I then stopped at the visitor center to let the rangers know about the scorpion, because their stings can be fatal to children, older adults or those with medical problems. (Fortunately, I don't fall into any of those categories.) Mark, the resident ranger and wildlife expert, gave me all the scoop on local snakes, scorpions, Gila monsters, tortoises, deer, coyotes, etc. Mark has been stung 7 or 8 times by scorpions, and fortunately, the worst effects were intense pain and sore arm muscles for 48 hours.
After surviving encounters with slithery critters, Suzanne and I were very fortunate to be able to go soaring (separately) with John Weber, who is an expert pilot of sailplanes and powered aircraft (he has 5 or 6 planes). John has been flying gliders (sailplanes) since he was 15 years old, and put his carbon fiber craft through its paces, taking advantage of thermals to rise from 1,000 feet to 12,000 feet. Here John and Suzanne are about to take off. This model has a retractable propeller that allows the pilot to take off without a tow plane. (The propeller is known to other glider pilots as "the mast of shame" and is retracted shortly after take-off. If all goes well, it is not used any more except in an emergency, even not to land.) See Suzanne's video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZSa5nwX3dw for a great summary of the flight. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for both of us. We were amazed by John's ability to find thermals (updrafts) that lifted the sailplane up and up - you can hear the variometer beeping in the background - it's a device that lets the pilot know when he's climbing (higher pitch) or falling (lower pitch). Thank you, John, for an incredible experience!!!
While Suzanne was back in Florida visiting her mom, I got to go on a ski boat ride with Elizabeth and Cyril Boisson and several friends. All of us had lost a child, but as members of Helping Parents Heal, we all know that our kids are always with us - as they must have been on this special day zooming around Bartlett Reservoir. (I did catch some grief from MLB for hanging out with four beautiful bikini-clad ladies while she was out of area...)
We have enjoyed special friendships here in the Phoenix area - this dinner was at Elizabeth and Cyril Boisson's beautiful home in Cave Creek with its amazing art collection - along with Lynn and Jeff Hollahan and Debra Henson. Suzanne's wonderful assistant Bev was to have flown out to Phoenix for Suzanne's event in Scottsdale the next day laden with supplies like folders and nametags, but she was sidelined by a nasty case of pneumonia. So, in addition to dinner, we had a "folder-stuffing party" after dessert. Suzanne's marketing assistant, Brenda Baker, was also seriously ill and in the hospital during this period. Fortunately, both Brenda and Bev are recovering after their ordeals.
Finally, a couple of comments about a sister service from two retired naval officers. We were going through the gate at Davis-Monthan AFB, and the gate guard , a young Air Force guy, checked our ID cards, saluted, and then said something that we had never heard from a tough security force person... normally, a Marine gate guard will say, "Ooh-rah, sir!" A Navy seaman will say "Go Navy, sir!" A soldier will say, "Hooah, sir!" This young Air Force guy said, "Fine and dandy, sir!" "Fine and dandy???"
That interaction led me to recall this photo... "Just sayin'..."