life

[FreeflyPlaymate 0]

Ok, before anyone yells or whatever at me...please please, just think about what I am saying, and yeah i admitt I'mnot right...just a view...you know how I see the quarter...it's heads on my side, you may be seeing the same quarter as tails.
Sorry if I get too inspired or pissed, I'm watching Braveheart right now.
I fully believe that these assholes, no bastards, hmmm somehow I an't find a word to correctly describe them...they should die, should pay for it. Look at the lives forever changed...the children who lost parents, parents who lost children, aunts, uncles, moms, dads, grandparents...lives...
I know what death smells like, the feeling that something was taken away, I can sense that...I believe we all can too. Years from now that feeling will remain. Literally, walking down the streets of where these planes went down, you can smell death....the innocence that was taken away.
I used to work at John Wayne Airport ...and yes I had "security" "clearance" to be in designated areas. When I was hired I was like one of the only ones who first of all knew anything about planes, or airports, most of the people there were regular joes just looking for a job, any job. That's great. So ok cool, i'm hired along with these other people who don't hmmm appreciate or have a positive drive, to even be there. so we go take a test so we can be outside with the planes...you know so we can legally be out there. orginally you could only miss like 2 or 3 questions, there were people missing half, they were just told the correct answer, and still given an airport badge. Hmmm how comforting, wait so let me get this straight, I can apply for an airport job, and get a badge, basically i can be amonkey and get a badge. But that's just from one aspect...inside the terminal one can walk onto a plane and legally carry a knife, nice....sweet that's what like to hear, we make it legal. There have been tests performed on airport security and what a shocker...they've failed numberous times. I believe this is a tragedy not because people died against their will, that is much more than just a tragedy. The tradegy of it all is that we had flags from years ago, threats, made on the twin towers even.
You know growing up I used to go toilet papering....because it was funny...well we jazzed it up and would call our friends and say hey we're going to toilet paper you tonight, and we wont tell you what time, but it will happen. We always got a kick out if because we could find our victims camping outside waiting to catch us...but they were asleep, apparently they didn't want to have their house toilet papered, but they got tired from waiting. lol dude one time we got the whole house done while a friend was sleeping in a chair..lol they never even knew!!! well until they woke up and saw the aftermath.
Please do not think that for a second these thousands of people are the equal to the analogy. I have been spending alot of time crying over this, and I didn't know anyone personally, well not that I am aware of yet, who was killed. I believe everyone has been affected by this. But I think we also need to fess up to some of our short comings. This wasn't a surprise that these people wanted to destroy the twin towers, specific threats were made years ago. So we basically camped out waiting for them, and we got it, when we fell asleep.
In an industry where we need to be anal about things,we aren't at all. We allow just about anyone to get an airport badge, ok....and then we have people undercover making it past security...ok, we are aware that there are threats, so why didn't we do more? I'm worth the wait for proper inspections. I am willing to bet my life all the people who have died in this, or who have been affected...would wait as well. But when we are there, we forget how precious life is, I wonder how I do that sometimes...by waiting in a line for my turn, waiting, waiting, I forget that I am healthy and breathing. We have it all backwards when we say our freedom is being taken away. Freedom I believe comes from safety...and with all due respect we have never been safe in the air. There's a rinky dink "door" to the cockpit that my mom could kick down. And the flight attendants aren't trained to defend hijackers, they are actually told to do whatever they say.
We have it all backwards if we think that because there will be regulations that we have less freedom. And yes freedom is safety...and stop signs are safe, but unfortunately we never put them up until people die. Look at skydiving, how have we evolved? How do we make it more safe...by finding the weak links and waiting until it breaks, because it's ok right now, it can still work.
Are we even more pissed because there were warning flags the whole way? I am to blame, maybe I should have yelled louder at the lask of sercurity when I worked at John Wayne.
As skydivers we check gear, check the plane, check our spot, check to see what direction the wind is coming from, check the weather conditions. We make sure we have our helmets either on or buckled in for takeoff? Why is that...and was that before or after the incident with loose helmet hitting someone when that was enforced. After. Seat belts...overloading the plane even, we take percaution even more after tragedy strikes. after we are left with that pain for us to carry until we die.
Not one soul deserved to die that day, they deserved to have a 3 hour wait just to get on a plane.
We rush everything, fast cars, fast food...hell even the fastest car isnt fast enough, and neither is the fast food, I've bitched about waiting a whopin 5 minutes in a drive though, geeze what bad service right? I mean making me wait? I'm not exactly smiling when I'm geared up and it's hotter than hell outside and the plane lands and then we discover they need to take on fuel as well... when we make things fast, and faster, we cut out steps, cut out maybe a second safety inspection... maybe a second one would catch what the first one missed. These inspections are for our safety, for our freedom, and we now complain that that very same freedom will be taken away because of more time it will take... sounds like a no win situation.
This is a wake up call for everyone....to come together, and yes to fight back, but to also rebuild a stronger foundation. Those people, those souls, will never go unforgotten, they have left footprints in our hearts.
I read posts about damn!! I probably won't be able to take my rig on board...you know what screw the rig, I will take the hassles, the inconvience, the waiting, because we all deserve it...the extra precaution. It's just like rushing a pack job to make a plane...why...so you can forget to overlook something? like cocking a pilot chute? maybe forgetting your chest strap? Why do that, why risk it so much...there will be other loads. You are late to a plane...so step back, look around, and take it in, maybe it happened to tell you to stop rushing, and enjoy life. there arelessons to be learned in long lines, people who you can meet, lives that you can touch...and yes strangers do touch lives, just listen to just one of the thousands of lives that were taken, listen to their story...and it will effect you.
We are all responsible for this, everyone, not just these people who committed this. I can only hope that this post doesn't ignite some sort of fight, just to realize hey, maybe I could have done more, you may start viewing life from a whole different angle...I do, every single day...and it's the strangers who impact my life, as well as my family and friends.
There were yellow warning lights blinking the whole time, caution, there's weaknessess in our system...so lets right it...because those people who died, deserve that.
**BLUE ONES**
BITE ME.... :P

