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‘David’s Writing’ Category

It Pays to Shop Around

March 19, 2007 by Gail

David geeking out at the Apple Store at King of Prussia, PA. I was randomly searching for a photo that would go with this post, and picked this one. Then I looked at the date on the photo: March 19, 2005. I took this photo two years ago, to the day. How bizarre.

* * * * * *

On Saturday night/early Sunday morning I found myself reading through my old email, messages that David and I exchanged while I was living in both Vancouver and Scranton. I kept reading until five o’clock in the morning, alternately laughing and crying at the things he wrote until I made myself stop and sleep so I could be coherent at brunch.

I really miss David’s sense of humour. This is an email he sent to me before our Summer 2005 rendez-vous in Toronto, a meeting place where he could drive to and I wouldn’t get in trouble with U.S. Immigration while waiting for my fiancee visa. The original plan was for David to fly the Tri-Pacer up (he even obtained the Canadian Customs sticker), but in the end he had to drive because it was July 1 — Canada Day — and Toronto City Centre Airport’s customs office closed early.

From: David Fielding
Date: June 29, 2005 3:08:55 PM EDT (CA)
To: Gail Edwin
Subject: It pays to shop around…

There are two places to park planes at City Centre airport; the “nice” FBO, City Centre Aviation Ltd., wants $35 CDN per night for parking. The Esso Aviation place only asks $20/night, and they waive the first night.

The Esso guy said that they are on the “rough-looking” part of the airport; I told him I would be right at home.

The girl at CCA said I have a “Pennsylvania accent”!

“Well,” I thought, “yaz* ain’t gettin’ my business…”

* See third bullet point at ‘Lexical Characteristics’.
Stumbled across this, too, which is hilarious if you’re familiar with the area.

Category David, David's Writing | Tags: | 1 Comment
Scranton’s Claim to Fame (Before “The Office”)

February 19, 2007 by Gail

…the hill that leads into Scranton, Pennsylvania by blynaffit

Click on the picture for the answer. Thanks to blynaffit for letting me use her picture.

See also David’s description of his city from the Flickr group “Praise and Curse of the City” two years ago:

I love that my immigrant grandparents made a life here, and my memories of their house across from the park and the museum, and hearing my grandmother’s Yiddish as a child. I love the railroad tracks and the boarded-up coal mines and the slag heaps. I love the careless accents and the affability of my neighbors’ voices. I love that there are soaring cities to the east, and endless forests to the west. I love that we still have our original chrome diners and our wonderfully awful newspaper, and one remaining human elevator operator. I love that Harry Chapin sang a silly song* about our town.

I hate that so much was lost when our city fell ill, around the time that I was born, and the youth and optimism that bled away over the years. (I love that health is returning, though.) Sometimes I hate that my city isn’t quite big enough, so that foreign films and foods and people don’t find their way here. I hate that the nearby farms are turning into housing developments, gated communities full of New Yorkers, wealthy and imprisoned. I hate the inept, corrupt and – worst of all – unimaginative public officials.

I love and hate the idea of leaving it, someday. I am Scranton.

*30,000 Pounds of Bananas.

Technorati tags: Scranton, Flickr, Harry Chapin

Category David's Writing, Expat Life, Flickr, Other Photogs | Tags: | No Comments
This guy had the *best* accent

January 11, 2007 by Gail

New York pigeon by AviatorDave [admin'ed by gailatlarge]

Things suddenly got very busy at the House of Fielding, so I’m posting one of David’s photos from his collection of Personal Favourites. (Ahem, that would be Favorites.)

Because Toronto’s starting to feel winterish, although I haven’t seen snow yet! I think Vancouver and Toronto have swapped winters this year.

This photo was taken on a very memorable weekend in New York City, almost two years ago. David’s post is here:

Dave’s Logbook – January 30, 2005: Reunited

It was the weekend that I closed my apartment on Beach Avenue, officially closing a chapter of my life — almost a decade in Vancouver. David met me at JFK again, opening a new chapter in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Technorati tags: New York City, Empire State Building, pigeon

Category David's Writing, House of Fielding | Tags: | 3 Comments
I Am?

November 22, 2006 by Gail

OK, I can’t remember the last time I carried on a meme, but since this was in an email, I actually answered it and replied.

I am…

SpongeBob Squarepants?

