Barry
Meek's Letters
June 2006
It's Time
to Slow Down
Robert
couldn’t go fast enough. I was
flying with him one fine summer day in
his Taylorcraft, enjoying the scenery as
it slowly drifted by at about 80 mph. He
was complaining, and at the same time
apologizing for the snails pace of the
plane. But it didn’t matter to me.
It was, and still is the flying,
not the destination that’s
important. That’s why I fly.
And I suspect, that’s why most
recreational pilots take to the sky as
well. Not to get somewhere, but just to
be up there.
We seem to
have lost sight of that over time.
Back before we earned our pilots license,
even before we actually flew for the
first time, we knew that’s what we
wanted. To some of us, flying was
the most important thing in our lives at
that point. It didn’t matter
how fast or how high. But all too
soon, the magic had worn off. Or
at least diminished a bit, as our need
for more speed took over. Part of
that came from the ever improving
technology in aviation. Some of it
was our egos. To arrive 30 minutes
ahead of a buddy on the same cross
country gave big bragging rights to the
owner of the faster plane.
But
it’s not just the availability of
better aircraft that compels us to speed
up. It is life itself. In
his recent book “In Praise of
SLOW”, Carl Honore points out how
the entire world is bent on upping the
velocity of travel, of work, meals,
education, relationships, even sex.
Fast food is consumed by more and
more of us. We seek faster
computers and internet connections, learn
speed-reading, and choose liposuction
because diets are too slow.
We’re impatient in lineups, road
rage is not uncommon. We’re
choosing the fast options, yet keep
losing the advantage because everyone
else is speeding up too.
The food we
eat today is derived from production
processes far superior than just a
generation ago. The first
microwave ovens of the 1950’s became
big time home appliances in the
‘70’s, allowing cooking times
to be measured in seconds. Where
it once took the average pig five years
to reach 130 pounds, producers can now
have it up to 220 pounds in just six
months through intensive feeding,
antibiotic digestive enhancers, growth
hormones, rigorous breeding and genetic
modification. A big advantage in a world
increasingly unable to feed itself.
And another example of the need
for speed.
Doctors are
swamped with patients complaining of
stress manifested in migraines,
hypertension and burnout. Some
prescribe medication to treat the
symptoms, yet fail to address the root
cause. The doctors can’t be
blamed, they’re in their own race
against time.
Choosing to
slow down our own lives seems to be the
only solution. But in the face of
all the outside pressures to speed
up, it’s an uphill battle for sure.
Television, radio and newspaper
advertising could be a good place to
start. Simply ignoring it or turning it
off seems to me to be an easy solution.
Spending more time doing enjoyable
activities would also go a long way
toward rekindling your serenity and
sanity. Activities like flying. I
don’t suppose Robert will catch on
to the slow-down movement. He, like so
many others would be on the list for one
of the new personal jets that are in the
aviation news papers these days if he
could afford one. But so far, he’s
contented himself with a faster, piston
engine plane, a homebuilt KR-2. He should
be proud of it too. One day while
crossing the water between Victoria and
Vancouver, a terminal controller
requested he keep his speed up for a Dash
8 right behind. Robert put the
nose down a bit, opened the throttle and
actually outran the bigger airplane.
The pilot was on the radio asking
what engine was in the KR.
“Volkswagen”, Robert answered.
Not another word from the Dash 8.
THE
KR-2, HIGH SPEED HOMEBUILT
My clock on
the wall has no minute or hour hands,
just a second hand going round and round.
The face reads “Island
Time”. So I never know
exactly when it’s time for dinner.
Except I get hungry. Then,
without hurry or pressure, I’ll cook
something I enjoy and take my time eating
it. I’ll pass on Uncle
Ben’s five minute rice .... which by
the way, has been reduced to two minutes
in the microwave. As Lily Tomlin once
said, “For fast acting relief from
stress, try slowing down”.
Barry Meek
at bcflyer@hotmail.com
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As
published in the newsletters of the Thompson
Valley Sport Flying Club
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