Les Maikes, aka Duke Elegant revisited (Merged)
Iconoclast
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Les Maikes, aka Duke Elegant revisited
When I first started reading the Dukes stories I found them extremely interesting and very humorous. What I didn’t know at that time my life would parallel his. In January I was diagnosed with Leukemia. I went through the various chemotherapy and was determined that the Leukemia was in remission. I then entered what is known as consolidation treatment where I would undergo more Chemo spread over a four-month period. This Tuesday I went in for a blood test and was scheduled to enter the second treatment when I was told the Leukemia had returned. Next Wednesday I go back for a blood test and a bone marrow biopsy and then its’ back to some very heavy chemotherapy.
I don’t want to trade on the Dukes passing but with my cancer and my long-term involvement in the aviation industry I felt there was some parallel in our backgrounds. I started in high school and I’m now 74 years old. I have some humorous stories to tell and some that are just interesting. Some of these stories involve my association with the Douglas A-26 Invader, which was a favorite of the Dukes.
In 1947 I lied about my age and joined the Ohio Air National Guard and was assigned to the 112th Bomb Squadron that flew the A-26 out of the Cleveland Airport. I was scheduled to be sent to aerial gunnery school but that was to be several months in the future. I was not given any training on the aircraft not even in how to climb into the rear gunnery compartment. About a week after joining we had an emergency drill to see how fast the squadron members could assemble and get the aircraft launched. I had to travel 17 miles on streetcars and busses so when I arrived most of the crews were waiting for me. I donned my flight suit and ran to the plane. As I said I received no instructions and in climbing into the gunners compartment I did not lock the gun post to the floor and when I climbed up the gun post swung around and I hit my head on the gun post knocking me out. The aircraft was being run up and I fell to the ground and the aircraft taxied away leaving my prostrate form on the taxiway. The pilot just behind us radioed to our pilot telling him “Hey Rocknowski you just dropped a meat bomb on the ground. The procession stopped, I was revived, and then I was told how to climb into the gunners’ compartment.
On another occasion I climbed into the gunners compartment but on this aircraft there were no guns and I had to sit on a plywood floor. The pilot told me that if I wanted to talk to him I was to press the red button. However I was not told where the red button was as it was normally installed on the gun post. In mid flight I wanted to talk to the pilot and I pressed the only red button in sight. THIS red button opened the bomb bay doors and in the process four or five metal strakes projected into the wind stream. The strakes allowed the bombs to drop free with minimal impact from the airstream. Needles to say our airspeed dropped by almost 100 knots.
On another occasion we were participating in the 1947 air races. We were going to demonstrate low level bombing. While we were awaiting our call up we all sat on the ground just in front of the bunting covered railing and the spectators were all sitting behind the railing. The Cleveland Police were there with their horses and horses do what horses do. The ground was covered with road apples. There was a squadron of P-80s that were to fly before us and as they started their run-up they turned as a group and proceeded to the taxiway. As they gunned their engines it was obvious that the road apples were about to become airborne. Seeing this we all jumped over the bunting covered rail and hid from what was about to happen. The people most of whom had never seen a jet all stood up and were splattered with airborne horse sh!t
I don’t want to trade on the Dukes passing but with my cancer and my long-term involvement in the aviation industry I felt there was some parallel in our backgrounds. I started in high school and I’m now 74 years old. I have some humorous stories to tell and some that are just interesting. Some of these stories involve my association with the Douglas A-26 Invader, which was a favorite of the Dukes.
