Steve and Lee Ann Carlson
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As the new VEEP, my major duty is to put together the programs for the
year. So far, I’ve been doing a great job staying out of the way
and running with all the programs Don Staats put together. Soon, I will
have spent all those good ideas, though, so if you have any thoughts for
good programs send them along. For now, I can tell you about our next couple
of programs, a fun fly out spot, and a great fall fly-in.
The October program is our own Jim Havens with war stories and
other adventures. Remember this gathering also features the
soon to be award winning chili
cook off so be sure to get out to the chapter house. Norris says we will
have a big bang to start the meeting so this will be a night we’ll
be talking about for some time. Then in November we will have Deck Yoes
and his non-pilot’s view of carrier operations. The meal will be
presented by Robert Edwards and Jeorg Thees. Speculation for this meal
runs toward the German, but good chefs like these can never be pinned down.
Norris writes well in his column on the fantastic ground support
we had at our last official Young Eagles event of the year.
While all the hard
work was going on, thanks to the endless energy of Team 35, I had the
privilege of flying many incredible youngsters. I flew the children
of a neighbor
of Norris’s, the sister of one of Louie’s rescuers, and many
young flyers were brought to the event by Sino Swearingen coworkers. It
always fills me with pride when these parents entrust their children to
me for a Young Eagles ride. Some employees even have pictures of me with
their kids on their cubicle walls at the office. Monday morning water cooler
discussions and comments from the pictures get discussions rolling which
feeds more Young Eagles to our next event. It also feeds other discussions
about flying and chapter activities. This program really is a major positive
part of our public face.
Need a great place to fly to for that $100 hamburger? We think
we’ve
found one of the better kept secret spots in south central Texas. My wife
and daughter flew with me to beautiful Brenham, Texas a few weeks ago.
What a treat! It’s a nice cross country over woods and lush fields
at 133 nautical miles. They have a recently resurfaced runway, and best
of all they have a brand new restaurant right on the field. The restaurant
is a fifties café themed malt shoppe with Rockola juke boxes in
all the booths and poodle skirted waitresses attentively doling out reasonably
priced burgers, fries, onion rings and shakes. You can park your plane
right outside the door, get fueled from the avgas service cart, and have
a good meal at a good price. This place is really worth the trip. This
is also the landing strip for the Blue Bell Ice Cream tour which, according
to http://www.fun-places-to-fly.com/, is available Monday thru Friday for
$2.50 with ice cream samples included.
It’s nearly time again for one of the greatest laid back fly-ins
in the country, Recklaw. Mark your calendar for October 24th thru the 26th.
Dave and Marcia Mason host this very relaxed event out in the Big Piney
Woods just east of Rusk. If you go you’ll find a 4000 foot runway
carved into the trees. The runway has a bit of a hump to it so if you haven’t
managed to land on it in the first third, the rest of it runs away from
you down the hill and you’ll never catch it. Land successfully and,
weather permitting, you will find yourself in a field of fun. The theme
for this event? Well, there isn’t one, but there’s no registration
fee either. So, park your plane in the woods, pitch your tent if you brought
it, or hotel it if you’re squeamish. (I’ll see you at the hotel!)
Dave and Miriam Talley have pitched in to help publicize this event and
save the Masons some postage so see them for flyers and thank them for
helping promote this fun weekend. You can’t find a better bunch of
folks to spend a weekend with.
Steve Carlson
Veepguy
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