I’m puzzled because I haven’t seen the cartoon. But I guess if my image were made into a gigantic inflatable and floated over thousands upon thousands of people, it must not be all that bad.

Incidentally, I took this photo almost one year ago, at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade last year in New York City (natch). Sadly, I lost all my videoclips from the parade! Including the one of Dora the Explorer, which I took especially for Miss Madeleine. Oh well… on with the show…

… and HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO THE NEIGHBO(U)RS SOUTH OF THE BORDER. Gorge yourselves silly with the turkey and tofu and gravy or whatever floats your potatoes.

After two years of David’s superb maple brine turkey, I have to say his spoiled me for all others. *sniff* Here’s his recipe, by the way.

Everyone has a personality of a cartoon character. Have you ever asked yourself what cartoon character do you most resemble?

A group of investigators got together and analyzed the personalities of well known and modern cartoon characters. The information that was gathered was made into this test.

Answer all the questions with what describes you best, add up all your points (which are next to the answer that you choose) at the end and look for your results.

1. Which one of the following describes the perfect date?
a) Candlelight dinner (4 pts.)
B) Fun/Theme Park (2 pts.)
C) Painting in the park (5 pts.)
D) Rock concert (1 pt.)
E) Going to the movies (3 pts.)

2. What is your favorite type of music?
A) Rock and Roll (2 pts.)
B) Alternative (1 pt.)
C) Soft Rock (4 pts.)
D) Country (5 pts.)
E) Pop (3 pts.)

[eh, where's jazz?]

3. What type of movies do you prefer?
A) Comedy (2 pts.)
B) Horror (1 pt.)
C) Musical (3 pts.)
D) Romance (4 pts.)
E) Documentary (5 pts.)

4. Which one of these occupations would you choose if you only could choose one of these?
A) Waiter (4 pts.)
B) Professional Sports Player (5 pts.)
C) Teacher (3 pts.)
D) Police (2 pts.)
E) Cashier (1 pt.)

5. What do you do with your spare time?
A) Exercise (5 pts.)
B) Read (4 pts.)
C) Watch television (2 pts.)
D) Listen to music (1 pt.)
E) Sleep (3 pts.)

6. Which one of the following colors do you like best?
A) Yellow (1 pt.)
B) White (5 pts.)
C) Sky Blue (3 pts.)
D) Dark Blue (2 pts.)
E) Red (4 pts.)

[two shades of blue?]

7. What do you prefer to eat?
A) Snow (3 pts.)
B) Pizza (2 pts)
C) Sushi (1 pt.)
D) Pasta (4 pts.)
E) Salad (5 pts.)

8. What is your favorite holiday?
A) Halloween (1 pt.)
B) Christmas (3 pts.)
C) New Year (2 pts.)
D) Valentine’s Day (4 pts.)
E) Thanksgiving (5 pts.)

9. If you could go to one of these places which one would it be?
A) Paris (4 pts.)
B) Spain (5 pts.)
C) Las Vegas (1 pt.)
D) Hawaii (4 pts.)
E) Hollywood (3 pts.)

[Only one is a country?]

10. With which of the following would you prefer to spend time with?
A) Someone Smart (5 pts.)
B) Someone attractive (2 pts.)
C) Someone who likes to Party (1 pt.)
D) Someone who always has fun (3 pts.)
E) Someone very sentimental (4 pts.)

Now add up your points and see who your cartoon character personality is…

(more…)

Category David's Writing, Gail at Large, Memes, Polls, Quizzes | Tags: | 6 Comments
Otherworldly

November 16, 2006 by Gail

One of David’s best days during his illness was September 10, 2005, when he had enough strength to attend a model airplane fly-in and airshow in Waymart, a visit to nearby St. Tikhon’s Monastery in South Canaan, and tuck into the barbecue at Kundla’s Open Pit BBQ.

Dave’s Logbook: OK, back to the fun!

He wrote about St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Monastery, founded in 1905, but I wanted to share a video I shot of the bellringers and the ethereal sounds that surrounded us while we were on the grounds. The volume of the bells took us by surprise, but once we realised where they were, we were struck by the quality of the ringing, the echoes that reverberated through the countryside air. I filmed in a circle, to try and capture some of it.

At the end of the clip is the familiar sight of David with his bright orange 207 CAP hat. Even when it was worn and faded, he still loved to wear it.

