Beaches

USA Today.com Column


Several readers let me know they viewed the TV
interview with Gregory Mantell posted at
Media Links. Two
people wrote to tell me how unexpected and funny
they thought my response was to the "favorite
airport" question. If you didn’t see the
interview and would like to, here is the direct
link once again:
Gregory Mantell Show

Through my "Ask The Captain" column at
usatoday.com, I’ve received and answered the
question at least a few times regarding my
favorite and least-favorite airports to fly into.
Regarding my favorite airports, it's simply no
contest and easy to answer. If there is a great
beach nearby, and especially if the approach
brings us in over beautiful tropical waters, it
qualifies as a favorite airport. That includes
any of the Hawaiian Islands, Miami, Puerto Rico
and even Southern California with its relatively
cooler water temperatures.

The airport itself is really of virtually no
consequence to me. The exception is if the
terminal has exceptionally good food, like many
of the airports in Europe with their bakeries,
grocery stores and wonderful cafes and
restaurants. Everywhere I fly, especially since
transitioning to wide-bodies, has nice, long
runways and sophisticated navigational
capabilities, so the approaches are somewhat
standard and not an issue.

I really don't have a least favorite airport per
se, but laying over at places with really, really
long drives from the airport to the hotel can be
tiring if done too many times in a row. Osaka's
airport, for example, is about an hour away from
the downtown hotel. Both London and Munich are
long drives, but Frankfurt is really quick (about
15 minutes) and so is Narita (also about 15
minutes).

Obviously, to me it's all about the layover, and
that's true of many pilots. However, sometimes
pilots will talk about the fun approaches into La
Guardia and Reagan Airports. La Guardia has an
interesting visual approach that swings us in a
relatively tight loop around Shea Stadium, while
the Potomac Visual Approach from the north at
Reagan has us following the winding river, right
past all the monuments and the White House. The
runways at both airports are relatively short and
it's challenging as well as entertaining to fly
both these approaches. Last time I flew into
either airport was in the A-319/A-320. B-777's
don't service either of these airports, but
utilize JFK in New York and Dulles for
Washingtond, D.C.

On another note, this week it was an honor and a
privilege to attend a luncheon for the Board of
Directors of CIPA (Colorado Independent
Publishers Association). I was invited as a
guest along with about half a dozen other authors
who won "Evvy" awards in 2004 in our respective
book categories (autobiography was my category).
After winning the Evvy Award, some of our books
were selected for the "CIPA STAR" program, which
establishes a solid relationship between authors
and all the Barnes & Nobles statewide. There
were some representatives from B & N there as
well.

I was previously able to establish a relationship
with Barnes & Noble on my own and even had a book
signing at one of them here in the Denver area.
My books are in some B & N's on both coasts, but
otherwise not widely distributed other than
through Amazon.com, my own site, some airport
stores and other scattered bookstores such as
Borders. This new honor provides me a solid
footing in Colorado B& N bookstores.

There was a speaker at the pre-lunch meeting as
well, from Amazon.com. Although I sell a lot of
copies of my book through Amazon, it's easy to
forget that this is a real company with actual
people as opposed to some virtual establishment
where nothing is "real." The speaker gave us
some insight on various Amazon programs for
authors and some upcoming programs coming soon,
like a marketplace for E-Books and On-Demand
printing capabilities for authors who want to
print books only after they're actually ordered
by customers. I mention this for some of my
readers who are either aspiring or actual
authors.

My next book will not be self-published, but will
be through a mainstream publisher in New York.
Originally scheduled for publication this coming
June, the schedule has been pushed back just a
wee bit as we see how my current situation
resolves itself in a few months. I'm a very fast
writer, so when my agent, publisher and I all
come to some agreement as to the content of the
next book, it shouldn’t take long to produce a
manuscript for it (she said, with great
optimism).


And with that,
Until Next Time,
Maintain Airspeed,

Cap'n Meryl

www.fromthecockpit.com
www.flyingfearless.com
www.fromthecockpit.com/profile.htm(keynote speaker)

PASS THE MEATBALLS, PLEASE!

Link to this week's column at
USAToday.com/travel:
USA Today.com Column

Uh-oh. Now I've really done it. In my first Weekly Update of 2006 I talked about New Year's Eve and the delicious Swedish Meatballs prepared by my own Chief Chef, otherwise known as Cap'n Al and/or Al the Web Guy.

