Willy Messerschmitt, a tall no-nonsense aircraft designer, was hunched over a drafting table conferring with a senior engineer about propulsion issues that were plaguing the Me-262 jet fighter. He had been working on overcoming design problems with mounting the new BMW engines, when his secretary, Hilde Schwartz, interrupted him. “An urgent phone call for you, … Continue reading Prologue
Blog Post
St.Patricks Day
I’m not of Irish ancestry but I can appreciate how those that mark their calendar lookforward with anticipation to March 17th and its festivities. As so often happens, I was looking for an anecdote in an old datebook and stumbled upon an entry that surprised me. During that particular week in 1984, I was quite sick – with the flu. There … Continue reading St.Patricks Day
Sowing Good Seeds
In his excellent book, Just Like Jesus, Max Lucado relates an interesting story in Chapter #9 - The Greenhouse of the Mind – whereby he pokes fun at himself by suggesting that he (Max) plant nothing but undesirable seeds, like crab grass and burr seeds in his ideal garden. Sounds preposterous, right? I mean who … Continue reading Sowing Good Seeds
‘I Hate Christmas’
‘I hate Christmas!’ he said matter of fact. What?! How can anyone hate Christmas? Obviously not spoken by a holiday reveler or follower of Christ. On closer examination and prompted by my ‘how can you even say that?’ I get a quizzical look and an answer, though not the one I was looking for. I … Continue reading ‘I Hate Christmas’
The Accidental Handyman
“I can do this!” I said out loud, as I surveyed the blueprint drawing on the kitchen table. In retrospect, it was a bold proclamation by an amateur on a grand idea, pitting me – and my lack of building expertise – with a new, untested and sizeable building project. In short, I was in … Continue reading The Accidental Handyman