In 1947 I lied about my age and joined the Ohio Air National Guard and was assigned to the 112th Bomb Squadron that flew the A-26 out of the Cleveland Airport. I was scheduled to be sent to aerial gunnery school but that was to be several months in the future. I was not given any training on the aircraft not even in how to climb into the rear gunnery compartment. About a week after joining we had an emergency drill to see how fast the squadron members could assemble and get the aircraft launched. I had to travel 17 miles on streetcars and busses so when I arrived most of the crews were waiting for me. I donned my flight suit and ran to the plane. As I said I received no instructions and in climbing into the gunners compartment I did not lock the gun post to the floor and when I climbed up the gun post swung around and I hit my head on the gun post knocking me out. The aircraft was being run up and I fell to the ground and the aircraft taxied away leaving my prostrate form on the taxiway. The pilot just behind us radioed to our pilot telling him “Hey Rocknowski you just dropped a meat bomb on the ground. The procession stopped, I was revived, and then I was told how to climb into the gunners’ compartment.
On another occasion I climbed into the gunners compartment but on this aircraft there were no guns and I had to sit on a plywood floor. The pilot told me that if I wanted to talk to him I was to press the red button. However I was not told where the red button was as it was normally installed on the gun post. In mid flight I wanted to talk to the pilot and I pressed the only red button in sight. THIS red button opened the bomb bay doors and in the process four or five metal strakes projected into the wind stream. The strakes allowed the bombs to drop free with minimal impact from the airstream. Needles to say our airspeed dropped by almost 100 knots.
On another occasion we were participating in the 1947 air races. We were going to demonstrate low level bombing. While we were awaiting our call up we all sat on the ground just in front of the bunting covered railing and the spectators were all sitting behind the railing. The Cleveland Police were there with their horses and horses do what horses do. The ground was covered with road apples. There was a squadron of P-80s that were to fly before us and as they started their run-up they turned as a group and proceeded to the taxiway. As they gunned their engines it was obvious that the road apples were about to become airborne. Seeing this we all jumped over the bunting covered rail and hid from what was about to happen. The people most of whom had never seen a jet all stood up and were splattered with airborne horse sh!t
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Funny stories!
Those real life stories are the best.
People learn by experience and I guess those spectators learnt to duck after getting to know the flying horse sh!t
Lu, I really think that you should pour your stories out and put them on paper.
Regards,
Heli-Ice
Those real life stories are the best.
People learn by experience and I guess those spectators learnt to duck after getting to know the flying horse sh!t
Lu, I really think that you should pour your stories out and put them on paper.
Regards,
Heli-Ice
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Of course Lu, we are very sad to hear of your illness and very much hope that you will recover.
Your stories are great and you should post more of them. Look forward to them. At this time of the morning I didn't expect that I would be laughing out loud with the 'picture' of a gunner falling out of an A-26. Hilarious.
Keep the stories coming.
Your stories are great and you should post more of them. Look forward to them. At this time of the morning I didn't expect that I would be laughing out loud with the 'picture' of a gunner falling out of an A-26. Hilarious.
Keep the stories coming.
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I didn't know Sid was a drunk until one day I saw him sober
I was a plane captain on a JRF Goose and one-day I was sent on a mission with our engineering officer. He like most of the pilots on our base was a veteran of the Greenland Patrol. These missions were harrowing and boring at the same time and to minimize the effects of flying under these conditions the pilots carried a bottle of engine smoothener in their nav kit. Many of the pilots that participated on these long over water patrols became alcoholics.
Our engineering officer was nicknamed Shaky but I was unaware of the reason for the nickname. That is, until we were halfway through the mission. Our mission was to bring an APU to one of our helicopters that was located on the Niagara river to rescue ice fishermen in the event of the ice breaking away. The remainder of the mission was for cross-country flying from Buffalo, New York to Floyd Bennet field in Brooklyn, New York.
We landed at Buffalo airport and we had to wait for our truck to arrive to pickup the APU. There was about 8 inches of snow on the ground and it was extremely cold. The administration building was not open so we had to wait in the cold. It was during this time I observed Shaky shaking. He had sobered up. When the administration building finally opened Shaky disappeared into the building looking for the bar. It wasn’t open at that early hour so Shaky came to the realization that he was unable to fly. At that time I was promoted from plane captain to pilot. I had been schooled as a part of my training to be able to relieve the pilot but I lacked the necessary skills to pilot the aircraft.