I was fascinated by the monks and wanted to photograph the movement of the robes as they walked, but I was too shy to ask if I could take their picture. I tried following one at a distance, but he was too quick for my lens. Maybe I can find a local monastery and do a shoot there.

Technorati tags: Pennsylvania, St. Tikhon’s Monastery, monastery, videoclip, bells, bellringing

Category David's Writing, Local Colour, Videoclips | Tags: | 1 Comment
Not a Good Day For Flying

October 11, 2006 by Gail

Not just because of the torrential rains of today, but because of the news of a private plane crashing into a Manhattan building.

Until Gigi’s Papa arrived home this evening and told me about it, I had no idea why my website was getting so many hits with the keywords “VFR corridor” and “New York VFR corridor” and “Hudson River VFR corridor”. He turned on the TV and showed me the footage of the residential building in flames, and informed me that the plane belonged to a Yankees pitcher.

It seems one result of the incident is a renewed interest in the existence of the VFR corridor around New York City, a tunnel of airspace where small aircraft can fly over the Hudson River and part of the East River, affording the best views to be had of Manhattan. I’ve been fortunate enough to have flown this route with David twice — during the day in February last year, and two months later at night, in April.

Dave’s Logbook: Monday, February 07, 2005

Gail and Dave Take Manhattan (Again) (From the Air)

Photoset here.

Dave’s Logbook: Monday, April 11, 2005

Firefly, in a City of Lights

David’s photo set: Manhattan by night

This latest aviation tragedy happens to follow my weekend of flying in small aircraft once again, and a renewed desire to obtain a pilot’s license and one day fly myself through the VFR corridor. I can only hope once the time comes when I’ve got the knowledge and training to take this on, the corridor will remain open for GA aircraft and those of us who wish to experience the thrill of flying this airspace. I’ve read some political rumblings suggesting that the VFR corridors pose a security risk, and it would be a shame if the rumblings escalated to a total GA ban such as there is in the airspace around Washington, DC.

In other aviation-related news, check out some interior pics of the monstrous Airbus 380, the world’s largest passenger aircraft.

Category David's Writing, Flying, Linkage | Tags: | No Comments
Bumpy Ascent

October 10, 2006 by Gail

May 1, 2005

David and I climb bumpily to our record altitude of 11,600 feet in the Tri-Pacer. This was the only time I ever sat in the back and was it ever turbulent! The winds were fierce!

May 1, 2005: Up, Up, and Away

A few days later, David reluctantly put me on a plane in Philadelphia bound for Seattle. I was already past my 90-day limit for the United States and I had to return to Vancouver to wait for my fiancee visa. I’m glad we were able to take this flight, because we didn’t have an opportunity for another one like it since.

When I was looking through David’s archives for his account of that day (there isn’t one), I found this entry that he wrote a week later, of flying in windy conditions. It was an orientation flight with a cadet in the Civil Air Patrol’s Cessna, a trip that Justin probably still remembers.

Dave’s Logbook – May 9, 2005: The Wicked Wind

Category David's Writing, Flying, Videoclips | Tags: | No Comments
From the Ben Franklin Bridge

September 24, 2006 by Gail

Photos from the trip to Philadelphia, PA / Camden, NJ being uploaded slowly but surely. The photoset thus far:

Philly Visit – Sep 14-16

There were a couple of things I wanted to do while I was down in Philadelphia, and one of them was to visit the Italian Market where David took some of his shots when he flew down for the only Flickr meetup he was able to attend.

Philly Meetup – Jun 22, 2005

Dave’s Logbook: Philly Flickr Meetup

I remember distinctly the phone conversation we had that night. I was at a Vancouver Flickr Meetup the same night at Trout Lake to watch firespinning, and I sat off to the side of the field listening to David’s excited chatter about how he flew down in the Tri-Pacer and took Gregory for a spin over his neighbourhood (and discovered from the aerial shots that his neighbours had a pool!).

I was so pleased to hear David’s animated voice, telling me how great the other Flickr people were and how much fun he was having. In hindsight perhaps this was already the cancer taking hold of his body, but I knew he’d been feeling tired and later he said he was reluctant to tell me how fatigued he was, day after day. We hadn’t seen each other in more than three weeks since David returned to Scranton from Vancouver after his birthday weekend, and although we were in touch by phone and email on a daily basis, we were unhappy to be apart in order to satisfy visa requirements. I was hoping David would take more opportunities to join the Philly Flickr people on social outings, to take time off from his commitments and be a part of the photography community the way I was involved with Vandigicam. David’s first Philly Flickr meetup sounded encouraging to me; he needed to have more fun to regain some balance between work and play.

