JB, how many years of low wages, job swaps, time building and so forth did you endure before you reached the threshold of "good" money (define "good")? One of SH's better points is how long it took him to get there- if 20 years passes with no end to low-paying ladder climbing, it is natural for someone to start looking elsewhere besides aviation. Aviation is not a religion, it's a profession. If I understand him correctly this is all SH is saying, that the event clock in his life expired while the ladder looked endless.