I successfully taxied the aircraft and eventually took off and headed for New York, City. My navigation was a bit sloppy but we finally made it to CGAS Brooklyn, New York. I was setting up for the landing and the tower was providing instructions as to which runway to use. This communication transpired as we passed over the Rockaway Bridge, which screwed up the radio transmission and, I set up on the wrong runway. At this time the control tower was glowing with red aldis lamps. Shaky took over and made a reasonably successful landing.
We stayed overnight and while I was trying to refuel the aircraft Shaky was tanking up at the Officers club. The tanks only needed about 25 gallons apiece and I plugged the nozzle into the tank. The man who was monitoring the tank truck walked away after increasing the engine rpm. He indicated later that the truck would not pump at low rpm. In any case he walked away and the nozzle went wide open filling the tank to overflow in a few seconds. I screamed at the tanker attendant to shut the fuel pump off. In the mean time I pulled the nozzle out of the tank and directed the high-pressure stream over the tail and into a snowbank. While all this was going on my winter flight suit became soaked with 91-octane gasoline
Shaky was able to fly the plane due to his intake of high octane alcohol however my flight suit was soaked in gasoline so we had to fly in the middle of winter with the cockpit windows open and the rear Dutch-doors open to promote circulation. I was wearing my dress blues which offered no protection from the cold. The heaters were ineffective so both Shaky and myself were freezing. It didn’t take much time under these conditions for Shakeys’ buzz to wear off. Once again I was promoted to pilot only this time we were to fly to Philadelphia and then to Cleveland. We successfully arrived at Cleveland where Shaky had an opportunity to tank up and he flew the aircraft back to Traverse City, Michigan.
More to come.
Our engineering officer was nicknamed Shaky but I was unaware of the reason for the nickname. That is, until we were halfway through the mission. Our mission was to bring an APU to one of our helicopters that was located on the Niagara river to rescue ice fishermen in the event of the ice breaking away. The remainder of the mission was for cross-country flying from Buffalo, New York to Floyd Bennet field in Brooklyn, New York.
We landed at Buffalo airport and we had to wait for our truck to arrive to pickup the APU. There was about 8 inches of snow on the ground and it was extremely cold. The administration building was not open so we had to wait in the cold. It was during this time I observed Shaky shaking. He had sobered up. When the administration building finally opened Shaky disappeared into the building looking for the bar. It wasn’t open at that early hour so Shaky came to the realization that he was unable to fly. At that time I was promoted from plane captain to pilot. I had been schooled as a part of my training to be able to relieve the pilot but I lacked the necessary skills to pilot the aircraft.
I successfully taxied the aircraft and eventually took off and headed for New York, City. My navigation was a bit sloppy but we finally made it to CGAS Brooklyn, New York. I was setting up for the landing and the tower was providing instructions as to which runway to use. This communication transpired as we passed over the Rockaway Bridge, which screwed up the radio transmission and, I set up on the wrong runway. At this time the control tower was glowing with red aldis lamps. Shaky took over and made a reasonably successful landing.
We stayed overnight and while I was trying to refuel the aircraft Shaky was tanking up at the Officers club. The tanks only needed about 25 gallons apiece and I plugged the nozzle into the tank. The man who was monitoring the tank truck walked away after increasing the engine rpm. He indicated later that the truck would not pump at low rpm. In any case he walked away and the nozzle went wide open filling the tank to overflow in a few seconds. I screamed at the tanker attendant to shut the fuel pump off. In the mean time I pulled the nozzle out of the tank and directed the high-pressure stream over the tail and into a snowbank. While all this was going on my winter flight suit became soaked with 91-octane gasoline
Shaky was able to fly the plane due to his intake of high octane alcohol however my flight suit was soaked in gasoline so we had to fly in the middle of winter with the cockpit windows open and the rear Dutch-doors open to promote circulation. I was wearing my dress blues which offered no protection from the cold. The heaters were ineffective so both Shaky and myself were freezing. It didn’t take much time under these conditions for Shakeys’ buzz to wear off. Once again I was promoted to pilot only this time we were to fly to Philadelphia and then to Cleveland. We successfully arrived at Cleveland where Shaky had an opportunity to tank up and he flew the aircraft back to Traverse City, Michigan.