Soon after, emails started coming in at a fairly good clip—some requesting the recipe he used (sent in by a reader) and others volunteering recipes of their own. As a result, Al The Web Guy had NO CHOICE but to add a Recipes section to my main site. Here is a direct link: Recipes
Recipes

Here you'll find the Swedish Meatball recipe along with the name of the reader who sent it, along with some recipes sent in by other readers. There's also room for "Household Tips." If you'd like to contribute to this page, send your recipes and/or tips to support@fromthecockpit.com and put "Recipes" in the subject (even if it's a tip) so I can more easily sort through the gazillion or so emails I receive each week. Also, be sure to give me permission to use your name as the contributor, or tell me you don't want your name used. I'd like to list credits, but only with your permission. If the recipe is your own invention, be sure to tell me that. Otherwise I'll just post as "sent in by."

On another subject, one reader wrote recently asking if there was anywhere to buy airplane posters, and I have three references for him and anyone else who is interested in either posters or models. The last one was sent in coincidentally by another reader just hours before this Update was to go out, so I decided to put it in as well.

The first is a link which will take you to some rare United 747 and 777 posters for sale on eBay. The link belongs to one of my readers whose wife was a ticket agent for United until she was laid off after 9/11. I hope you'll have a look. Posters

A second link of interest to those interested in aircraft posters and models takes you to Boeing's store. Boeing Store Be sure to check out the Collector's Gallery.
Boeing Store

The third link is for easy-to-construct models with authentic markings and great detail: Models

There must have been something in the national water supply this week. More so than any other week I can remember, my phone was ringing off the hook with interview invitations, mostly for radio shows. My radio interview in St. Louis on one of the country's Top 20 stations went well and was mentioned beforehand in last week's "Ask The Captain" column at www.usatoday.com. Since it was available online, many readers around the world heard it. I got comments from at least eight countries.

The Los Angeles Times called, looking for a resource on fear of flying, so my Ground School for Passengers will be getting some nice exposure there. This two-hour course and/or Ebook are available both in my Gift Ideas area at http://www.fromthecockpit.com and at http://www.flyingfearless.com.

After that, out of the wild blue yonder I got an invitation to speak in Palm Springs at the end of the month. It's a small group of medical professionals (30-40 people) and I'm to have breakfast with them, talk for just a few minutes about flying and my column, and take questions. A pleasant time for me, to be sure, and a nice little vacation, even if it's just overnight.

And what do I have in common with medical professionals? Absolutely nothing other than the fact they all fly extensively and apparently have lots of questions. The group's director is an avid reader of my column and asked his meeting planner to call me-and that was that. I mention this here as so many of my readers are professional people, and I never miss an opportunity to remind readers that I am available, especially for the next three months or so, for speaking engagements. You can always contact me at support@fromthecockpit.com and my fees are negotiable.

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR ANYONE ELSE INTERESTED IN PUBLIC SPEAKING: James Malinchak is one of my personal mentors regarding the subject of public speaking, and especially marketing for public speaking. If anyone is interested in participating in a telephone conference with James and me on January 22nd, I need to hear from you as soon as possible. Write to me at support@fromthecockpit.com and put "speaker" in the subject.

This call will last 45 minutes plus 30 minutes for questions and will start at 8:00 PM Eastern Time. Call is not firmed up until I see if I have enough interest from my readers.

James has a great Free Report here, and I encourage you to have a look at it: Free Report

Although his emphasis in on speaking at colleges, he also teaches about speaking for and marketing to corporations. I recommend James' information as the best available. Because of my column and such wide exposure, I've not had to do much marketing, but I've still incorporated much of what I've learned from James into my speaking arrangements. The call will be interesting, fun and full of information, so please join us if you have any interest in this area.

Also, very short notice on this one, but "The Trip Chicks," who've had me as a guest previously on their radio show, are hosting an hour-long teleseminar this Thursday night called "Insider Secrets of the Travel Experts (That Won't Break Your Budget!)" and I'll be on their panel of guests. The call will start at 9:00 PM Eastern. You may register and submit a question here: http://www.askthetripchicks.com

Al The Web Guy and I have two houseguests for an extended period of time-a nine-year-old boy named Anthony and his mother LeAnn. Their first night here when we were all getting acquainted, I asked the little boy if he liked to fly. "No," he shook his head.

