Monday January 23, 2023
I woke up in Waxahachie TX and...
I had hoped on doing a workout in the gym this morning. Then catching up on the blogging notes and planning out the next few days destinations. But instead, a late night call back home - that although was awesome led to me sleeping in 'till nearly 9:00am. Both felt soooo good!
I had a lunch date with an FAA buddy of mine - Deeewayne (who henceforth will be known as Chang - see below) at noon in the Fort Worth TX area. The extra "eeee"s in his because he is a born and raised southern boy with a bit of an accent.
So I got a little work done and drove the hour to meet for lunch!
Oh! I gotta apologize to those interested in the riding portion of this blog too...been kinda scarce lately. But riding is only one of the three halves of this trip. The other two are exploring towns and meeting people, both aquaintences and those soon to be...
I promise, as I get closer to Colorado and California the rides will increase!
This blog is a little FAA heavy for the air traffic peeps following along.
But first a background as to why Deewayne is now known as Chang.
As an Air Traffic Controller, we pick "operating initials" upon entering a facility. These are two letters that become our identity on all the recorded lines we use, God forbid there is ever an incident where recordings are used to research an accident of some kind. These initials are proof of whom is doing the talking because every communication we partake in, we sign off using them, and these could be used in court. My initials were PF when working live traffic. Also to note here, is that letters are spoken using a phonetic alphabet for clarification in the Air Traffic industry. It's much easier to discern "M" from "N" if you say "Mike" or "November" and these become critical when issuing instructions to pilots over frequencies. So basically my initials, when spoken, were Papa Foxtrot (the P and F pronunciation). I used to sing the Lady Gaga song "Paparazzi" out loud using the words "Papa Foxy" in place of that title quite often, on the control room floor, while working, for laughs and to alleviate stress probably. (Yes it's a serious job. Yes no people were harmed in the singing of that song) (some ears may have been harmed - but no lives were lost). Those initials kinda became my name for real in a great fun kind of way.
Deeewayne transferred to the Dallas area halfway thru his career and in a super honorable and humbling way to me, decided to pick the initials PF for himself as a shoutout to his first instructor (really a testimony as to who he is - rather than me). He was stoked to be able to have them and thought it would be fun to become known as Papa Fox in a completely new facility. But....controllers have to be one of the most creative bunch of folk I know...and you never know how things will pan out right!?
He walks onto the floor day one and instantly, upon hearing his initials, one controller yells out..."PF Chang!". That stuck. And then it got shrunk to just Chang lol. Hence Deewayne, with a perfect southern name, is now referred to as Chang. Not a remote asian gene in his Kentucky grown body lol. So good. Controllers are the best. No changing that ever...
So as I got near the restaurant Chang texts me he is following me and he is in a $100k Jaguar F model that is absolutely sweet. He always had a taste for the finer things in life.
We both jump out and greet each other and immediately start chatting it up like we saw each other yesterday. We met as instructor/student in the FAA many moons ago and bonded in a way - as he put it - lasts a lifetime. It def does...Probably shortened mine a bit too! Ha!
Any new student Air Traffic Controller does cat that will scare the cat out of ya for sure (see yesterdays blog for translation of cat here if you missed it : ). IScaring your trainer kinda goes with the territory lol. But aside from some of those small instances he was a spectacular student and I felt blessed to know him, to be a small part of his FAA journey and see him become one of the best controllers I've known. If anything, all I contributed to him was the awareness that he had the innate ability in himself to be that man.
Our day was spent catching up, having a beer or two and sharing dinner also. I got the pleasure of meeting his beautiful bride after she got home from work and spend some time with both of them..Truly blessed to have them open up their home to me, feed me, offer me a spectacular five star guest room complete with laundry services and free wifi! I will give them a five star review on Yelp for sure!
Oh! I cannot forget to mention that Chang has also taken enough courses in photography to open a business...and he has!
He spent a bit of time taking some photos of me and the jeep and then showed me how he edits them to make me look good too. If' you've never seen the work that goes into taking good photos and editing them it truly is an art form and he nails it...
Checkout
to see his work!
Inside
Touched inside. Anyone that has ever spent time mentoring someone knows the amount of work and yes frustration at times that goes into it. While doing it you never really absorb the impact that you might have on someone's life. It's just your job and you do it. To have had the opportunity to partner with Chang in growing him as a controller, and to then, years later be rewarded with the simple gesture of him choosing his air traffic "Papa's" initials -really hammers home some aspects of what life is really about...
Outside
The Fort Worth area is growing like gangbusters and Changs house was just spectacular. Awesome to see that a dollar can go so much farther outside the NY area...
Upside
Reconnecting with friends for sure....is there anything better!!?
downside
OK as much as I luv reconnecting, laughing and rehashing old stories....I do miss getting on the bike and going for a ride. Especially since that cat yesterday prevented me from logging more than 14 miles yesterday...
Every Which Way but East!
Leaving from this Fort Worth area tomorrow (Tuesday) and heading towards my daughter in Fountain Colorado (Near Colorado Springs). I read about a park, Palo Duro Canyon State Park to be exact, that is supposed to be the second largest canyon in America I believe. Going to see if it's open for camping and mountain trail riding....
It's near Amarillo Texas and halfway between Dallas and my Daughter...perfect.
Stay tuned!
Chang and me!
Our Photoshoot location....Changs house lol.
Fort Worth area homes....the dollar goes a long way here!
Chang at work....a pro!
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