Ah, Franklin. I miss him...

"Colgan 5024, Cleared to Norfolk, LaGardia (sic) Niner Departure witha Whitestone Climb..."

No one has mentioned IAH, yet.

IAH Tower...we had Happy Richard. No matter how bad a day it was, he was always in a good mood and always made you smile. I think he just retired a few months ago. Great guy.

IAH Approach...Axe! Everybody that's ever flown in and out of IAH has had to have talked to Axe. You'd know him better as the Jetlincoln guy.

He had the greatest phrases, such as:

Pencil Jet (E145)
Bent-Wing Pencil Jet (E145XR)
Hoover (737)
Super Hoover (737-800)
Super Dooper Hoover (737-900)

He always told you to go fast no matter where you were coming in from. He'd keep your speed above 300 as long as he could. He could move some airplanes. He retired about a year or so ago.

My favorite memory of him was coming in from AEX very early in the morning, like before 6 or so. It was still dark and there were very few airplanes in the sky. Axe was working all sectors. I heard him talking to someone else as we got the handoff, so I checked in as "Jetlincoln 2XXX..." He always seemed to like it. Southwest checked on climbing out of HOU. His response was, "Southwest 902, Houston Departure, good morning. Proceed direct Whatchu Talkin' 'Bout." Southwest keyed the mike but didn't say anything. A few seconds later they queried the fix name. Axe responded with, "Southwest 902, cleared direct Whatchu Talkin' 'Bout WLLIS."

Next thing you hear is..."Oh! Ah...Huh huh. Direct WLLIS, 902. That was funny."

He responded with, "I know."