"Why not?" I asked him.
"Because airplanes fly into buildings," he said quite somberly.
"You mean 9/11?" I asked.
"Yes," he said. My teacher had the TV on and we watched it all day.
I explained to him that although he was left thinking, subconsciously or otherwise, that this was somehow a common event, I pointed out to him that it happened exactly one time in all of history and was unlikely in the extreme to ever happen again.

Cap'n Al chimed in most helpfully to explain that if he was going to be afraid, it would make far more sense to worry about the drive to the airport, as car accidents are so much more common. He did not seem convinced.

Several days after this discussion at the dinner table, it occurred to me to ask Anthony if he was still afraid to fly.

"No, of course not," he answered very matter-of-factly, as if I should have known better.
"Why not?" I asked, trying not to appear too surprised.
"Because you explained to me how scary it isn't."

Only from a nine-year-old.


And with that,
Until Next Time,
Maintain Airspeed!
Cap'n Meryl

www.fromthecockpit.com
www.flyingfearless.com
www.fromthecockpit.com/profile.htm(keynote speaker)

HAPPY 2006 FROM CAP’N MERYL AND AL THE WEB GUY

Link to this week's column atUSAToday.com/travel:
Usa Today
Can you believe it? Another year is behind us. It’s exactly five minutes into this new year of 2006 as I write this. Al The Web Guy and I toasted each other and the new year at exactly midnight. I am a night person by nature and am usually still up anyway, but keeping Al The Web Guy conscious long enough to celebrate the arrival of the New Year is always a challenge. He’s a day person but he did just fine tonight with a little help from me.

We live out in the country and are not party types, so we were quite happy to stay home. A reader sent a recipe for Swedish Meatballs for Al The Web Guy and Chief Chef just a few days prior, which I promptly forwarded. All emails which address or include him get forwarded, and I didn’t think much more about this one.

On New Year’s Eve, I went down to the kitchen to find Al The Web Guy and Chief Chef making Swedish Meatballs! Does anyone remember the Muppet’s Swedish Chef? Every time I look at my own Chief Chef surrounded by a rather astonishing array of spices and every size cooking pan imaginable, I think of the Swedish Chef, uttering things unintelligible and brandishing his oversized cooking spoon. I’d like to thank the reader who sent the recipe because they were a delicious way to ring in the New Year.

I remember my two most memorable New Year’s Eves every New Year’s Eve. The first was on a flight when I was returning from Israel. The plane stopped in Paris, then continued on to New York. The timing of the departure from Paris was such that a little way into the flight, we flew past midnight and the flight crew made an announcement. Then, every hour after that the captain would announce to the passengers that we had just picked up another hour, and then flown past midnight again. I lost count on how many times the passengers’ glassed were clinked in toasts that night. I was just seventeen at the time and feeling on top of the world.

My second most memorable New Year’s Eve was on a pilot layover in New York. Our hotel was only a couple of blocks from Times Square and I could hear the raucous celebration getting louder and louder the closer it got to midnight. I was watching the festivities on TV but eventually couldn’t stand not being part of it anymore and went to join the crowd and watch the ball drop.

This was a long time ago. Security wasn’t nearly what it is now and it wasn’t hard to secure a good viewing point. It wasn’t terribly close but I had a clear view. Normally I’m not crazy about being part of a large, rowdy crowd, but I made an exception for this special night. I couldn’t tolerate the thought of remembering years later that I was so close to such a huge event, yet chose to cower in the relative safety of my hotel room. Here I am now, all these years later, glad I participated when I had the chance.

Al The Web Guy says his most memorable New Year’s was actually on the Chinese New Year on a layover in Hong Kong. He went down to the harbor and watched the incredible display from there. That’s one of the extraordinary things about being a pilot and traveling worldwide for a living. We get to experience different holidays in various parts of the world. Some pilots complain that they’d rather be home with their families, and although that may be true, it’s still just a fact of a flying life that we’re often abroad during major holidays.

Of all the holidays during the year, New Year’s is the one I have always taken the most seriously. Even more so than at Thanksgiving, this is the day I really spend some time thinking about all I have to be grateful for, including my entire family still doing well.

