The Big Sleep

I'm having trouble with my broadband connection at home, hence the dearth of updates. I'll try to give a brief synopsis here before I head into a meeting.

Thursday I flew a Life Line Mission down to Knoxville, TN. I was to pick up a pancreatitis patient and her fiance and take them as far as Champaign, where another Life Line pilot would pick them up and take them on to Rochester, MN--home of the Mayo clinic. It was an interesting trip on several levels. For starters I got some fantastic shots of autumn from the air on the way down. They'll be posted soon. On the way back I flew into the teeth of a stiff headwind, had an uncomfortable encounter with icing and some minor passenger discomfort as a result of some turbulence in the clouds. It sounds worse than it was. The icing business did make for a little pucker factor though. Especially when my requests for an altitude out of it were met with indifference by ATC--specifically Louisville Approach. They knew what kind of plane I was flying and they should have known it didn't have deicing equipment, yet they dragged their feet in the cozy comfort of their TRACON room while the leading edges of my wings turned into Otter Pops--mmm, Otter Pops. It took a little extra insistence on my part to finally get them to appreciate the gravity of the situation. More than it should have. By the end of the day I was pooped. Six hours behind the yoke is fairly taxing.

Friday was much more pleasant. After work I zipped up to Lansing, picked up Laurie and zipped back with a nice tail wind, no clouds and silky smooth air. On the ground in Champaign we headed over to Train Guy's for nice evening by the brazier on his back patio. We made ourselves sick on smores. It was a great time though. Train Guy and Mrs. Train Guy are stellar hosts. Saturday we lazed around the folks' place reading and stuff. That evening we went to a shower in our honor at Uncle Rick's and Aunt Jeanene's. It was a great time with close friends and family and a fitting first official wedding event.

About The Big Sleep title. I just finished the book of the same name by Raymond Chandler. Its a great crime noir story by the guy who many credit with creating the genre. It's full of snappy dialogue, square gees, crooked cops, dangerous dames and lots of shooting. If you've seen LA Confidential or Millers Crossing, you get the idea. The book was made into a movie starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall in 1946. I'm desperately searching for a VHS or DVD. If any of you know where I can find one, drop a dime and clue me in.