So… Dad died last Monday. We found this is his papers…
Modern airliners have modern avionics. Avionics are certificated with the airframe, and the test equipment and procedures used to test and verify that those avionics are “good to fly with 300 souls on board” are actually part of the airworthiness certificate for the aircraft. Collins started putting glass panels in big flying things, you know, like the Space Shuttle, in the 80s. You want to know the difference between Boeing (and Collins…) then and now? Boeing outsourced the programming for the mcas system on the recent debacle 737 max 8 that’s yet to restart service. Collins sold off their Automated Test Equipment group.
So that was Dad for 26 years…
Recent years? He was the Treasurer on the Cedar Amateur Astronomers observatory project. That’s a subject for a different post. Here’s the Google Maps shot.
The little shed with the rolloff roof and the converted grain silo dome was all they had. Now they have a B&C 24″ reflector and its mount from the University of Iowa’s decommissioned observatory (they were going to just bulldoze the building with the telescope in it…) and a meeting space with room for 250+ people.
Some people enjoy the limelight. Some people seek it out and promote themselves. Some people just stay in the background and build things.
4 replies on “Read between the lines…”
Sorry for your loss, may your Dad’s memory be for a blessing.
I think often of the unseen — of the multitude of untold stories of people’s quiet struggles and victories and joys and lives well lived without great public acclaim. These stories, including those of my own departed parents and family members, have become all the more precious to me in a world that now continually screams slanders at us, insisting that everything is awful and there is nothing good in this culture of ours. I’ve embraced the notion that the truth of people’s lives is immutable, a treasure to those of us who knew them and remember, and one that cannot be diminished by the shallow, bitter shrieking of a world gone mad that refuses to see the beauty all around us. I think daily of my Dad, who we lost this February, and my heart goes out to you in your time of grief and loss. I am so grateful that my sister and I were able to be at Dad’s side when he passed, and I cannot imagine the pain families are having to go through now. I hope you’ll be able to find a way to honor and celebrate your father’s life in a way that helps being you and all who loved him peace. What a wonderful souvenir you have above of one of his many achievements. If you ever want someone to share stories and commiserate with, I’m sure I’m not the only one among our extended family here who will gladly offer. Go easy on yourself and be well. I’m so very sorry for your loss.
just to be clear… there’s nothing wrong with seeking the limelight or accepting fame when you’re actually accomplishing things and doing good. but we all need to remember there are many people who actively avoid publicity and would rather just make the world better, and some of those people are going to get lost to the march of time unless others tell their stories.
An ad has been playing on the radio around here, for a service called connect 4 or connect 2 “something” I forget at the moment. The idea is for people to video chat with their elderly family while everyone’s stuck video chatting with elderly family but using this service that records the interviews and supposedly would archive them for free at the Library of Congress. I have some doubts about all of that but the idea is a nice one.