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Neil w Young
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7/24/2021 8:22:17 AM
BECAUSE I WILL NOT PASS THIS WAY AGAIN ....
At 11:30 AM EST (DST) today, Saturday, July 24, 2021, after two cancellations due to Covid-19 lock downs – the first in June, the second earlier in July – and one rescheduled flight time due to forecasted inclement weather conditions forecast for later today changing my previously scheduled 1:00 PM flight time to 11:30 AM, my date with history and my mission on one of the only two remaining airworthy WW II Lancaster bombers will take to the skies, affording me the opportunity to earn my special wings – especially in such an historic Canadian military aircraft.
I am to arrive at the John C. Munro International Airport in Hamilton, Ontario at 10:15 AM in order to complete the necessary pre-flight preparation and protocols.
I’m sure the experience will be memorable if not numbing being in the same stark cold enclosed space where brave souls flew into battle in the dark of night during WW II, their anticipation and adrenaline running at the red line as the roar of four Rolls Royce engines vibrated through every bone in their body.
Some of my thoughts during the mission will surely be of those souls in Lancaster’s that never returned having sacrificed their lives for the freedoms we have all too often taken for granted.
This is more than just one more exploit to be chalked up in my life, it is an opportunity to experience a part of history if only for one memorable mission and moment in time.
Who knows, there may even be a song to follow at some point.
My anticipation and adrenaline is on the rise!
In the words attributed to James Dean, “Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die today.” … Quite apropos today for one who has lived life close to the edge on more than one occasion.
Neil
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negative tendencies
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7/24/2021 10:30:02 AM
That sounds amazing, Neil. Please tell us all about it when you come back down.
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Desperado Revue
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7/24/2021 10:59:07 AM
---- Updated 7/24/2021 11:00:02 AM
Take care Neil. Somber flight and we'll be waiting on your reporting back to us.
Norm
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Steve April
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7/24/2021 4:11:59 PM
Look forward to hearing about your flight, Neil...
Good luck out there, where the birds fly, way up high...***
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Neil w Young
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7/24/2021 9:29:44 PM
---- Updated 7/28/2021 5:51:09 PM
Thank you Scott, Norm and Steve.
It was the flight of a lifetime that has changed me just a little - I feel taller and stronger ... and more humble and more appreciative than ever of the price others paid and what they gave for us to receive.
Wrapping my hands around the handles of those .303 calibre machine guns in one of the gun turrets with the roar of 4 Rolls Royce Merlin engines vibrating every bone in my body and rattling my eardrums was chilling to say the least and the deadly opposite of what it feels like wrapping my hand around the fretboard of my guitar and holding its body close to my chest.
It felt like a time warp and even though I was returned safely to terra firm and am back with loved ones, I feel I'm still a little in it.
Neil
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Richard Scotti
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7/28/2021 2:58:25 PM
Sounds like a very cathartic experience for you, Neil. Congratulations on a heroic accomplishment. Anything else on your bucket list? :-)
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Bryon Tosoff
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7/28/2021 7:01:34 PM
Awesome, exciting time Neil
bt
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Neil w Young
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7/29/2021 1:11:27 AM
It set my sights on new horizons, Richard. Time will tell where it takes me.
Awesome and exciting it surely was, Bryon, on a level quite different than anything else.
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Paul groover
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7/29/2021 6:04:28 AM
---- Updated 7/29/2021 6:23:44 AM
I was lucky enough to get a flight 7 and half hour coastal patrol in a RAF Nimrod when i was a teenager thru air cadets. A Lancaster is an icon without i would not be writing this or would be writing this in German one of the 2. That's who important it is you a very lucky.
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Neil w Young
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7/29/2021 6:18:03 PM
You are right, Paul ... the Lancaster is an icon. Lancasters turned the tide in favour of the Allied forces in WW II.
There were 7,377 Lancaster bombers made and only 17 remain today, and of the 17 only two are airworthy, and of the two airworthy Lancasters only one you can fly on and I was fortunate, yes, lucky, to fly in that one last Saturday.
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Paul groover
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7/29/2021 11:32:43 PM
if i had to i would defend my country this is ww3 wether we like it or not. You fuck with the wrong people you will see what really can happen. I try to be peaceful and musical if you don't want that. As long as you know what comes next that is not my concern
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