I also give thought to all the matters that are unresolved in my life and a review of how I’m going to deal with them, things I absolutely must change and a resolution or two (the truly excellent thing about never fulfilling them is that I can use them again next year and the year after that). I always give thanks for all the good things that happened in 2005 along with hope for improvement to all the bad situations (including world events) in this new year.

I think about the absolute worst moment of 2005 from my own perspective, and then think about all those who are so much worse off than I’ve ever been. I didn’t lose anybody or anything (like a house) to a flood or tsunami, I’m not living under a bridge wondering where my next meal is coming from and I’m not a hostage in a war-torn country with a blindfold over my eyes and a knife at my throat. I am not wracked with grief like the young woman I saw on the news last night, hysterical at the loss of her little brother along with a second teenager killed here in Denver in a car accident earlier in the week. It doesn’t take much thought to appreciate how good things are in my own life no matter what difficulties may be present.

I have always loved and been intrigued by the notion of a clean slate, waiting to be written upon with all its unknown ups and downs (literally and otherwise). I haven’t had time to mess anything up yet (remember, we’re only several minutes into 2006 as I write this) so, as far as I can tell, this is a perfect year so far. I like that thought and want to hold onto it as long as possible. I think I lasted about three days last year before doing something I wish I hadn’t. I’m going for at least a week this time.

I want to go to bed every night of this and every future year not being ashamed of anything I did that day, and doing things I can look back at and be proud of.. I want to forgive anyone who needs forgiving, with or without their knowledge or consent and simply be the best person I know how to be.

Under the category of “things unresolved,” let me take a moment to once again thank all my readers who express concern each week that I’m currently writing about subjects other than any current flying. Although I’ve mentioned it in the past, new subscribers are coming onboard all the time. For these new readers and anyone else who hasn’t seen me address this before, there is a situation in my life regarding my flying career that is on track to a resolution at this time, but for a few months yet I won’t know what that resolution is. Regardless of the outcome, I have a Plan B in mind to avoid possible catastrophe.

If that sounds cryptic, it probably is but that is about as much as I can say about the situation as it stands right now without jeopardizing any legal issues. Suffice it to say for the moment that I am just fine, and as soon as the situation is finalized I will most likely be able to make a partial and possibly even a full disclosure to my readers. So please be patient and if you want to hear an interesting story when it’s all over, please stay tuned. I’ll know something in a few months.

Final Note: The following appears in my column this week at usatoday.com (link at top):

Cap’n Meryl will be appearing live on St.Louis’ KTRS Morning Show with George Woods to discuss the ten most popular questions ever asked in this column. The show may be heard Jan. 4th from 8:30 AM to 9:00 AM Central Time on 550 AM in St. Louis or live on the Internet at www.ktrs.com (look for the red letters “Listen Live Online” at the top of the screen).

George and I met at an event called the Publicity Summit in New York (the same event where I was introduced to the producer of “The View” which led to an appearance on that show about a year ago). I’ve done interviews with him before and he’s a great guy and host, so I hope you’ll tune in. If you miss it but still want to hear it, an archive will be available later, either on my site, his, or both and I’ll publish that information as soon as I have it. A large worldwide audience is expected due to the notice in my column, and I hope you’ll join us, too.

With that, please accept our most heartfelt wishes from Al The Web Guy and me for a very Happy New Year.

Notice to my newest readers, my "Flights of Whimsy - Quips 'N' Quotes" is now available for $11.95 plus just $3 shipping anywhere in the world. Order four and the fifth one is free with no additional shipping charge. Click here to order: Gift Ideas Click here to order: Gift Ideas

I've also made autographed copies of my book "The World At My Feet" available. This book is $17.95 plus $4.95 shipping and must be ordered through my Gift Ideas area to include autograph. There is an area on the order form where you can give me a name if you'd like the book signed for a particular individual or if you want a specific message. Order four and the fifth one is free with no additional shipping charge.
Click here to order: Gift Ideas

And with that,
Until Next Time,
Maintain Airspeed!
Cap'n Meryl

www.fromthecockpit.com
www.flyingfearless.com
www.fromthecockpit.com/profile.htm(keynote speaker)