Grief – Steve Pollock

For Bill

In Bill Schock, Braniff Flight 250, Braniff International Airlines, Deadly Turbulence, Falls City, Grief, History, Loss, Meaningful Labor, Nebraska, Pioneers, Professionalism, Quotable, Reciprocal Affection, Touchy Feely, Up in the Air, Weather

Back in 2014, I included a chapter in my book detailing Bill Schock’s war experiences as they related to his reporting on the crash of Braniff International flight 250 in 1966.

The editors at McFarland, rightly but regretfully, suggested I delete the chapter since it was rather tangentially related to the subject, namely “Deadly Turbulence: The Air Safety Lessons of Braniff Flight 250 and Other Airliners, 1959-1966.” (Yeesh, that title.) They wanted 80,000 words; I gave them 96,000, so yeah, some cuts were needed—like the chapter about events which happened in 1966.

But for what it’s worth, in honor of Bill, here’s the deleted chapter. I hope it does him at least some honor.

Farewell, Bill. Thank you.

Update 05:00 26-Jun-18: I revised the chapter to correct a few annoying typos and to add some information, including original source documents for Bill’s war record. Click the link below again to get the revised version. Thanks!]

Read the chapter at this link:
«Deleted Chapter About Bill Schock from Deadly Turbulence by Steve Pollock»

A Final “Hangin’ Out the Warsh”

By AirBeagle

On 25-Jun-18

In Braniff Flight 250, Deadly Turbulence, Falls City, Grief, History, Loss, Meaningful Labor, Memories, Mound City, Nebraska, News Media, Pioneers, Professionalism, Quotable, Reciprocal Affection, Rulo, Touchy Feely, United States, Up in the Air

This is Bill's final column out of countless ones he wrote over 71 years for the Falls City Journal.

With this column,…

Posted by Steve Pollock on Monday, June 25, 2018

More Grief

By AirBeagle

On 25-Jun-18

In Braniff Flight 250, Deadly Turbulence, Falls City, Grief, History, Loss, Mound City, Nebraska, Pioneers, Professionalism, Reciprocal Affection, Rulo, Society, United States, Up in the Air

This is kind of like how I feel about my (possibly four) upcoming surgeries: I don't want to do this, but I have to, and…

Posted by Steve Pollock on Monday, June 25, 2018

Dean Allen, RIP (Jan. 2018)

By AirBeagle

On 27-May-18

In Around the World, Canada, France, Grief, Hope for the Future, Meaningful Labor, Pioneers, Professionalism, Puppies, Reciprocal Affection

Because so much has been messed up and unstuck during the first half of this god-awful year, I just discovered the other day that Dean Allen, the creator of Textpattern, which powers this site, and of TextDrive, which used to host this site until Joyent destroyed it, and of «Textism» and Textile and Cardigan Industries and tamer of the epically wonderful Weimaraners «Oliver and Hugo» … well, he died back in January. I had no idea. There has been death aplenty around here since January and his slipped past me.

I’m glad that part of Dean lives on here in Textpattern (still running my websites with no let up since 2004) and the consciousness-raising I got from reading his stuff. I wish TextDrive was doing the same. WebFaction and NameCheap (what names!) have been adequate substitutions, but hardly anywhere near the same thing. «Many people» wrote «many wonderful things» about Dean’s influence and I can’t beat «them», so here’s the first part of his obit in the Vancouver Globe and Mail:

“It is with unspeakable sorrow that we announce the sudden passing of Dean Cameron Allen, on January 13, 2018 at the age of 51. “He leaves behind his parents, James and Holly; his brother, Craig; an adoring family; longtime partner, Gail; and a legion of loving friends and admirers around the world.
“Renaissance man, trailblazer and autodidact extraordinaire, Dean was a person of dazzling wit, charm and erudition. “Graphic designer, typographer, teacher, web pilgrim, critic, author, Weimaraner tamer, song and dance man, chef… he brought titanic intelligence, insight and humour to everything he did.
“And whatever room he was in, he was the weather. “He was instrumental in bringing clean, elegant design and typographical rigour to the early internet. And in raising online writing to a fresh and thrilling new art form.
“A source of inspiration to many, he was generous with his guidance and praise. …”
— Vancouver Globe and Mail, 6-Feb-18

God speed Dean … and thanks for all the … empowerment you gave us.

“Intellectual property is theft!”