Some miles were so long, it took whole years before we realized they were behind us.
I examined the maps you painted inside my airframe.
You were trying to tell me you were lost
and you didn’t want to be another midair collision.

Jennifer repaired me shortly
after I crash-landed in the starflowers.
Crashed it again in the snow,
outside Murfreesboro,
and she wasn’t there that time.

If I had told the people who made this thing I was going to be reckless
with it, they probably would have bought a snow leopard, or a horsehead just to keep the conversation going.

But when they went ahead and made this life happen,
they rushed thinking he was going to be a
college boy, a frat boy, an intelligent mass of cells,
who flew over the mountains instead of into them.
But what my parents got was a little *******
who stirred up anthills, and stood up nice girls
and poured gasoline on the make believers
to prove the flames were real.

This letter was taken out of one world
and hurled into the next, with you, theoretically.
I know that sunflowers make wonderful goodbyes and some airplanes crash
and typewriters hurt when they write back.
His airframe was created in 1991.  
You should have known when you messed with the inside
it wouldn’t work the right way again.

I have had some things going on in my engine
that are not entirely fixable.
That is what makes us human. Our parts get better.
The problem is we turn gospels into information manuals.
And that is why I still end up at gasoline stations at 2 a.m.
searching for a bearing that says
“Follow me. I will take you where you will be happy.”

But we don’t get that, dear.
We get a paintbrush and a typewriter.
You told me I was wrong.
I told you
not to talk so loud.

On my sixteenth birthday,
my uncle gave me a balsa wood airplane,
or rather, the wood
that comes together to make one.

While I started out strong,
assembling most of the fuselage,
it would go unfinished
and stay a skeleton.

Most of its life
collected cobwebs.
My uncle drinks whiskey
in the pool at night.

I think of the airframe
still waiting to be put together,
waiting to fly
to the other side of this.

I think of you
at the oddest times,
and the strangest places,
as if I were an air show pilot
with the stick pulled back
and the rudders set in place,
and within that ******, roar, and airframe shake
I notice that in my chest there beats a heart that aches.

Praise to Stephania Jiminez of KSAT in San Antonio; I said it first but she says it much, much better:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/ksat-anchor-goes-viral-for-speaking-the-truth-about-texas-leaders­/ar-AA1Ibdj3


Lawrence Hall
[email protected]
Dispatches for the Colonial Office
5 July 2025

                     Texas Children Die; Texas Politicians Babble


                           The Governor’s Press Conference
            In Which the Press Were Shut Down Pretty Quickly
                              Guest Star: Ice Station Barbie


I just can’t say enough about our colleagues I just can’t say enough about we are Texans and we come together as one as a family we come together community share quintessential Texas I want to thank my we unite they could have fallen apart double-down relentless when the job is completed 24/ 7 day and night Texans and Americans everyone and I want to thank my what I’m going to sign today every asset magnitude process proclamation immediate and I just can’t say enough about ongoing gratitude in advance to President Trump and all his administration and I just can’t say enough his love for Texas I want to thank Governor Abbott absolutely devastating he loves Texas grieving beautiful children all the resources of the federal government walking alongside each other community I’ve visited with the president already he will honor that assets on the ground crisis weather event alerted airframe Coasties Texas assets request customs and border protection skill set resource Department of Homeland Security response flying acronyms entities utilized FEMA standing at an enhanced level plugged in engaged fulfil role amazing you are an example to the nation hearts are with you and walking beside you fixed-wing aircraft airframe helicopters fixed-wing helicopters efforts engaged talking to the president throughout the day families folks number one priority is people process public infrastructure strong you are an example responding helping neighbors hurting grieving God process help prayers are with you President Trump and Melania are praying for you prayer amazing multiple stage agencies partners my thanks to and to and request and thank you for being here an important message I’ve been to a number of disasters impressed with Governor Abbot’s leadership proud grateful for men and women standing behind us here we are all reacquainted rejoined with their family members it’s who your family is we come together as a family as Texas this is who our family is we owe it to them the governor and his team will be relentless family it means a lot we appreciate President Trump and you before I was crazy enough to run for congress ha ha we came down here to blah blah it hits home personally I can’t say enough about extraordinary I can’t say enough I can’t say enough leadership this unfortunate circumstance reached out responding Army corps support and other stuff teamwork collaboration far from finished the job prayerful stuff we’re dealing with finger-pointing and second-guessing and Monday-morning quarterbacking circumstances I understand that parents and media heroic efforts finish the job be with the people pray I’m the only one at this table who lives on the Guadalupe River I barely got home I ushered in a crew fifty-year lawyer I saw first-hand the body bags helicopter ride nobody saw this coming arm in arm hand in hand process time now for recovery toilsome task we we we I I I me me me stay together and we’ll get this done thank you on the behalf of as I look around the room I don’t see differences I see one team working together our community one team those in peril those who are lost sees this day prayer thank God my heart is broken we will not stop Madame Secretary your federal team lifesaving we will our teams FEMA border patrol partners Coast Guard work forward state personnel one last thing most common word prayer prayers are answered in so many ways prayer might be the reason the water stopped rising prayer does work your prayers have made a difference continued prayers pray so much never imagined prayers matter we thank God almighty God has blessed Texas prayer…

