concerns the reason I am selling my property.
Motive always seems to be important to people.
The short of it is that I am a man who lives my
dreams. When they are fulfilled, I move on.
Many of my dreams originated when I was
around 12 to 13 years old. I wanted a number
of major things in my life: To be an airline pilot,
to own and fly my own helicopter, to live and
travel in my own motorhome, and to own a
farm or ranch. I have a few other major dreams
and innumerable minor dreams, which are
being fulfilled on a consistent basis. One of
these is the construction of an amphibious
aircraft in the new Light Sport Category of
aviation introduced by the FAA last year (photo
far below in the right column). In March 2003, I
retired early, at age 53, from American Airlines
as a 767 & 757 International Captain. I
subsequently bought the helicopter you see
on this page. It is an Hughes OH6-A (like a
500C) turbine powered 4 place Viet Nam era
warbird. This is similar to the one that you may
have seen in the Tom Selleck television show,
Magnum P.I., many years ago. I sold it
February 8th, 2006. Most of the aerial photos
and all of the videos were taken from the
helicopter.
Last October, I leased a motorhome (photo
below) for my future travels, expeditions, and
adventures. As soon as my ranch sells, I will
begin traveling around the United States. My
intent is to stay in an area that catches my
interest for a month or two, then move on.
Ultimately, as my dreams are fulfilled, I shed
the acquired equipment and move on. Some
say I am very lucky, but my luck is preceded by
careful planning, self control, and frugal early
years (for which I was roundly criticized on an
ongoing basis, years ago). I was careful not to
spend everything I earned. The price of all this
or possibly the major enabler is that I was
married once, am now divorced, and don't
have any children that I know of. Sometimes I
think it was a very high price to pay.
I hope this helps you understand my reasons
for selling my ranch.
just above the top of the passenger seat, you
can see the concrete blocks that form the
campfire circle on the ranch. Occasionally, I
have friends over for roasted marshmallows
and smores. Sometimes I cook salmon over
the fire on a grate. There is plenty of wood
around for fires. I build a nice big fire, then
let it burn down to a large hot bed of coals
before any cooking or roasting. When it is
dry out, I run a hose out to the fire circle, for
safety.
At one time, I had an obstacle course on the
property. It provided for some interesting
and vigorous exercise. Part of it included
climbing up and over two 20 foot shipping
containers I have (these will be sold or
removed prior to the sale of the property).
discussed in the yellow text block above. To
the right is, possibly, my next aircraft, an
amphibious Light Sport Category airplane
capable of landing on water, on land, or,
landing on water, putting the wheels down,
and taxiing out of the water using a ramp or
a shallowly sloped beach.
