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January, 2006

  1. Civil Air Patrol

    January 25, 2006 by Gail

    Civil Air Patrol - Pennsylvania Wing newsletter

    I received a package from the Pennsylvania Wing headquarters of Civil Air Patrol the other day. It contained four copies of the newsletter, named Keystone Wing Slip, and this edition has David on the back. (Click to enlarge.)

    The note on the back of this one says:

    Gail,

    We hope you will enjoy receiving a few copies of this month’s PA Wing – CAP – Keystone Wing Slip.

    We, the CAP family, will fondly remember David. We wanted to honor his memory in this issue.

    For the Commander,
    Lt. Linda Irwin

    Today I gathered all of David’s Civil Air Patrol uniforms and paraphernalia and put them in one place — dress blues, flight suit, golf shirt, cap, etc. I’m going to store them with my wedding dress, which only a handful of people have seen but like the uniform will never be worn again. My plan is to find an antique wooden trunk for them, something David would’ve appreciated. He enjoyed carpentry and offered to craft something for me out of a piece of walnut he was given by a friend, but this one’s not the right size for a trunk. I’m sure I’ll stumble upon something suitable in the future, like the way David found his beloved antique propeller — by chance.

    I keep forgetting to post the link to Allan’s photoset of his trip here, the week of the memorial:

    In Memory of AviatorDave

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    Posted in David | 1 Comment

  2. From the archives: The Fieldings Take Manhattan

    January 24, 2006 by Gail

    before our flight over Manhattan

    Came across this photo of David from a year ago that neither of us uploaded… I don’t know why, it may have been before I started fooling around with Photoshop and learned how to lighten shadows.

    I took it just before we flew for the first time through the VFR corridor:

    Photo album: Flying Over Manhattan – February 6, 2005

    Dave’s Logbook: Gail and Dave Take Manhattan (Again) (From the Air)

    I also found this old photo from when David was working for a local ad agency:

    David's mugshot for Lavelle-Murray

    I think it’s about a decade old now, this mugshot. I asked David why he wore a mustache and beard — if it was for convenience — but he says it was because he didn’t like his face or chin. Pftttt! I said…

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    Posted in David, David's Writing, Flying | 2 Comments

  3. Protected: Contact Details

    January 24, 2006 by Gail

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    Posted in House of Fielding, PWP-1 | Enter your password to view comments.

  4. Protected: The Plan Thus Far

    January 24, 2006 by Gail

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    Posted in Expat Life, House of Fielding, PWP-1 | Enter your password to view comments.

  5. On Politics

    January 24, 2006 by Gail

    I missed yesterday’s election in Canada, but I’ve been trying to keep up with the happenings through people’s blogs (because I loath advertising that much that I avoid commercial sites for even something as important as political process). I listened to public radio in the car but heard nothing about it there, and if it were mentioned on public television I was too preoccupied with Helma’s cooking last night to think of tuning in. Oh well… if any Canadians (or interested Americans, for that matter) want to break it down for me here or offer an opinion — because I’m out of the loop down here — that’d be swell. (Er, did I just say swell?)

    And if anyone privy to my immigration woes is wondering if U.S. Immigration is as arbitrary as I ascribe it to be, I give you the story of a Vancouver native, Darren Barefoot, who was summarily rejected at the border this morning for trying to attend a Microsoft program at the Redmond campus a couple of hours south of Vancouver because they said he needed a WORK PERMIT. And if you think that’s harsh, read to the end of his post, where there’s another example of a Canadian getting rejected at the U.S. border, though in no way summarily (he was detained for hours). When I say there are no guarantees to enter the States, even under benign circumstances, I’m not kidding. Sure, there are people every day who get past the gatekeepers without incident, but it’s still very much a crapshoot. You’d think the next-door neighbours — the U.S.’s largest trading partner — would get preferential treatment? Nope. Even Nexus cardholders have no guarantees.

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    Posted in Expat Life, Politics + Economy, Rants | 1 Comment

  6. Friends

    January 24, 2006 by Gail

    Pals
    Photo by AviatorDave: My tuxedo cat Hugh when he was small, and the older female tabby I used to have. He eventually grew to twice her size!

    Got home late — Helma fed me again, and I helped her finish a 1,000-piece puzzle. Ran errands all day between Wilkes-Barre and Dickson City (I live in-between), so by the time I arrived at her house I was pretty famished. I have no desire to cook for myself these days, I just eat mostly for maintenance than for pleasure. From August to December, I shopped for David’s favourite foods — not always the healthiest or delectable in my opinion, but the doctor said the priority was to keep his weight up. When David had cravings, I would always indulge him. Consequently, I can’t get excited about grocery shopping; it still has some association with illness, for me.

    But when I’m at Helma’s, I have this (relatively) overblown appetite — it revs back up again as soon as I arrive at her door! Maybe it’s because David made himself at home at their dinner table that I feel I’m carrying on some kind of Fielding tradition by wolfing down Helma’s cooking. He raved about her German-style potato salad, and I can assure you, dear readers, that it is every bit as good as how he described.

    I posted this photo of baby Hugh and his pal Abby because it illustrates what I wanted to say next: I want to thank the many friends who read this website for all the love and support shown via food, cards, visits, assistance, phone calls, gifts, comments and e-mail and telepath-ed kind thoughts. There just aren’t enough hours in the day to write or call everybody, especially right now because my circumstances demand that I deal with estate-related details and various things that are generally unpleasant but unfortunately necessary. (more…)

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    Posted in Friends, Hugh, Loss | 10 Comments

  7. Hugh and 02P’s Logs

    January 23, 2006 by Gail

    Cat and logs
    Hugh boggles at the amount of paperwork it takes to keep our plane flying.

    One of David’s photos, from June. I don’t know why he had the plane’s logs out on the dining room table, but curious Hugh couldn’t help sticking his nose in — spotted nostrils an’ all. Since I was doing airplane research last week, I thought I’d post a pic of what the logs look like. I’m geeky when it comes to record-keeping, and the books are complete all the way back to 1954.

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    Posted in Flying, Hugh | 1 Comment

  8. Winter Sun

    January 22, 2006 by Gail

    light the way

    A photo from last Sunday in Nay Aug Park, taken with the Pentax. Last week I was discussing film vs. digital with David’s workmates, and I mentioned that one major advantage of using an old film camera is that it doesn’t use lithium batteries (like most digitals) and therefore it can be used in temperatures below freezing. LCD panels also don’t behave in low temperatures, so that’s something to keep in mind if you try and take a digicam while, say, skiing. You’d have to keep it close to your body so it doesn’t get too cold. (more…)

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    Posted in Hugh, Loss, Photography | 4 Comments

  9. Buddies

    January 21, 2006 by Gail

    buddies

    I’m guessing around 1969?

    Little David and his pal, Rocky. More photos of David as a young tyke can be found here.

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    Posted in Ancient History, David | 2 Comments

  10. The Thrill of the Barrel Roll

    January 21, 2006 by Gail

    I found the other barrel-rolling video. Both were shot over Lake Wallenpaupack on November 14, 2004. It was our third flight together, according to the logbooks!

    I posted the shorter one (00:31) in October to Youtube.com:

    This latest clip is longer, at 1:18. I can be heard yelling “Again! Again!” and I pan over to David’s grinning face.

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    Posted in Flying, Videoclips | 3 Comments

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