Feeling kinda down today.

Christopher was someone I got to work with in my very early days at Boeing. He started there about a year before I did. He had just retired from the Air Force and had flown combat rescue helicopters in Vietnam. He was a very smart and generous guy and always made time to answer any question. He retired from Boeing in June at age 84. I keep checking the math on that. He really loved what he did and just kept at it. I don't think he retired due to medical reasons, but maybe just made the point that when you've been doing something for so long, then suddenly stop, it's a shock to the system.

Terry also joined Boeing after retiring from the Air Force. In his last years at Boeing, he was responsible for the flight training manuals. I got to work with him a little bit, but he retired from Boeing shortly before I moved into the flight manuals authoring group. Like my father, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and passed away shortly thereafter.

The real shocker was my friend Mark. He was in the flight manuals publishing group in Seattle, then moved (back) to California when the work relocated there, then moved back up here about two years ago to work in a related publishing group. He was a super nice guy, very kind and thoughtful and looked after his people. He was about a year and a half older than I am. I haven't gotten the full story, but one of his coworkers said he had a stroke; another said that last Friday he went to take a nap in the afternoon and an hour later his wife went to check on him and he had passed away. Mark worked in the same building as Mrs pj. We kept talking about meeting up for lunch when I was in the area, although I think he was still working from home. Did I mention that he was slightly older than I am? His wife is a very nice woman... when I was in California I got to meet her when Mark and I grabbed some dinner... she was the sushi chef at a local grocery store. I understand that before they moved to California, she was a sushi chef at the big Japanese store here, and she got her old job back when they moved back here.


Those old jokes about getting up every morning, bringing in the newspaper and going straight to the obituaries to see if your name is listed... they're getting to be not so funny.

Wow, I’m sorry to hear this PJ.

Sorry to hear about the loss of your friends, pj. Hard to process in such a short period of time.

I'm sorry to hear this PJ

Losing a friend is never easy, but losing three is a little too much to bear!

So sad to hear, pj. At least it wasn’t Covid, but always a shock nonetheless. We are all so vulnerable.

I didn’t know you worked on manuals. That’s such an important skill and job, especially in a critical field like aircraft. You have my utmost respect.

Sorry you lost your friends. That will hurt for a while.
Spend some time grieving.
Play your banjo.

I'm very sorry, PJ.

They sound like good people.

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Miller:
I'm very sorry, PJ.

They sound like good people.

This must be a terrible shock. So sorry, PJ!

quote:

Originally posted by RealPlayer:

I didn’t know you worked on manuals. That’s such an important skill and job, especially in a critical field like aircraft. You have my utmost respect.

I spent sixteen years, half of my career there, in the flight manuals (How to Fly Your New Aeroplane) and data group. Nine years in the group that configures, prepares, and publishes the manuals, and seven years in the group that writes them (but I did a lot of writing in the first job). I mostly worked on procedures for when things go wrong.

In case anyone from any government, news agency, or my former benevolent employer is reading this, I never worked on the 737 manuals.

[ETA] In my early years there, I was in the customer training group where I taught, among many other things, lavatory systems. I always said I taught the most important system on the aeroplane… if the potties stop working on a 12-hour flight, you have a real problem, and one you cannot mitigate by offering the passengers free drinks.

Thanks, all.

That really sucks, PJ. So sorry to hear this. Losing ONE friend is hard to take.

So sorry to hear of your onslaught of loss, PJ. What a shock, all so close too.

Remembering the past you shared must be overwhelming. I always feel those we are close to, carry our memories with them.

It must be a time of serious reflection, coinciding as it does with your retirement. Milestones. Thank heaven you are retiring young enough to enjoy it. Stay well!

I'm so sorry, pj. The cumulative loss must be hard.

Wow, that’s horrible.

So sorry, PJ. That’s rough.