John & Anne Wiley

2012/04/26

Time Crunch

Filed under: Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,People,Random — John @ 08:17

Time is getting ever more crunched, ever more quickly it seems. As a kid, tall ships seemed so intriguing and I daydreamed about going to sea as Melville had.

1576 Slow Boats

1576 Slow Boats

Now these sailing ships at Dana Point look to me like beautiful museum pieces, even when they’re moving. So ponderous it would seem glacial to actually cross a sea in one. While some like this were still working ships, the Queen Mary was crossing the Atlantic more quickly regardless of winds.

1594 Queen Mary & Stalker

1594 Queen Mary & Stalker

Now she’s tied up at Long Beach next to monster cruise ships several times her size, and at her bow you can make out part of a submarine like those that once stalked her crossings. As we cruise past at a leisurely 100mph, taking days to go from England to America across a featureless heaving sea seems insufferable. One of our elders once asked what we’d do with all the time we saved on our computers. She was right of course, that something’s lost and something’s gained by living at our pace. But I’d never want to go back and wait days for an important message to arrive, when my phone can get it anywhere in the world within seconds. The crunching of time has made relaxing in a field of flowers watching the birds and bees all the more delicious by contrast.

2012/04/25

Wear Patterns

Filed under: Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,Nature,People,Random — John @ 10:43

On each of us are patterns of wear that life has left on us, visible to the observant eye. I thought of that looking at these beaches on Camp Pendleton. The waves and creeks have worn wrinkles on the shore.

1552 Deep Wrinkles

1552 Deep Wrinkles

Another beach has its own story told by patterns, accented by more recent roads, trails, and scallop shapes in the sand at water’s edge.

1553 Layers of Time

1553 Layers of Time

Just as the different forces that shaped this beach reveal themselves in layers of time, our faces can tell stories about us. Things that happened recently, far in the past, and frequently like the crevices formed by smiles, frowns, concentration and surprise. Can noticing the patterns help us to learn and grow, or are we mere observers of forces beyond our control?

2012/04/22

Dreams

Filed under: Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,Nature,People,Random,Relationships,SB Region — John @ 22:17

I woke from flying dreams this morning, and they felt related to the passage of our Fathers. As I’ve described before, flying itself seems dream-related. So yesterday’s flight with friends was probably a catalyst for last night’s dreams too. Looking at pix from yesterday’s flight, it’s easy for me to see why flying and dreams can be so healing for me.

0054 Dreamscape

0054 Dreamscape

I can feel the refreshing air from the open window and I’m right back in Tripp over this Lompoc flower field. The colors, shapes and textures draw a deep nourishing breath of relaxation through my body and soul. I’m a child wandering that river bank.

0066 Quiet Hilltop

0066 Quiet Hilltop

I’m alone on a hill looking at the rusting water tank, strolling through the mustard flowers, and gazing out over the hills and valleys. And I’m a passing bird glancing at the lone figure.

0069 Crossing

0069 Crossing

The road across this creek evokes the sense of passage permeating my consciousness right now. Through the flow from one shore to another with Life all around.

0074 Greens

0074 Greens

Spring greens along our way filled my heart to overflowing with the healing joy of Life renewed. Climbing past the colors and shapes for the return home, the rolling hills hid our future in an inviting way.

0075 Here & Beyond

0075 Here & Beyond

2012/04/19

Scale

Filed under: Aviation,Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,People,Random,Relationships,SB Region — John @ 06:01

We returned from our very emotional and tiring trip to San Diego just before sunset, with our hearts full of appreciation for family and friends. We were well ready for rest and recuperation. It was a surprise then, as we taxied Tripp to her parking spot, to see this USAF plane that looks far to large for moving under its own power, much less flying. Yet fly it does, and pretty fast, with lots of big and heavy things inside. Take a long look at this pic for a sense of the scale of this thing.

1806 Big Bird Butt

1806 Big Bird Butt

Not just the people standing next to it. Check out the large jet at the left, that itself dwarfs our 4-passenger Tripp. Or the line of large tanker trucks on the right. At the same time, giving it a human scale is this other pic.

1807 Family Size

1807 Family Size

This big scary machine is operated by caring and warm-hearted people supported by their families and friends. It seems the crew, rarely landing at SBA where military planes from any service are unusual but USAF planes even more so, got permission to show off their bird. It was so sweet to see them all ogling it and looking in awe at what their loved ones operate. Seems to fit perfectly with our reaffirmation the last few days, of the value family and friends have in creating and sustaining a meaningful life.

May your family and friends always be the wind beneath your wings.

2012/04/17

Farewell Friend

Filed under: Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,People,Random,Relationships — John @ 06:58

I’ve always loved waves, and we’ve been riding some of the emotional kind. We said a fond farewell to Anne’s father and my dear friend John F. Humphrey. We each held one of his hands as the life gently left his eyes, and I asked what he could see. “Colors,” he said. After a long pause, “A pilot,” he added. We aren’t sure whether the pilot had come to fly him away, but from what we could gather in his broken sentences it seemed so. Today we joined with some family in a celebration of his life, and for me especially his joy of flight. More family and friends will gather again in a few weeks, for more tears and laughter.

Joyful John

Joyful John

He was learning to fly before WWII in this pic, and the delight just shines from every pore. In case you missed it, he’s the guy who went on to earn the DFC for some exceptional courage and flying skill including the “Bouncing Betty” story. Not long after I met him, we took him to see this visiting B-24 very similar to the PB4Y-1 he flew.

John At B-24

John At B-24

That light was still in him, especially when around (or better yet flying in) airplanes. A couple of years ago we flew him out to the Anza Borrego desert, and though he was reluctant I convinced him to take the controls for a few minutes while I consulted charts. I wish there were a way I could describe the change that came over him. Calm, alert, confident, in his element, and deeply content are words I could use. The essence was so strong though, that in such moments during our friendship I could clearly see the man in both of these pix. I love him, and miss him, more than all but a very few men I have known.

Clear skies and fair winds, precious friend and second father.

ps: we created a website in his honor at http://humco.wordpress.com/

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