Paula once asked me if I ever just sit back and enjoy a moment without thinking about the downside. The answer is that I do,but not for long.I suppose you may construe that as a character defect but it is not exclusive to me. In fact after flying heliopters for 33 years I find that most of my pilot friends think the same.

I recall a story,it may be a biblical one ,of a leader who was selecting soldiers . He marched the soldiers,weapons drawn through a hostile area on a hot sunny day. When the soldiers came upon a water hole,they were allowed to drink. The soldiers that drank from the water with their weapons in hand were selected,those that cast their weapons aside to drink were not.

When I think back on this summer I remember the good times as is ,thankfully, generally our nature. When I sleep my subconscious takes over. For every scene of floating in a warm sea just off a beautiful tree shaded beach I have other recollections or reenactments.

It’s just the way I live. I can appreciate a beautiful mountain setting with a village perched on the rocky hillside. When a fire is whipping up the hillside into the village the scene disappears and another takes its place.You are low over the village,houses are starting to burn on the perimeter and you spot the horse.He is tethered in a pasture on the edge of the town and he is going doing all he can to break loose. To no avail. Drop and drop more water around the pasture while a home starts to burn. You are out of water and its time to go and get more water. When I get back to the village with another load of water Ihave a choice to make.

Days later,its a day off and we are hiking through a mountain side village. The houses are so close ,neighbors could reach out the window and shake hands with each other. Its a beautiful place to visit. I look around at the 6 foot wide streets. not a hydrant or water source in site.Good luck ,if a fire ever gets going in here. Its just the way I think

Beautiful sights,wonderful perfect days enjoying the sights and culture of Greece interspersed with tragedy and more frightening events than anyone needs in a lifetime.

I really make every effort to enjoy the moment. Like Jimmy Buffet wrote, “its 24 hours and maybe 60 good years,its really not that long a stay”

I was talking to a friend this Spring via today’s medium of choice, the email. He was on the fires in Florida and things were settling down and he was going to do some local touring. Why not, enjoy the local area and have some fun.We had been mostly forwarding each other stories through the summer.Two days ago he wrote to tell me he was in full hospice care at home and the prognosis was not good. I’ll miss him. I hope he had a good run. I think he did. I do enjoy those moments when the world is just perfect. I wish they were longer.