i'm writing a book - right here!

AAC Cadet Leader · 6 December 2007, 02:30 PM

“But, we’ll be glad to at least get you out of here a little ways west out of Oshkosh,” Bill said, probably reading the dread or panic on my face and taking great sympathy on me.

"Oh, good!" I said. I wasn’t about to turn him down, even if it wouldn’t get me into Minnesota, the next state over. I was happy that at least he’d be getting me out of Oshkosh and to get a ride in his beautiful Luscombe Silvaire Sedan was a real privilege.

We took a few photos and loaded my bags onto the two-toned leather back seats. Bill stayed at Oshkosh for the last day of the show and his friend, Michael flew me to the place I am now writing this, at Portage County Airport, a quiet, old asphalt strip about about fifteen miles north of Madison, Wisconsin.

Here at Portage, Michael landed the Silvaire pretty hot, bouncing it back into the air and then coming down a bit hard on the mains. Ouch! Poor Michael. I felt bad for him. He explained that he was fairly new to flying. I wondered to myself how Bill had let him fly his gorgeous aircraft without him. After taxiing to a tie down spot, we inspected the landing gear, thankfully finding no visible damage, and celebrated our survival over lunch at the little restaurant beside the airfield.

AAC Cadet Leader · 6 December 2007, 10:48 PM

The Kari-Keen Man ~
After lunch we headed back to get my bags out of the Luscombe Silvaire from where it was tied down in the grass along the runway, and we stopped to talk to the man with the pretty little Kari-Keen parasol–type single seat monoplane, who I’d seen arguing with Doug Combs at Oshkosh a few days ago.

The Kari-Keen man was on his way west through Minnesota and North Dakota, but there was barely enough room for himself in his tiny plane, so I didn’t have to bother asking, and if it had been a two-seater, I wouldn’t have taken a ride from him even if he had offered me one.

There were four other people standing around his aeroplane when we walked up to admire it and they were talking about some of the winning planes at Oshkosh. Not realizing that I had seen his heated argument over Doug's use of slotted screws on his Luscombe Phantom restoration, the Kari-Keen man started bad-mouthing Doug with these guys. In Doug's absence, I entered the conversation and defended his choice. This greatly upset Kari-Keen.

"Why you're just a no-nothing little brat girl and what in the hell do you know about airplanes!?" Kari-Keen said to me, snidely.

AAC Cadet Leader · 7 December 2007, 11:56 PM

He was so mean, that mean Kari-Keen.

He wasn't in a good mood when he talked to my pilot Michael, either.

Kilian · 8 December 2007, 04:15 AM

Very nice, i like the Oshkosh pictures and the SE-5 replica. Do you know when the airshow from the poster with bold red letters was? Crawford is only 20 minutes drive from Alliance - and there is Fort Robinson State Park. I must have passed there several times but most of the time we took a parallel route via Chadron.

regards
Kilian

AAC Cadet Leader · 8 December 2007, 08:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kilian

Very nice, i like the Oshkosh pictures and the SE-5 replica. Do you know when the airshow from the poster with bold red letters was? Crawford is only 20 minutes drive from Alliance - and there is Fort Robinson State Park. I must have passed there several times but most of the time we took a parallel route via Chadron.

regards
Kilian

hi killian, i wish i'd gotten to fly fred's SE-5 replica! oh well...

i just now went back and added beneath the poster. thanks for your interst.

cfgray · 8 December 2007, 09:48 AM

Well... we've likely all encountered these guys in our pursuit of having a good time with aviation, aeroplanes and airplanes.

It's one thing to be nice about knowing something in such detail as the Mean Kari-Keen Man appeared to know, and another thing to be a jerk about it.

I do think I know why he had a single seater airplane, though - no need for a passenger seat, who in their right mind would ever fly with such a nasty creep pilot?

I really feel sorry for his Kari-Keen, though, as I would for a kid who gets yelled at by a belligerent parent.

Someone please reveal this guy's name, and tell us other stories about him - I'm sure there are a slew of stories about this character.

Best,
cfgray

AAC Cadet Leader · 8 December 2007, 10:34 AM

thanks carroll, and here's the rest of the story about my encounter with the kari-keen man...

AAC Cadet Leader · 8 December 2007, 10:35 AM

The Kari-Keen Man continued...
“Not nearly what you know, mister. I’m sure of that.”

“How old are you, young lady?!” he demanded.

“I’m eighty-seven,” I said with a smile.

He looked at me with a sickened look of puzzlement.

Then I reached into my canvas bag and pulled out the antique pilot license I carry around for a conversation piece. It's a doctored-up license from 1930 with a small sepia photo of me rubber cemented on it, and held in an original leather case with the gold embossed words, ‘Pilot License’ on the outside. I opened it up and showed him.

“See?” I said, “Right here it says, ‘Date of Issue May 1, 1930, age 29.’ So if I was 29 in 1930, that makes me eighty-seven now. I’ve been flying even longer than you have, mister!”

Here, he wanted a fight, and I was funning with him. He didn’t even crack a smile. His face turned redder and more confused. Then as I launched into my five minute-long Frozen Barnstormer tale that goes with the antique pilot license, he got even angrier with me.

“That license is illegal!” he reprimanded.

“Yes, I know, but it’s just for fun,” I said with a big smile.

Then I pulled the license out of the case, and turned it over to show him the back of it. My handwritten words on the back read, ‘This license is not valid and is intended for amusement purposes only!’

Now, normally, if I see I'm bothering someone, I’ll try to make amends quickly, but this guy was mean to me and I did not like him, either. And I was having too much fun now to stop. I proceeded to pull out my authentic FAA Commercial Pilot Certificate and handed it to him. He examined it.

“See? That’s my real one!” I said. “…But that one’s illegal, too, because I’ve never signed it!” I said, laughing.

“Well? Why haven’t you!?” he said, incensed.

“I don’t know. Just haven’t gotten around to it yet, I s'pose.”

“You’re full of **** young lady!” he spat, getting up and tossing my real license back at me.

That was where we left it. I hope I never meet this man again and I’m sure he feels the same about me.