Before I retired David’s Civil Air Patrol jacket last week, I took a photo. I noticed it had been a year (today) since David last wore the jacket, because it still has the hang tag from when we went snowtubing at Montage Mountain: (more…)
‘David’s Writing’ Category
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Retiring David’s CAP Jacket
February 11, 2006 by Gail
Posted in David's Writing, House of Fielding | 3 Comments
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From the archives: The Fieldings Take Manhattan
January 24, 2006 by Gail
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:
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…
Posted in David, David's Writing, Flying | 2 Comments
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David’s Curtiss JN-4 “Jenny”
January 17, 2006 by Gail
Yesterday I gave David’s Curtiss JN-4 (commonly referred to as “Jenny”) to Bill, our neighbour and David’s fellow aviation enthusiast. They built the plane together, and it was David’s pride and joy — very much a labour of love and untold hours of engineering.
Lots of recycled materials were used, too. For example, on page 26, David wrote that he used bamboo skewers for skids, automotive vacuum tubing for cockpit coaming, and a plastic peanut jar for windshields! He also notes, in typical AviatorDave fashion: “This plane is not approved for flight if your pilot figure does not have a white scarf flying back in the slipstream.” (more…)
Posted in David's Writing, Flying | 4 Comments
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Of Clouds and Glory (with video!)
January 16, 2006 by Gail
The house is getting appraised this week, so I’ve been busy trying to put things in better order. I have piles and stacks that demand attention.
In the meantime, I was looking through the flying videos and realised I’d uploaded a videoclip of the Tri-Pacer’s shadow, referred to as “glory”, to Youtube.com and it’s not hosted in any posts. Here’s what a glory looks like:
The photos are from a flight in December 5, 2004. Original post:
A Day For the WindmillsThis video was taken, I believe, on October 31, 2004. Original post:
Dave’s Logbook – Of Clouds and GloryYou have to watch closely, the glory is only visible in the first few seconds of the videoclip.
No music in this one, just a very loud propeller! I became so accustomed to the prop sound it was like a mechanical lullaby; I’d nearly be asleep by the time we reached 8,000 ft.
Posted in David's Writing, Flying, Videoclips | No Comments
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The E-Mail
January 13, 2006 by Gail
At the memorial, when I spoke about how David and I met, I mentioned that David wrote an e-mail to my boss at the time,
asking if he would allowthanking him for allowing me to work out of Pennsylvania. [Edit: I realised by this e-mail it was approved; this was essentially the follow-up note.]From: David Fielding
Date: October 18, 2004 8:55:08 AM EDT
To: [my boss]
Subject: Hello, and thank youDear Sir,
I am writing to inform you that I have fallen in love with one of your employees…
And to thank you, on her behalf and mine, for letting her work remotely from Pennsylvania for a while. Gail speaks very highly of you; and I can tell that she is very devoted to her job, and to you. I look forward to meeting you myself to thank you in person.
This means a lot to us. Gail and I feel very strongly about one another, and our main hardship to overcome is distance. This arrangement will allow us to do that, and let our relationship grow. I will, of course, do everything I can to equip a home office so that Gail can work effectively from here. And no less than that, I will look after all her needs, and take good care of her.
Let me know if you have any questions, or if there is anything else I can do for you.
Warm regards,
David Fielding
No-one could have predicted how precious little time David and I had; we were also separated by 4,000kms. I’m grateful to our employers for being understanding of our situation — both made concessions to allow us to be together. I’ll never forget that.
Posted in David's Writing, Engagement/Wedding, Fave | 5 Comments
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David’s Limericks
January 9, 2006 by Gail
I mentioned at the memorial David’s love for limericks and silly poetry. I’ve been trying to archive his many posts, so I went to one of the few communities he set up himself and moderated: “The Limerick Tavern” (community icon at left).
I came across this in one of the threads:
(Silvano) Subject: Unsuccessful flirting… 10/26/2004 11:56 AM
I sent this to a younger woman after some unsuccssful flirting…There was an old man nick-named Sil
Who still thought of life as a thrill.
He sang and he sailed
And flirted and mailed
But forgot he was over the hill.(David) 10/26/2004 12:25 PM
Ow. I know the feeling, Sil.But take heart; I have just flirted very successfully with a younger woman.
Cheeky! (more…)
Posted in David, David's Writing | 3 Comments
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David’s Writing: Influencing Others
January 3, 2006 by Gail
Posted in David's Writing | 1 Comment
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David’s Writing: Inspiration
January 3, 2006 by Gail
I’ve decided to undertake the massive job of archiving David’s posts in the various online communities we shared. There is no index for posts by person, so creating this archive is going to take a very long time. But it’ll be worth it in the end, because I don’t want to lose any of his writing — it was David’s writing, after all, that brought us together in the first place.
Community: Hemingway’s Code
Topic: InspirationPosted in David's Writing | 2 Comments
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The Fieldings Are Medicated
December 3, 2005 by Gail
I don’t recall ever taking Nyquil before, but its sedative properties are legendary, I’ve been told. Thusly, I spent much of the day in an unconscious state. Deservedly so — I can’t cough or sneeze in my sleep, right? It was a pleasant reprieve. When I sleep, it’s just like sleep mode on a computer: things happen in the background, functions requiring motor skills cease and desist. Sheer genetic luck, I suppose, that I can sleep uninterrupted.
Me being mostly unconscious is a real role reversal in our household, since David is usually the one who gets KO’ed with pills. He said last night he was an insomniac, but this morning he brought me breakfast in bed. Lucky me!
Treatment is always discontinued on the weekends, so it does feel like a weekend for us. We don’t have to go to any appointments. David’s been catching up on his writing, and if I hold off on the Nyquil a little longer, I should be able to scare up some video clips, too.
David finally finished the last installment of his story about how he acquired our 1954 Piper Tri-Pacer. The links, forthwith:
The Story of 02P
Posted in David's Writing, Living with Cancer | 1 Comment
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