Addie kindly took me to the Italian Market where she and Seuss and the others walked with David more than a year ago. I found the sign I was looking for, a simple neon outline of a pig, a shot that David took at night and one that I’d commented on. I don’t know why that one stuck in my brain, but I was bent on finding it. I remember David telling me that he wanted to take me to the Italian Market the next time we were in Philadelphia, and I can see why — not just for photographs, but for the market atmosphere that we both enjoyed. When Addie found the Fiorella’s storefront, I felt like I’d completed a mission.

(more…)

Category David, David's Writing, Flickr, Photography, USA | Tags: | No Comments
The Thunderstorm

July 5, 2006 by Gail

Layers by AviatorDave

There’s a story David told me early on, before we’d actually met, about a turning point in his life. It was after a thunderstorm he experienced while flying to Ohio in 2001, a storm so intense he worried he might not make it through. David told the story to a few people, but I managed to find one instance where he’d written it down, in an e-mail, in June 2004.

I was flying from my home ‘port in the Poconos to Cincinnati, Ohio for a conference. I was going to receive an award I had been given, for education. Two other pilots were going to go with me, but they cancelled the morning of the trip. I decided to go anyway, even though it would mean flying alone in instrument weather, which is a heavier workload. I was flying a Civil Air Patrol Cessna 172, a little four-seat plane about the size and weight of a Volkswagen.

Across Pennsylvania as far as Pittsburgh was all grey clouds and light rain, I never once saw the ground after taking off. As I crossed into Ohio the clouds began to get darker, and the rain fell harder. The Cleveland center controller gave me some headings to steer to keep me out of the worst of the rain and lightning.

Fairly quickly the clouds went to a deep grey, and the rain even more intense. The windscreen was totally obsured by water, like being in a carwash, and the sound of the rain was like sizzling bacon – louder than the engine. The turbulence was so bad that the simple autopilot couldn’t keep me level, so I clicked it off and hand-flew the plane, trying to stay upright. I was thrown up and down hundreds of feet; the engine howled and sighed, as my airspeed went wildly up and down.

(more…)

Category Aviation, David, David's Writing, Fave, Flying, Life Lessons | Tags: | 5 Comments
Where It All Began

February 14, 2006 by Gail

Last night I read a very touching comment from Shari. It was the impetus to write about how a person as jaded as Yours Truly would come to extoll the virtues of love.

For a while now, I’d been meaning to write something here that elaborated on what I had said at the memorial — that despite everything that’s happened, I would do it all over again. Meeting David changed my life for the better, and that is something I must never forget. He was a very loving husband and, after many years of adamantly saying I wouldn’t have children, convinced me otherwise. David was the romantic one between us; he softened my hard edges, reaching past my cynicism and willfully poor attitude about marriage to build a level of trust that no one else had achieved before. How could I not marry this man?

At the memorial, I told a condensed version of how David and I met. It was in an online forum, a crazy community of folk ranging from quiet observers to the most outspoken netizens. David and I were somewhere in-between.

David and I officially met — in “meatspace” as some call it — at JFK Airport on October 1, 2004. I arranged it. David said later it would’ve taken him 10 years to work up the courage to meet me in Vancouver, so it’s a good thing I didn’t have the patience to wait that long. After reading his words for months, I had a sense of what kind of person he was and wanted to meet him.

We’d had a few phone conversations, but the three-hour time difference made phone calls generally inconvenient. The first was out of the blue, in late June, shortly after my birthday. David told me later that he’d had a couple of beers first. Not quite drunk dialling, but later he divulged that he was in need of some “liquid courage”. That random phone call took me by surprise, and at first I found him sort of… gruff. Friendly, but a little tentative. But in short order we were laughing raucously over the silliest things, like me opening up a “Raconteurism Centre”, where people could wander in and tell stories. Then we were giggling breathlessly over “faxing Chinese people” and — well, you had to be there.

David virtually disappeared for part of the summer, swamped with work and Civil Air Patrol activities. After the summer was over, I proposed the idea of meeting. I wanted to indulge my curiosity. I sent David a message on Multiply.

(more…)

Category David's Writing, Fave, House of Fielding | Tags: | 4 Comments