On The Road Again? Err...not yet

Nope, still in Washington. Yes, I've stayed a lot longer than originally planned, and I have this nagging feeling that I ought to leave. Young Brandon is still here too. I suspect that we’ll both be gone very soon though. We both need to move on and get on with our lives, but we've been dragging our feet. Maybe we just don't want this to end. It's really been an awesome summer. And you cannot imagine how amazingly beautiful it is up here. Or maybe you can, if you’ve ever been to this part of Washington State.

There is a farmer up here who owns a Bell 206- the one my friend Mike was flying before he left suddenly to take a job in Alaska (long story). His replacement, a pilot named John, is also gone, as the cherry-drying season has ended. Although it’s ended for me too, I’ve been hanging around on the flimsy excuse that the weather has been too nice here and is too hot and humid in Pensacola.

So anyway, I heard that this farmer needs some 206 flying done, and I’m a Bell 206 kind of guy. I called up his insurance company and they easily added me to his policy. I suspect we’ll do some flying this weekend or perhaps early next week. Make a little extra money.

Then yesterday my jet pilot friend, Brad called. The guy he flies for, a rich lumber guy in Texas has been threatening to buy a helicopter for a couple of years now. Well guess what: Hunting season is right around the corner and a Bell 206 LongRanger has been found. (The LongRanger is just like a JetRanger but it’s stretched a bit and has two more seats. It also has way more power.)

A long time ago I had “sort of” committed to Brad that I’d come to fly his boss’s helicopter, not really thinking that he’d ever actually pull the trigger. But Brad was very clear: They could have the deal done within a couple of weeks. Oh Jeez…I really wanted to not have to take another full-time flying job. I don’t understand it. They just keep dropping in my lap. And the kind of money they’re talking about is too good to turn down. Unlike my old boss, this other guy pays pilots what they’re worth, not the minimum he can get away with. (By the way, I will finally make a post about the reasons I left my last job, which a lot of people thought was the perfect flying gig.)

The company I’m working for now wants me to swing by Los Angeles, California on my way home to look at a helicopter that’s for sale down there. Yeah, heh, “swing by,” not like it’s out of the way or anything. I'll also stop in Dallas, Texas, which I had wanted to do anyway, just to see Brad if he wasn't off on a trip. Only now it'll be an official stop. And I’ll probably end up flying this winter for yet another rich guy, something I swore I’d never do again. Looks like I won’t be getting home anytime soon. Life is funny like that, as my blogger friend Debby is fond of saying.