Yesterday was a tragic day at our airport. One of the finest aviators I ever had the privilege of being a friend to was lost in an accident a few miles from his home here. Some of the circumstances are known, but none of it matters, the only thought is how we will not see him in this life again.
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Because it was a slow national news day, stations as far away as Utah and California spread the disinformation and non-truths gathered by an invasion of media ghouls, all willing to trade another families suffering for some small ratings uptick for themselves. I started off civil by asking “If your father was lost would you want your own mother to meet strangers with cameras at the front door?” A thought which would give pause to normal people but seemingly had no effect on vermin.
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I have received calls all morning from friends asking politely if it was anyone in my home or in the Weseman family, or part of what we were doing. It was not, it was an RV-4 accident. The man was a very treasured and dear friend, a real one of a kind guy. Many of our closer friends met him, and will remember him well, at a later point when everyone in his greater family is told, I will share some good stories in his memory.
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If you still believe that one brand of news is more ethical than others, let me say that if you were here yesterday, it would have cured you of this illusion. All networks were represented, and they all behaved like jackals and ghouls. Our airport is private property, and after one neighbor briefed the media, they were asked to leave. Instead they all kept sneaking back in, and all three tried to ring the doorbell of the mans home, when his wife had been a widow for 45 minutes. You can claim this is local TV, but the lies they told were eagerly snapped up and retold by their national networks, including Fox. 12 hours after the accident they were still staking out the entrance, hoping for ambush interviews, This morning I caught more on the runway, “filming on location” although the accident was many miles away. I had the sign above made to further clarify they we didn’t need scum like them in our community.
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Today is a still day at our home airport. The song of a very beautiful life abruptly stopped and now things seem terribly quiet. I’m fighting off the temptation to hop on the dirt bike and ride up to his hanger, because my heart says he must still be up and is place putting in another day working on his 14th homebuilt. He isn’t there, but if you knew him, you would understand that some lives are vibrant enough it’s impossible to imagine the world without them.