More to come.
Lu sorry to hear that the leukemia has returned, good luck with the next course of chemo.
Keep up the stories, it's good to hear about the relative freedom of flight in past and compare it to the current highly regulated environment (especially the UK / Europe) that we now have.
Keep up the stories, it's good to hear about the relative freedom of flight in past and compare it to the current highly regulated environment (especially the UK / Europe) that we now have.
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If you didn't hear the bail-out bell did it really ring?
It was 4:00AM and we were prepping our PBY for a SAR mission. I had been awakened at 2:00AM and I went to bed at 11:00PM the preceding night giving me about 3 hours of sleep. A tug had blown up near Buffalo in Eastern Lake Erie. We were to work in concert with an Air Force B-17 SAR aircraft. When we arrived at the site of the reported explosion it was daylight but there was a very heavy fog cover obscuring the lake surface. It took the Air Force pilot about two hours of flying nearly blind to return to his base at Selfridge Field in Michigan. The Coast Guard pilots decided to press on. We were flying at 500 feet or lower but we could not find any evidence of wreckage or even an oil slick. Our pilots decided to go to the Buffalo airport and refuel and then return to our base in Traverse City, Michigan. I loaded about 1200 gallons of 115/145 octane fuel into the wing tanks, Added some oil to the engine tanks and checked the general condition of the PBY.
Upon starting the engines the pilots realized that I had been on the engineering panel since 4:00AM and it was now 6:00PM. They asked the Chief mechanic to relieve me and he stated that he had a commercial pilot’s license and he would only relieve a pilot. Needles to say the pilot insisted and I was relieved. We had four bunks on the P Boat and I quickly retired to one of the bunks and promptly fell asleep.
On the return trip we encountered severe icing conditions. The exhaust wing warmers were barely able to counter the ice and the gasoline heater in the tail wasn’t doing much better. The props were starting to ice up so the pilots turned on the anti icing alcohol pump, which was located about 4 feet from my bunk. I continued to sleep. Then the pump caught fire and just a few feet from my head the crew was fighting the fire, which was only two feet from the APU fuel tank. I continued to sleep. The ice built up on the props and was slung off in big chunks which hit the left side of the aircraft and in the process broke the navigators window allowing cold air to enter the aircraft and this overpowered the internal gasoline heaters rendering them useless. I continued to sleep. By this time the pilot had rung the bailout bell two times and if he rang it one more time the crew would have to bail out. I continued to sleep.
We had lost some of our radio communications and later the pilot told me that if we had to fly 20-30 miles further we would have crashed. Upon landing I was awakened and told to open the hangar doors allowing the aircraft to taxi into the hangar as opposed to being towed in backwards. When I turned the hard stand lights on I looked at the plane. Two of our radio antennae were hanging over the tail, the aircraft was covered in ice and the left side of the aircraft in the area of the cockpit was severely damaged by ice being thrown from the props.
Since that time I have never been able to sleep on an aircraft.
Upon starting the engines the pilots realized that I had been on the engineering panel since 4:00AM and it was now 6:00PM. They asked the Chief mechanic to relieve me and he stated that he had a commercial pilot’s license and he would only relieve a pilot. Needles to say the pilot insisted and I was relieved. We had four bunks on the P Boat and I quickly retired to one of the bunks and promptly fell asleep.
On the return trip we encountered severe icing conditions. The exhaust wing warmers were barely able to counter the ice and the gasoline heater in the tail wasn’t doing much better. The props were starting to ice up so the pilots turned on the anti icing alcohol pump, which was located about 4 feet from my bunk. I continued to sleep. Then the pump caught fire and just a few feet from my head the crew was fighting the fire, which was only two feet from the APU fuel tank. I continued to sleep. The ice built up on the props and was slung off in big chunks which hit the left side of the aircraft and in the process broke the navigators window allowing cold air to enter the aircraft and this overpowered the internal gasoline heaters rendering them useless. I continued to sleep. By this time the pilot had rung the bailout bell two times and if he rang it one more time the crew would have to bail out. I continued to sleep.
