Good post satpak. Keep it in perspective.

The thing about airline flying, you are no longer paid for the level of responsibility you carry. Not to mention, you get treated like yesterday's garbage.

Well said.

I have thought all day whether to respond to Sky....and I will;

1) Mid Life Crisis -- Hardly, my wife, my kids and I decided that it was time I got back to flying, and I did. It was not a decision taken lightly nor one without lots of thought.
2) Business lost in a fire... NO. Business was sold Oct 31, 2007.
3) Personal tragedy... at the time it seemed so, WE (my wife and children) lost our home on the 29th of Aug, 2005 to Katrina. And in it, everything we owned. In reality it was an awakening, a rebirth if you will. True perspective on (at least for us things that are important), family, faith, friends and being content with ones life and what they do for personal satisfaction. For me personally it was realizing that working 40-50 hours a week at my business was slowly turning who I was. We realized (my wife and I) that for me and our marriage relationship that I needed something different in my life and that it probably was in a plane somewhere. For her it was becoming more involved in our church and working with children and for US as a family it was becoming closer to each other and our God. I do not apologize for having a wife who is very well employed along with the money I made during those 13 years and the sale of the business you LIED about Sky enabled me to spend some time in aviation to see if I really did want to return.
4) NO Business?.... thats just YOUR LIE Sky.
5)Retirement... do I wish WE had more put away, don't we all?
6) As for your assertion that its all an invention....Just another LIE from you Sky.
7) Did I leave the business many years ago, yes I did, and for many of the reasons you rant about today, but it was for no one reason. For me personally, it was a mistake, others leave the business and it is the right decision for them. Pay was low yes, commuting sucked yes, but all those things I dealt with, what tipped me over the edge was a combination of the APA Eagle (showing my age now) being sold out by mainline APA and short sighted frustration at the time.
8) LOL, at least you admit you lied, by saying you probably didn't have the facts straight, but it my book that still makes you a Liar.
9) Friend?....you must be smoking some medical pot.
10) Maybe a BORING middle of the life road life (as you put it) is for you, but some of us want more... and again I will not apologize because I have a wife I have been married to for nearly 27 years who affords me that opportunity.
Lastly.....yesterday, Christmas Eve, I flew 100 tons of cargo, mostly mail and fresh food to Camp Bastion Afghanistan. While we were waiting for offload, I was stretching my legs down on the main cargo deck and a package on a pallet caught my eye.... on the outside of the package was a hand written note... "Dad, hurry home, Merry Christmas, we love you! (signed) Lisa and Alyson." At that moment there is no place I would have rather been than there, knowing that some guy was gonna get his package for Christmas, and even though I was not with my family, I was able to help bring him something from home. I will be home in a week, he probably won't see his family for months. I am willing to make that sacrifice."
You see Sky,,,,, its not always about the money.

Merry Christmas.

Herc,

I appreciate your reply. This is an anonymous forum and you can tell us whatever you like here. You could tell us that you are 25 years old and Warren Buffets nephew and no one will know the better of it. The only thing that matters is that you are good with your choices and that you know that we are here for you.

Your friend,

Skyhigh

PS. I am sorry if my post stung a bit. My aim was to be as honest with you as you are with me. I agree that it was a bit harsh but I think it needed to be said. In regards to the moderators, you should see what people write about me that gets by.

Most of the planet are middle of the road and they are fine with it. Why is that not an acceptable choice?

History is rife with tortured soles who gained notoriety through their misery driven life. The most famous artists, politicians and authors were disasters in their private lives.

My point is that what is so wrong with deeply embedding yourself in the middle of society where your friends and family are? Finding a career that offers you the maximum contact with your community and time at home?

The achievement of greatness consumes a lot of ones life resources and often leaves you standing alone at the top. Our culture tends to try and motivate people to leave their natural comfort zone and I do not think it is necessarily a good idea.

Skyhigh

this thread is getting boring. we are all arguing about old arguments now

Sky - if you have a problem with the moderation or if you think there are posts that violate the TOS, then report them in the appropriate manner. Don't wuss out and cry about it in a later post.
YOU get by on a shoe string line with your multiple insults on a regular basis.
Don't go whining about it. If you see a problem - report it.

In the future - be careful about insinuating that people are not telling the truth about themselves or their situation. That can easily be called flamebait. You usually do a good job of staying right on the edge, but that is your warning. You tried to call me out once too and it didn't go well. You try to get me to reveal things about myself or my situation all the time and I rebuke them and this angers you. You get to know what I want you to know about me and mine.

USMCFLYR

i removed my response....reason? Sky just isn't worth the effort anymore.

Lets move on to other more interesting things.

Skyhigh

I don't have a problem with the moderation here. If I did you would be the first to hear about it.

Skyhigh