
Anonymous) but it's just no help. Maybe there's a
patch or something.
http://www.flyingfearless.com
Until Next Time,
Maintain Airpseed!
Cap'n Meryl
www.flyingfearless.com (Cap'n Meryl's "Ground
School for Passengers")
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/columnist/getline/2005-02-21-ask-the-captain_
x.htm
"Gettin' Mushy"
ANNNOUNCEMENT: First "Ground School for
Passengers" was a HIT. See what one attendee had
to say:
"As one of those flyers who grabs the armrest
every time the plane jiggles or bounces, after
spending two hours with Meryl Getline I am looking
forward to my next flight anticipating a much more
relaxed experience. She went through every topic
that terrifies us fearful ones and replaced the
fear with knowledge and understanding, and trust.
It was worth every penny." Connie Nelson -
Fremont, CA
My next Teleseminar is scheduled for May 18th.
Please visit www.flyingfearless.com for details.
Strangely enough, BEFORE I put out my first poem
for my Weekly Update, called "Over The Pole to the
Orient," my Mom told me that my Dad made a comment
about my writing like a poet, with reference to my
descriptions. They were both stunned when I put
out that first poem. As a matter of fact, I was
stunned. I've just never been into poetry
especially.
For those of you who are new to this newsletter
and want to see my previous stabs at what I
loosely refer to as poetry, please click here for
"Over The
Pole to the Orient":
http://www.fromthecockpit.com/Blogg/
then click on Feb. 2005 on the right-hand side.
The poem is in the second piece, also called "Over
the Pole to the Orient."
Click here to listen to or read "Ode to A
Jellyfish."
http://www.fromthecockpit.com/jellyfish.htm
My newest poem is based on the syntax of Robert
Frost's poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy
Evening." Although I was absolutely NOT into
poetry while in school, for some reason this poem
is one I memorized and never forgot. I was
intrigued by the rhyming of the third line of each
verse to the first, second and fourth lines of the
next verse, and of the overall feeling of serenity
of the poem.
In any case, I wrote the poem below with Cap'n
Al(yes, Al The Web Guy), in mind. We used to fly
the Pacific together in the late eighties when he
flew as captain on the DC-10 and I was his
copilot. A little on the mushy side, but you'll
get over it in due time. "Ode to a Jellyfish" is
really more my style, but this stuff just writes
itself and when it does, I feel I have an
obligation to share it with at least a limited
audience of several thousand, and that's you.
Before I do the poetry thing, though, last time I
wrote I was unsure where I was flying next but
guessed it would be a domestic trip and for once I
was right. As a reserve pilot, I fly leftover
trips and never really know until a day or to
prior to leaving where I'm headed.
My trip was a four-day extravaganza which went
from Chicago to San Francisco where we had a full
day downtown. Our layover hotel is right at the
gate to Chinatown. I got my Chinese food fix and,
even more importantly, my almond cookie fetish got
taken care of. I have a "thing" for almond
cookies.
My stunning view from the 21st floor of our hotel
looked out at Coit Tower with the bay behind it.
In fact, I've added quite a few pictures to my US
Album in my Photo Gallery if you want to peek.
You'll see I added some shots of both the arrival
and departure into San Francisco, and a few of
shots of Chicago as well.
TIP: Look for a link that says "Last Uploads" in
the last line just under the web address, at the
top of the Photo Gallery when you first get there.
This link will take you right to all the latest
shots, dated in May. I added five photos to the
Hawaii Album and a bunch to the U.S. Album. You
can look at them all by clicking this link right
from the main page of the Photo Gallery. No need
to click on a specific Album for this, although
you can. Here's the link to the Photo Gallery:
www.fromthecockpit.com/gallery.
At night, when I have a room high up in my hotel
with a great view, I leave my curtains wide open.
There was a flashing light reflecting off the wall
of my San Francisco hotel, which I initially
thought was my smoke detector. When I realized it
was coming from outside, I got up to go stand in
the reflection and see exactly where it was coming
from. It was the beacon from Alcatraz! I am
highly impressionable and when I fell asleep, I
dreamed about jumping off the island as an escaped
prisoner and swimming to shore. I'm one of the few
who made it, in case you're wondering how it
turned out.
From San Francisco it was just flights to Denver
and Washington, D.C.'s Dulles Airport, then back
to Chicago. Pretty hum-drum stuff. There were
two Denver layovers but I live an hour and a half
away so I didn't get to go home.
After that it was another Kona run, where I
visited with a few more friends I've made through
my column and this newsletter. Apparently many of
my readers are living the good life out in Hawaii.
The noteworthy thing about this trip is that my
primary first officer, Mike Marcano, has a
girlfriend in China. When he told me he'd been
there 134 times I almost fell out of the airplane.
Of course, that's just as a pilot and doesn't
count the approximately 150 total times he's flown
there---the rest on passes to visit his Sweetie.
He taught me and our relief pilot, Troy Avery,
some useful Chinese phrases during our flight.
Oh, and did I mention Mike's 114 (or so) flights
to Frankfurt? This guy's been just about
everywhere to the point I was exhausted (but
fascinated) listening to him. Stories of travels
to Mongolia, Tunisia and all sorts of other exotic
locales.
Troy, our relief pilot, and I flew together on the
Airbus at one time as well, even taking an annual
checkride together in the simulator. He's also an
aviation attorney and has worked on some major
cases. A delightful trip with a delightful crew.
Mike and Troy were added to my Hawaii Album, or
you can find them in the "Last Uploads" as
described above.
I also added some new shots of final approaches
(San Francisco and Chicago) and departures from
San Francisco, along with some other shots in
various locales, all in the U.S. Album. Check out
this photo of Mt. Hood taken shortly before we
headed out to sea on our Kona flight:
http://www.fromthecockpit.com/gallery/displayimage.php?&pos=-337
I went swimming in my usual cove on Kona but Ernie
the Jellyfish (see the link above to read the
story told by the poem) must have packed up his
little jellyfish bag and left town, so I swam
unscathed this time. I kind of missed him, but
not that much.
And now to the scary stuff---Cap'n Meryl's newest
poem. At least it's short. Here's a link to
Robert Frost's poem for comparison if you care to
see where the inspiration for the rhythm of own
poem originated:
http://www.ketzle.com/frost/snowyeve.htm
And here is my own, about Cap'n Al and me:
Night Flight
Across the frigid sea we fly,
A moonless night, a velvet sky.
Ten million points of light above
The only sound a gentle sigh.
I turn to see the man I love
And wonder what he's thinking of.
His brow is creased, he's deep in thought.
He doesn't see the stars above.
I wonder if I really ought
To rouse him and decide I'll not
The sky above is deep and vast
The craft we fly a tiny dot.
Our plane is silver, sleek and fast.
The night is long but now has passed,
The distant shore in sight at last.
The distant shore in sight at last.
I'm telling you I can't HELP it! I did warn you
previously, many times, that I am a hopeless
romantic. I've even joined HRA (Hopeless
Romantics
Anonymous) but it's just no help. Maybe there's a
patch or something.
http://www.flyingfearless.com
Until Next Time,
Maintain Airpseed!
Cap'n Meryl
www.flyingfearless.com (Cap'n Meryl's "Ground
School for Passengers")
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