[Shark 0]

Marissa,
I think I got your point(s). When I went to Seattle last month I brought the Frankenrig with me on the plane. When I went through security I figured I'd have to remove it from the bag or even upack it. I even got my Cypres Card ready to show them. As I placed the bag into the x-ray, I remembered I had the hook knife still attached to the harness. It passed without hassle and I continued to the boarding gate. Same situation on my return flight and I did not remove the knife then either. I pondered how relaxed the guards were in there inspection of baggage, etc. Even though I was relieved that I passed through, I was amazed that I was not even questioned. This did concern me. Complacency kills. I probably won't be travelling with my rig in the future either. Just some observations.
See ya Saturday,
///Mark

[Kelly 0]

marissa,
you put it perfectly, in words and in perspective. Thank you for the wake up call... I needed it.
kel
PS- i believe that all of our friends from NYC are safe. We've heard from will, from Mike Brinton, from Baggo(donuts), from Janice, from Timmy, ... the list is long. But over the last few days weve heard from everyone (at least we think we have). It took until today to get in touch or have heard that somebody got in touch with somebody...
hope this eases some of your worries.

[PhreeZone 15]

Kelly... thats some of the best news anyones put on here in the last few days.....
Flying on your belly is great..... if thats all you can do!

[FreeflyPlaymate 0]

kelly
thank you for the update...God Bless
**BLUE ONES**
BITE ME.... :P

[SpeedRacer 1]

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Freedom I believe comes from safety...and with all due respect we have never been safe in the air. There's a rinky dink "door" to the cockpit that my mom could kick down.

Excellent point! Someone wrote in to the BBC website, I believe he was Egyptian, and pointed out that there should be a secure door leading to the cockpit. The cockpit should be equipped with its own restrooms & food & beverages for the pilots.

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And the flight attendants aren't trained to defend hijackers, they are actually told to do whatever they say.

Hopefully this attitude will change now. I'm no Rambo, but if I see some asshole trying to hijack a plane that I'm on, I'm gonna just assume I'm going to die anyway & throw myself at him & try to take him down even if he kills me in the process. And I hope there would be others on the plane who would get a clue & have the cojones to help me out.
I posted that article before about the plane that went down in Pennsylvania. What happened there is that those guys heard about the attack on the WTC that had just happend & correctly concluded that a similar thing was about to happen to them. They knew they were going to die but they attacked anyway & probably saved the lives of hundreds of people by preventing the plane from reaching its target.
I think many of us have seriously contemplated the possibility of our own deaths, especially when we stood in the door before our first jump ! We came through it & realized that there was something more precious than living a timid life & always trying to save your skin.
Speed Racer
"Come up to my lab,
And see what's on the slab!"