(A few reporters were then allowed to ask a few questions which were answered mostly with vagaries and filler-language.)

My team out of Buttercup were carting hay for old Scruffy Turner.
Scruffy was sick so we offered to clear the airstrip hay for him.
Toward the end of the day someone drove up and told me they were letting a herd of black pol beef cattle out on to Taurewa strip ,up near the Chateau road.
I had my little Cherokee parked on the Taurewa strip. Black cattle have a propensity to rub themselves up against the fuselage of a parked aircraft....really does a lot of expensive damage, very quickly...
So I asked Scruffy to drop me onto the Taurewa strip to pick up the Cherokee. He obliged with his Cessna 172.

I found myself bare chested, clad in shorts and workboots, hay in my hair getting into the little Cherokee and going through my preflight checks.

Scruff took off and circled, I followed him off Taurewa.
At 80 ft above the treetops we levelled off and headed for the National Park strip, now clear of haybales.
Scruff, his wife, Anne and I were communicating, chatting on 121.3 megahertz when my aircraft's engine abruptly stopped!

There is something comical about sudden silence when airborne!

I set about checking fuel and ignition and attempted to restart the engine...several times. ....SILENCE!

Funny the things that race through your mind in an emergency.

Several week before this I had attended the funeral and the wake of an old chairlift company mate of mine, Marcus Leecher.
At the wake over a couple of good sized Scotch whiskeys I bumped into old Jimmy Johns, an engineer from neighboring Stratford, who used to own and operate the National Downhill ski operation on Mt Ruapehu,

Jimmy said to me, "They tell me you're a pilot now, Gebbie?"
"Yeah", I said. "Well, if ever you get into difficulty over big forest trees or a large expanse of water, THIS IS WHAT YOU DO!"

Jimmy's instruction exploded into my head like a time bomb!

Here I was, now 50 ft above a continuous forest of huge native trees, I had a dead engine and nowhere to put the aircraft down.
I gave Scruffy a quick mayday call....and of course, he panicked!
He started flying around in huge circles and promptly lost sight of my aircraft.

I went through my drills, fuel off, killed ignition, trim for glide, grab a knotch of flap, minimize airspeed........Look for a location to ditch.

Old Jimmy John's message came through loud and clear......
So I executed his instructions to the letter.

1. Located two ****** big rimu trees with sturdy vertical trunks.
2..Tree trunks separated by a gap large enough to fit the fuselage in between.
3. Brought the aircraft around in an arc so that I was lined up exactly with the gap.....Then dived the aircraft vertically downward.
Swept the foliage below with my wheels... then, with the momentum gained by the dive, climbed straight up into the sky.
4, Stalled the aircraft, actually stopped the aircraft in a vertical position....then aimed it at the gap as it fell out of the sky.
5 I took the impact with the wings, it actually sheared the left wing off the aircraft, broke the chord.....BUT IT SAVED THE FUSELAGE
6. Braced myself for the absolute unknown....hung on tight!!

The aircraft almost stayed up in the higher branches, then it crashed down through the foliage to the hard baked earth, 30 ft below.....BANG!

Momentarily, I took stock, no fire, airframe right way up, body wracked but OK. Aircraft wrecked!

I disentangled myself from the seat belts, sprung open the door and exited the aircraft at haste.

Located approximate position of Scruffy overhead and launched a parachute flare skyward to let him know I had survived. The flare almost hit his aircraft, it zoomed past him and continued skyward, he never ever got to see that flare....but all the skiers on the adjacent Whakapapa skifields did!

I fashioned a big arrow out of logs pointing in the direction of my intended exit....then walked 10 km out of the forest.

The very next day I purchase old Jimmy Johns a very special bottle of the best Irish whisky I could find and shook his hand hard....as a Brother aviator!

M@Foxglove,Taranaki.NZ
15 August 2025