INTERLUDE: Awesome links, Upcoming Posts, and Neil!

NEIL A. ARMSTRONG, 1930-2012
http://neilarmstronginfo.com

Hurricane Isaac bears down on Misstwa.blogspot.com !

(Note: This post is dedicated to Miss TWA (misstwa.blogspot.com), who AS WE SPEAK is suffering through Hurricane Isaac in MSY!!  Miss T, I hope you have enough power--and internet--left to snag this post for a little entertainment while the hatches are battened down!)

A USAirways A320 drops out of warp next to the moon, descending via the Eagle 5 Arrival to PHX...

All,

Apologies to the sporadic posts of late.  I’ve been flying my buttski off!!  I try to post regularly, at least once/week, with major posts every 2 weeks.

Overflying SNA...

The good news is, I’ve been diving into the archives and have found a treasure trove of flyin’ stories--including several published magazine articles for y’all, from Arizona Highways, Plane & Pilot and AOPA PIlot to name a few!  The bad news:  they need to be scanned into the ‘puter ‘n reworked!

...enroute to LGB

Some upcoming gems to look forward to:

— Several “There I Wuz! Stories, including:

*“Gone with the Hurricane”--true story of Cap’n Aux’s bout with Ma Nature at her worst, while flying for the Virgin Islands Seaplane Shuttle (not to upstage Miss TWA’s hurricane drama, unfolding as we speak!!)

*“Grand Crisis over Grand Canyon” (originally published as "Trickledown" in AOPA PIlot)

*“The Case of the Missing NOTAM” (originally published as "Listen Up!" in Plane & Pilot)

— “Around the World in 80 Jumpseats" (nearly published in Smithsonian Air & Space)
—Myriad cartoons (yes I doodle, lol!) that I've tried to ply to everyone from ALPA Magazine to Playboy

—Lastly--and I’m very excited about this--I’m creating a new blog for my novel, “Bush Pilot Stories,” an aviation adventure inspired by my time flying the bush in Alaska!

The gorgeous SoCal Coast, near LGB

I’ll be releasing the novel chapter by chapter, as a series of short stories.  The tales are “episodic,” in that each chapter stands alone as its own short story; but, taken as a whole, weaves a wild yarn!  Join me as I regale you with tall tales about bush flying in Alaska, and the larger-than-life pilots who  to this day ply the soggy, frozen skies of the Great White North!

SoCal/LGB from the other side

To whet your appetite, here’s  a short-short story I submitted to a contest once upon a time.  (Can’t even remember if I won...but I should have, lol!!) Yes, it’s “off-topic,” but “short short” and fun!). 

A HOT BATH AT JACKSON'S  

My long, disheveled hair drooped in the chilling downpour. Three days of trail dust, caked on my mangy beard and buckskins, turned to mud. Rain, cold, darkness—I wanted a hot bath. But for a modern-day mountain man, trekking the Rockies like the trappers of 150 years ago, that was a rare luxury.

My horse whinnied in protest. Only Sterling, my dog, seemed to enjoy the day's long ride. We plodded along through the tiny Colorado town.

My partner Pawnee called from behind.

"Hey Buff," he said, "Jackson lives up here somewhere." 

We searched the mailbox names for "Jackson," the man who promised us shelter—and a hot  bath—for the night.

A fierce growl pierced the silence.  From out of the shadows a stray dog lunged at Sterling’s throat. The two hounds tumbled under my horse, which panicked and reared. I slid off and drew my foot- long Bowie knife. With a war cry, I charged the cowardly cur.

"What are you doing!" a timid voice called. 

I turned to see a woman standing on her porch, trembling with fear. The mongrel ran whimpering to her arms.

I stomped toward them, brandishing the huge Bowie.

"Lady," snarled, "you keep your dog away from my animals or I'll eat him for dinner!"

She froze, mouth agape.

I mounted and rode off.

Pawnee sighed.  "Well," he said, "so much for a hot bath."

I looked back and read the name on the woman's mailbox:

JACKSON 

The End

(PS:  This was actually a TRUE STORY--names included--that happened to my big brother Allen!)

Big Brother 'n Mountain Man Allen, with sis Patty

Mountain Man Allen (aka "Buff"--short for "Buffalo") and his new horse!

Finally, here’s an awesome, interactive link to a Nasa site that affords a 360° view of Mars from our newest rover, as well as a link to a moon panorama taken by the latest, greatest astronaut, Neil Armstrong!: http://www.panoramas.dk/mars/greeley-haven.html

Oh, and PPS:  Due to a number of requests (2)—well, 2’s a number, isn’t it?!—here’s a pic of da Cap’n in his kilt!

Me 'n Fireman Scotty, jammin' it up at Telluride Bluegrass Fest, Circa 2010.  Wearing the Clan Kincade regalia. And, to answer your question:  if I was wearing undies, IT'D BE CALLED A SKIRT!!!

Cap’n Aux:  Sadly Shattering the Stately Stereotype of the Stoic,  Staid Airline Captain since 2011!

AND IN CLOSING....

Celebrating the life of the late, GREAT Neil A. Armstrong (the A is for AWESOME!!)

 Here's A fantastic link to other links about Armstrong, his life, great stories, and even a vid of Buzz Aldrin punching out a Moon conspiracy nut!  Hey, who says good ol' fashioned machismo is dead?!?!
And finally:  The Front page of The Onion, supposedly the day Neil 1st walked on the moon--warning:  naughty and irreverent...but F'n hysterical!!
Ten coolest aircraft Neil ever flew!