[mountainman 0]

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Hopefully this attitude will change now. I'm no Rambo, but if I see some asshole trying to hijack a plane that I'm on, I'm gonna just assume I'm going to die anyway & throw myself at him & try to take him down even if he kills me in the process. And I hope there would be others on the plane who would get a clue & have the cojones to help me out.

That is what I was thinking. It is good to hear that the PA plane had some people on it willing to go down to save a bunch of fellow Americans. I am sure that if they knew that on the other one, there would much less destruction. *sigh*
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Boogie pics coming!!!

[freeflir29 0]

"Freedom I believe comes from safety...and with all due respect we have never been safe in the air. There's a rinky dink "door" to the cockpit that my mom could kick down."
There's a reason for that. It's called pressure cells inside the aircraft. If you had a bank vault door that didn't allow it to blow out in case of rapid depressurization the structure of the aircraft would become unstable. I don't think anyone wants the cockpit to fall off in flight.
"and behold, a pale horse, and he who sat on it, his name was death"-Revelations
Clay

[SpeedRacer 1]

Couldn't they just place some type of air valves on the door to equalize the pressure?
Revelation 6:8
Speed Racer
"Come up to my lab,
And see what's on the slab!"

[Aviatrr 0]

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There's a reason for that. It's called pressure cells inside the aircraft. If you had a bank vault door that didn't allow it to blow out in case of rapid depressurization the structure of the aircraft would become unstable. I don't think anyone wants the cockpit to fall off in flight.

Cockpit doors are not designed, nor meant, to blow out in a rapid or explosive-D.. It's not like there's a pressure bulkhead there - there are plently of places for the pressure to equalize.....even if there were a much heavier duty door.. Plus, there will always be small areas(usually under 1") at the top and bottom of the door that are "open"..
Mike

[mouth 0]

You make some good points. I have been a flight attendant on two major airlines. In both training classes we were taught to do exactly as we were told, never question or deny them anything. Observe and make mental notes so that we can tell the authorities what we learned. The only mental note I've have in the past week is looking at the names praying I didn't know any of the crew killed.
It is true that you can get on a major airline with just about anything. I've carried lots of things that I shouldn't have. I forgot my gun I carried for protection was in my purse once and it flew with me on two legs of the flight before I realized it. Thankfully the discovery was made at a crew base and supervisory personnel were on hand to help me. If you were flight crew you generally never even went through any security checks points. This is true at lots of major airports....scary.
All this rambling is to say you are correct FFPM. We have fallen asleep on watch and now we are paying the price for it. I am just as guilty of being annoyed at waits. Rather we should all be thankful that someone is awake and protecting our freedom.
Lisa

[mountainman 0]

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I forgot my gun I carried for protection was in my purse once

HOLY SHIT!!!
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Boogie pics coming!!!

[Dutchboy 0]

Proof that mouth is a southern lady.
The Dutchboy
http://www.geocities.com/ppolstra

[mountainman 0]

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Proof that mouth is a southern lady.

Hehehe.......I can see it now.
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Baby pictures...

[mouth 0]

It is Ms. Bitch to you gentlemen.....:-)
BTW...I was always taught don't carry it if you wouldn't use it, and to shoot first and ask questions later.

[Aviatrr 0]

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If you were flight crew you generally never even went through any security checks points. This is true at lots of major airports....scary.

This has not been the case for several years, luckily.. I, too, have had things in the terminal that I should not have made it through security with, and things that I never would have made it through security with - but didn't have to pass through there.. It has always worried me how easy it would be to get weapons on an airplane.. Many ground support vehicles do not pass through any security checkpoints when entering the airport from outside.. It would be too easy for these people to smuggle in weapons and place them on the airplanes..
Mike

[Aviatrr 0]

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BTW...I was always taught don't carry it if you wouldn't use it, and to shoot first and ask questions later.

Yet another reason to like this woman!
Mike

[mouth 0]

Mike,
I'm glad I meet with your approval.
Ms. Bitch

[Albatross 0]

I think I'm in LOVE Lisa
Go Big Or Go Home!!!!!
Albatross