Shinybass journal entry 07/25/19

Respect.

I’ll say it again. Respect. It’s such a tough word to apply sometimes. I hope we remember how easy it is to give respect, however, there are times we let it fall through the cracks. We forget to respect our spouses, our family, our kids, ourselves, our jobs, our cars, houses, lawns, and the list goes on and on. Why? Why can’t we remember to respect everything all the time? It’s almost a full time job in of itself. Being kind is a form of respect, and that’s not hard to do. It’s when the effort gets a little more involved (see: lawn care) that we go astray, and the toughest part of the whole thing is that we can’t make up for lost time or the opportunity to say what needs to be said. More on this shortly.

To say the days have been crazy is an understatement. First, we are in full-bore touring mode. Second, we are still getting settled into our new house. Third, said new house has some serious issues going on that I won’t disclose here, but it’s a hot hot mess. Like pack the kids and send them to Grandma’s kind of mess. I’ll get more into it as things progress. Let’s just say the kitchen will be good as new when it’s all said and done.

So the past 6 days or so have been a whirlwind, and not that any other week isn’t a whirlwind, but some big things happened to me, and they all tie in with the word ‘Respect’.

We started our week with a trip to NYC on Thursday. After flight delays and traffic, we made it to the city by 6. I met a friend for Black Sushi (one of my favorite spots), and even though he was running late for an appointment, we stayed and caught up properly. Respect. After dinner, David and I headed to McSorley’s Old Ale house, a landmark beer joint that has been in operation since 1854. It drips history. There are 7 people interred behind the bar in various vessels, and if you knew one of them, they will pull them down so you may have a drink with them at your table or the bar. Crazy respect. And I can always respect NYC pizza…

We got up wee early and played Fox and Friends, and the producer of the show let me sneak in a sign-language message to my boys back home. Again, he didn’t have to do it, but he did. Mad respect. And mad respect for the people who shared the video clip around the world on various ASL-related social media pages. Really cool.

After we did TV, we had about 3 hours until lobby call, so David and I hit the subway and made it to the 9/11 Memorial and paid our respects. We also visited Trinity Church and paid our respects to Alexander Hamilton and Robert Fulton, who are both buried there. Then we hi-tailed it back home (AKA the hotel) to catch a flight to Chicago to meet the bus and head North to the land of cooler air. (Did I mention the air conditioning quit on the bus…?)

After a show in Watersmeet, MI, Sunday found us in the Good Land: Milwaukee. My Dad and wife flew in for the show at Festa Italiana, held on the Summerfest grounds, and the next day we were heading to Osh Kosh for the AirVenture fly-in for a couple of days. The shows in Milwaukee are always a treat. We have great friends up there, tremendous crowds, and it is also home to The Calderone Club, our favorite Italian place anywhere. In the middle of the show, after playing American Child, Phil called out my Dad, a former F-4 Phantom driver in Vietnam and I pulled him out on stage to get his just appreciation. we had a heck of show, and my Dad came out for the final bow. Respect.

We then headed to San Giorgio for a late night pizza and wine celebration. Everyone was talking to my Dad about various aspects of his life and military service. Respect.

After even more Italian food, we headed North to Osh Kosh. See, my Dad has been flying since he was 16. He used to work all week at Dairy Queen (at $.50 an hour) to save up and take a flying lesson each weekend. He then flew for the Navy in Vietnam and continued to serve in NATO after he stopped flying. I am an aviation nut as well (NOW you see where I get it), and my wife, well, she hates flying and only has a casual interest in airplanes. Well, then we walked through the gates of EAA and their annual Airventure fly-in. Sheesh.

To say it is like Disneyland for airplane buffs is an understatement. It’s part history, education, and recruitment, yet overall, the theme is just a common aviation community. A bunch of really great people that get together and fly GREAT airplanes. The first AirVenture was 50 years ago, held in Milwaukee, and it has grown into a massive event since. This year they had over 600,000 visitors over the week. Insane. It’s turned into part trade show, part history lesson, part future insight, part inspiration.

It’s no secret I am an aviation nut, mostly WWII and WWI aviation. For me, this event ended up being one of the most important of my life. So I respect these planes. I respect the engineers that had to build these planes in a short period of time. (For example – our bombers were getting crushed by the Luftwaffe and we needed an escort plane. Fast. ‘They’ went from performance demands to working prototype of the Mustang in 108 days.) I respect the pilots who were barely adults who had to fly into hell and back. I respect the ones who had to do all this with more weight on their shoulders than most. (More on that in a second).

Some the incredible planes I was able to see were the Ford TriMotor (Dad and I took a ride), the TBM Avenger (with patched battle damage), a whole gaggle of Mustangs (or would that be flock?), and a C-47 Normandy and Operation Market Garden survivor. To say I was a overwhelmed in that plane is accurate. 75 years ago that bird flew a lot of brave, scared, young soldiers into the night to drop behind enemy lines. Respect.

The only bad thing about this whole trip was the fact that we only had about 24 hours in OshKosh. We had to get back to the kids, and the house, and I had to get back on the road. We set a goal of 3PM to be back on the road to Milwaukee. It was 2 PM, and we were back at home base, having snacks, cooling off, etc. I heard there were some special guests at the festival that day, so I was given a pass to park and told to ‘have fun’. I rallied the troops, headed over (quickly) as they only had 15 more minutes on site.

As we walked up, I was almost shaking. Seated before us were two Tuskegee Airmen. One of them was 99, the other 94 years old. I have waited pretty much my entire aviation-loving life to meet one of them, let alone two. We were able to talk for a bit, and it was amazing to see my Dad talk with a Col. McGee, who was also an F-4 pilot in Vietnam, pilot to pilot. My Dad was humble in his presence, even after Col. McGee wanted to shake his hand. All of it was surreal. The other airmen we spoke with did 21 combat missions over Germany at the ripe old age of 19. Mad respect.

As much as I try, words escape me as to how cool this event was to my family and I. My wife, the casual airplane fan, had a blast at the event, and she also remarked she spent more on swag than at any event she’s attended. My Dad can’t stop talking about it, and I scroll my phone pics with amazement that it all happened. And then we ran into Aaron Tippin, who is an aviation nut with a few planes himself. I love it when my worlds collide.

So back to the word – respect. It seems now would be a great time to review the true meaning of the word. On all sides. Respect the ourselves, the planet, the law, the military, everyone, How about that? Can we maybe ease up on all that? Just a thought…

So as I finish this, I am looking ahead to the bright future, which, in 3 days means I get to see the family again. I hope to see you all at a show very soon!

See you on the road.