The Gift of Friendship
We are a different breed, aren't we? We could not have had careers in so-called '9 to 5' jobs. We chose long hours, shift work, working outside in all kinds of weather or working in cylinders high in the air and spending most of our lives with quite a variety of interesting 'characters'.
Diverse groups of people form a synergy (in the air or on the ground) to work together to load & unload baggage, maintain aircraft, schedule flights and move passengers safely to their destinations. It's the 'characters' that make working in aviation fun and provide the most treasured memories.
For myself, there are no bad memories, I loved working with these characters. Luckily, I have continued many of the friendships formed during my career.
I have also realized that reaching my senior years, unfortunately, includes saying goodbye to many dear friends. I never met Vesta Stevenson but I did enjoy a long friendship with Alan Rust. As stated in every edition of The NetLetter, their inspiration remains with us.
Below is a photo taken on December 6 of myself, Bob Sheppard and Ken Pickford taken in Richmond, B.C. Ken lives near Geneva but tries to make an annual trip to Vancouver each December to visit with friends. Bob and I were able to join him for lunch at the White Spot restaurant. Terry Baker was unable to join us on this occasion but his presence was definitely felt.
We are all extremely fortunate to share friendship with over 4,500 NetLetter readers, the most precious gift - and lots of fun!
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