IT WILL BE A YEAR LIKE NO OTHER
Buddy Burke exposed. After of course coping with the Curse, he hit his stride with a presentation that was a collage, a potpourri, a kaleidoscope on our modest screen.
His opening salvos were, modestly, would you ask Hamlet to go fast? And humbly, it's better to be lucky than smart.
We of course were treated to another shot of The Dogs, to kick off his early life in Deliverance Country, Georgia. His Army dad was, yes, Georgian, and his mother was Russian. One of the few households with grits & borscht.
Buddy was isolated and therefore easily excited about everything elsewhere. He devoured National Geographics. His Aunt Natalie of SF would visit occasionally and bring news from the City. His heroes at this point (with appropriate pictures) were Teddy Roosevelt, Ben Franklin, and Ms. Gonzales, an 8th grade math teacher who was actually college educated and encouraged her students to do the same. There was also his honorary "Uncle" Dewitt, a widower of 6 kids who seemed to do nothing but talk, but those kids all went to college. Another hero was little sister Tracy, whose philosophy boils down to, everyone's equal.
Not everything was entirely pleasant at the old homestead. It was located in Toombs County, which was generally known as Bloody Toombs. The big industry was tobacco, and we were treated to illustrations of how that process works in the field. Big old sticky leaves. Hot and humid for everyone except the boss's son who got to drive the tractor. But all mitigated by a transistor radio blaring Conway Twitty and Porter Wagner tunes, which Buddy therefore does not prefer to hear today.
His high school was not a pipeline to college, but was a pipeline to the big house. One sad reunion story was a classmate who was having a tough time getting a husband because she murdered her first one.
But Buddy bucked the trend and attended college. In fact, he overcame his natural shyness by campaigning for president of the said institution's student body. (He didn't say, but it is suspected the name of the institution was Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College.) Ambiguous whether he won, but more important to him was his discovery of Jimmy Buffett, who eradicated Messrs. Twitty and Porter.
When Career Day came around, he surrendered easily to the Air Force and its temptation of $10,000/year to have fun flying. However, reality struck when his flying teacher turned out to be a Yankee who said rather graphically that Southerners weren't smart enough to do it. But he made it through and was rewarded by taking his dad on an extremely vertical flight, and also flying a little jet all around the country.
The next era was Berlin, dashing commercial pilot, hanging out there and in Italy, but living a completely hollow life (that snort from the audience was Holly). He did get to fly his mother in the cockpit from Berlin to Oslo and back. Well, most of us have seen a presentation or two in which Buddy seemed to be bearing up under this Berlin hollowness just fine.
As he eased through life, he was a captain with American Airlines and then Virgin Air for a bit. But he was more interested in establishing traditions, such as joining a friend to invest in a party bus which went everywhere including to Jimmy Buffett concerts. Also campouts each September at the Grand Canyon. Also a National Park annually. Also his very own flying machine.
He also mastered this online stuff to the point where he filled his hollowness by meeting the one and only Holly and described himself as having big feet (no other dimensions given). The Wedding soon followed, starring the flying machine. With a National Geographic honeymoon.
His academic side came out when he demonstrated why he got out of flying. It seems the Ideal Pilot is supposed to score well on the Cognitive test but not the Sociability test. He graphically and scientifically demonstrated how he stood under this test. After 15,000 hours, 4 engine failures, 10+ emergencies, and 65+ check rides, he concluded that he was a bit restless in the cockpit due to the sociability side of his brain.
But how to secure the ideal position? Invent it! So 2 weeks ago, that's just what he did for Apple. He has to check back shortly, buy they were very encouraging. What this invented position is, well, stay tuned.
Now that he's all grown up, his heroes are Colonel Sanders, Harry Truman, and the president-elect of Twain Harte Rotary - a party animal age 99. (Initial guesses from his picture were way off.)
Buddy already has a start on being world famous. When he was in Sydney for the international convention, he discovered Buderoo National Park.
Well, Buddy, have a good year.
| Hays is looking more relaxed already!! |
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