Hang Gliding and Paragliding Volume 44 / Issue 2: February 2014 | Page 33

changing to me, except being in the war and meeting my
wife.
Needless to say, I kept flying. The idea at that time that
hang gliders were death traps was overblown. People like me,
without preparation or background, could fling themselves
into the air and do something that was seen as fundamentally impossible. In the 1970s, hang gliding was foreign to the
vast majority of people. When I told people about my flights,
they thought I either was making things up or doing something insanely stupid. If someone was horrified or reacted
disbelievingly, I responded, “Yeah, man, we jump off cliffs,
SEE!” It was a way for me to thumb my nose at convention.
Dan Poynter told me about the life membership. The
$250 it cost seemed like so much money at the time, but
it also meant never having to confront the issue of writing
a check again, even if I’m feeling distant from the sport. I
think I’m the only active dual division, dual instructor (hang
gliding and paragliding) life member. I’ve become less active
since my wife and I moved to Washington in 1998. Santa
Barbara was so perfect. It was easy to get airtime there.
My most active 25-or-so years in the business of flying
and teaching other people how to fly was the most magical.
Throughout those years, I was conscious of a feeling of gratitude that I was able to do something so extraordinary. But I
had nowhere to direct that gratitude.
Now, however, I do, because I know the guy who
launched the sport into popular existence. I met John
Dickenson in 2004 or 2005; we talk every couple of weeks
and have formed a strong bond. He’s a wonderful, charming, clever ma