Birthday Present with 3Gs

The first anniversary of my illness is fast approaching. I can't believe that it has been so long. I was sure it will be 6 months, 8 months tops! Adopting an attitude of a marathon runner helps me a lot. This one will be a triathlon. Apparently, my initial condition was so much out of scale, that it will still take a lot of time to fix it. However, I am making progress and in the right direction. I got used to the new experimental treatment and feel OK most of the time. My appetite is good and I try to eat all the time. Even when I feel like throwing-up, I eat and it makes things better. I even gained a few pounds.... I have treatments twice a week for 2 weeks and then a week off. The week off is great as it allows me to gain strength and travel! As a matter of fact, coming this Monday I'll travel to the West Coast for a week on business. The periodic tests show slow progress in the right direction. The doctors would like to see the numbers getting better faster, and so do I. So the plan is simple: continue and hope for a faster recovery. Having the family around me is a blessing. I enjoy the company of the ones that live under my roof and Skyping with the ones overseas. Now back to the title: Birthday Present with 3Gs Do you guess? Yes, I had a birthday 3 days ago. But the 3G is not the latest cell phone as a present. It is for a few years that I dream of flying in a WWII fighter plane. Every year at the end of the summer there is a WWII air show in our area and I have been watching them for a few years. They come to a small municipal airport with an impressive fleet of planes and volunteers who fly and maintain these planes. There is a static display where you can climb aboard and see the very basic conditions that the fliers had to endure for many hours. Or, you can pay money and take off for a ride of your life. Among the planes were: B-17, B-24, B-25, P-51, T-6 and more. You can see all the details at: http://www.collingsfoundation.org/menu.htm So, as a birthday present, I came to fly in the T-6: a twin seat fighter trainer from WWII, with a powerful engine and a good-view canopy. The weather was excellent: blue skies, some clouds and a perfect 20 deg. C Shoshy came with me and it was great to have someone close to share this wonderful experience before and after. As you can see in the pictures below, I was strapped in the back seat, explained about communications and emergency and we took off into the air for a 30 minutes ride. Shoshy can testify that from the ground the T-6's prop made a huge noise. It wasn't that bad inside. After some instructions, the pilot let me fly the plane, take turns, dives, climbs and it was a fantastic ride. With a small plane and a huge engine, the responsiveness was instant. The views were magnificent. From above we could see the beautiful New England, the ocean, rivers, houses and the trees. Then, came the 3Gs. I informed the pilot that my stomach is OK and "show me what this plane can really do". He took the T-6 into a series of dives, turning on a dime and climbs, generating up to 3Gs. I didn't have to watch the G-meter. Initially I almost fainted. On the first pull-out the G force was so strong that I started to have tunnel vision, which became narrower every second with black all around me. In addition, it was quiet a sensation to get pinned so hard to the seat. Luckily I recalled a TV documentary I saw a few years ago, with breathing techniques that they teach pilots to reduce the G-effect. It worked because I was ready! I could stay alive and conscious throughout all the stunts and even enjoy them. This was like riding a roaring roller coaster at 10,000 feet and 200 knots. At the end the pilot let me do a few quick turns, dives and pulls with several Gs and now I start to understand the true feeling of a fighter pilot. Needless to say, I took many pictures: one hand on the stick and another with the camera. The landing was perfect. Shoshy greeted me on the ground and I could sense a sigh of relief. We had lunch together in the diner overlooking the runway and headed home happily ever after. The next gig is sky diving... Yours, always optimistic, Guy