Over There October 30, 2007
Posted by Juice in Flight.Tags: Helicopter, Iraq, Military, Pilot, War
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(Photo courtesy Guy Raz, NPR)
Typically, when I think of flying I think of euphoria. It’s the reason I fly and it’s the reason I wanted to learn how to fly. I enjoy the feeling of controlling the aircraft as it moves through the sky, and even the requisites of flight like navigation and calculation have a noble feel to me. But the woman in this article (pictured above) flies under very different conditions.
The piece describes Chief Warrant Officer Mary Rone as being potentially shot at and speeding through pitch dark night, all while some poor soul is critically injured on that god forsaken battle field.
I took a moment after reading that piece to think about how horrid it would have to be to take the flights I love and place them in that context. I’ve decided that, while I would definitely feel a sense of pride and warmth knowing I did my duty and helped a fellow soldier, there is no way I could glean from battle the feeling I get from flying safely through friendly skies.
The contrast in my mind served as an awesome reminder of how much the men and women of our armed forces are giving up by fighting day and night in the conflict in Iraq, and I had to take time today to state how much I support them and wish for their safe return.
Whether flying for work or pleasure I think it’s important for us all to remember that at the end of the day (or our contract, in some cases) we get to go home and, unless there’s a terrible mishap, it’s pretty much guaranteed we’ll be in one piece.
If only we could all fly purely for pleasure…
U.S. Airways Waives Fees to Southern California October 24, 2007
Posted by Juice in General Ramblings.Tags: Airline, California, Fire, Southern California
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I thought this was really cool and I wanted to share it with everyone. Enjoy!
From the Aviation Weblog:
If you watch the news, then you know about the wildfires in Southern California. Over a million people have been evacuated and homes have been destroyed. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone who is or will be affected by…
The First of Many October 24, 2007
Posted by Juice in Flight.Tags: Airline, Aviatrix, Flight, Israel, Pilot, Women
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I stumbled across this article about Israel’s first female El Al pilot today and I couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride for all of my aviatrix sisters.
Year after year we stake a bigger claim in the world of aviation and that says something. We are an adventurous bunch and we stick together. The pilot in the article gives a handful of examples of how she was inspired to fly and how her colleagues pushed her and helped her to achieve her dreams.
That sort of support is essential, and I just wanted to take a moment to encourage everyone to do the same. If you know a woman that’s working on her pilot’s license, give her some positive words. We all know, at some point, she’s going to need them.
I’ve read similar stories out of Europe, Africa, and South America and each time it’s about women and forward thinking men making a change for the better by lending support to a burgeoning aviatrix. We may not be facing as much adversity as the women pilots of Africa, but the truth is fewer than 10% of all pilots in the United States are women.
I’m guessing the low number is not because most ladies simply like to keep their feet on the ground. I think the idea of being a pilot is one that just never crosses the mind of most women and certainly very few young girls, even today.
So I’m calling for a nation-wide take a little girl flying movement (Let’s just say it’s in the very early planning stages – i.e. I just thought of it this moment.). Heck, take a big girl flying! If we all make a small effort to show other women and young girls they can enjoy flying and that a pilot’s license is within reach, I know the numbers will even out as they have in all other areas of female/male inequality.
Cheers to you ladies who already fly jumbo jets. Don’t bother scratching your head over who was first in the U.S., etcetera. For a great list of first females in aviation click here. Remember to think of all those who came before us every time you climb into the cockpit. We wouldn’t be flying without them.
On Fire October 23, 2007
Posted by Juice in General Ramblings.Tags: California, Fire, Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Monica, Southern California
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Southern California is my home and it has been my whole life. I don’t mean Santa Monica (where I’m based now) specifically, I mean all of Southern California. I grew up in Burbank and went to college in San Diego, and since graduating I have been meandering about, setting roots in various places all generally in SoCal.
I feel like the entire quarter of the state from Bakersfield to Los Baños and from Big Bear to Venice Beach, has really been my village and my playground. Flying has done even more to shrink the broad Southland into a partitioned yet tight community, and I count among my friends people from many walks of life living all over this vast, yet familiar, landscape.
Right now my house is safe, but my home is on fire. The statistics – 500,000 evacuated/1,300 homes gone/360,000 acres of earth scorched – are the type that register in most people’s minds as extraordinary, but then evoke little emotional response. I’m not sure why that is, but I’ll go as far as to admit that I have watched tragic events on T.V. and have been fascinated or mesmerized more than compassionate. This is not one of those times. It is so painful to see it all burn: The hills around San Diego, the canyons of Malibu – just a few minutes up the PCH from my place of business – the lakes, the golden hills behind Magic Mountain, and the grasslands of Irvine.
Maybe people can’t realistically relate to the terror of sudden evacuation or the grief of losing a home, but I’m betting a lot of people can relate to me right now.
The normal cerulean of the sky has been dulled just slightly but everywhere, bringing about a distortion unique to fire. The sunlight filtering through the thin, ubiquitous layer of ash has taken on a distinct lead-orange color that transforms the look of life into something like an old Technicolor movie. The change of color is not inherently unpleasant, but knowing it means fire makes for an ever-present feeling of uneasiness, and then there’s the smell.
I spent hours on my mobile phone today and I’m not any more satisfied my friends are safe than I was when I woke up this morning. They say everything’s fine, they politely decline my offers for a place to stay, I hang up, and the sublime tug of worry keeps on.
Gathering information has become an addiction. It started with T.V., a gateway drug for the inquisitive. Now I’m stacked here in something that looks like mission control (laptop, desktop, cell, T.V. on, e-mail open) and believe me Houston, we’ve got a friggin’ problem. It seems like every few minutes there’s a new fire. “Magic Fire,” “Slide Fire,” “Mc Coy,” the list goes on. The names start to get familiar, and that’s bizarre, like my mind is accepting fire as the new not-on-fire.
The good news is, the winds slowed today and both the governor and the president have authorized the military to lend a helping hand. I know it will end eventually, but it just doesn’t feel like it will end at all, ever.
To everyone fleeing the fire, fighting the fire, and flying over the fire, you have my well wishes for a safe return home. I am one of many, I’m sure, that holds you in my heart as we all band together and move through this difficult time in our Southern California community.
Half-Baked Genesis October 23, 2007
Posted by Juice in General Ramblings.add a comment
Hello World!
As someone who spends a lot of time reading about women’s issues on-line and generally using the web to do everything from conduct business to get the news, I suddenly felt the need to be a part of the hubbub. I’m not exactly sure where this blog will take me, but I figure that’s the fun of it all.
While the banner at the top of the page reads “flight blog,” I don’t really see myself sticking solely to flight related issues. I mean, how many times can I write about how fun it is to do a loop or a barrel roll (Really, REALLY fun – just for the record)? What I suppose I’ll do is just keep doing what I do normally, but instead of just giggling about the stuff I come across in life and online internally, or bouncing it off my friends, I’ll do those things and then finish up here with a post wrapping the whole thing up in a neat little package.
I’m totally looking forward to the dialogue aspect of this whole thing, so if you’re reading this, drop me a line or e-mail me. For now, I’m just glad I got my shiny new piece of the gigantor-blog-o-sphere to look the way I want. Onward and upward!