We had lost some of our radio communications and later the pilot told me that if we had to fly 20-30 miles further we would have crashed. Upon landing I was awakened and told to open the hangar doors allowing the aircraft to taxi into the hangar as opposed to being towed in backwards. When I turned the hard stand lights on I looked at the plane. Two of our radio antennae were hanging over the tail, the aircraft was covered in ice and the left side of the aircraft in the area of the cockpit was severely damaged by ice being thrown from the props.
Since that time I have never been able to sleep on an aircraft.
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Thanks for taking the time to post such hilarious stories 
Regarding Heli-Ice's suggestion - if you decide to compile them into a book, there’s little doubt in my mind that the book would prove popular.
Sorry to hear about the illness. I wish you all the best with the treatment
Regarding Heli-Ice's suggestion - if you decide to compile them into a book, there’s little doubt in my mind that the book would prove popular.Sorry to hear about the illness. I wish you all the best with the treatment
'In 1947 I lied about my age and joined the Ohio Air National Guard '
Just for interest, as this was two years after the end of the war, why did you lie about your age to join up early?, what was the motivation?, and how come they didnt find out?, or what did they do when they did?
Just for interest, as this was two years after the end of the war, why did you lie about your age to join up early?, what was the motivation?, and how come they didnt find out?, or what did they do when they did?
Iconoclast
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Poor choice of words.
To: jumpseater
Actually it was a continuation of the original lie I told to get into the Ohio State Guard. I lied about my age to get into the State Guard, which was the state militia, that took over when the National Guard was federalized. I had been in the State Guard for almost two years before the war ended and the National Guard was de federalized and I was given the opportunity to join. At fifteen I was guarding Italian war prisoners at Camp Perry. Actually the biggest lie was that I never told myparents of my involvement. I even tried to join the RCAF but I was two days late as they had stopped taking Americans for flight training.
The Ohio National Guard simply accepted my paperwork from the State Guard and I stayed in until I reached my seventeenth birthday at which time I joined the Coast Guard.
Actually it was a continuation of the original lie I told to get into the Ohio State Guard. I lied about my age to get into the State Guard, which was the state militia, that took over when the National Guard was federalized. I had been in the State Guard for almost two years before the war ended and the National Guard was de federalized and I was given the opportunity to join. At fifteen I was guarding Italian war prisoners at Camp Perry. Actually the biggest lie was that I never told myparents of my involvement. I even tried to join the RCAF but I was two days late as they had stopped taking Americans for flight training.
The Ohio National Guard simply accepted my paperwork from the State Guard and I stayed in until I reached my seventeenth birthday at which time I joined the Coast Guard.
Last edited by Lu Zuckerman; 12th Jun 2005 at 17:33.
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Lu.
My very first thought when I read your first paragraph was - Oh god, not another one... And I mean that in the sincerest way possible. Much as I loved reading Duke's stories, it was always with a tinge of sadness knowing that the only reason Duke was sharing his tales was because of his illness.
So, although your tales are every bit as readable and enjoyable as the late Duke's, if you don't mind I shall read them while offering up a prayer for your recovery.
I've never met you, and purely for geographical reasons I probably never will. But that doesn't stop me from wishing you all the very best of luck in your fight, sir.
BM
My very first thought when I read your first paragraph was - Oh god, not another one... And I mean that in the sincerest way possible. Much as I loved reading Duke's stories, it was always with a tinge of sadness knowing that the only reason Duke was sharing his tales was because of his illness.
So, although your tales are every bit as readable and enjoyable as the late Duke's, if you don't mind I shall read them while offering up a prayer for your recovery.
I've never met you, and purely for geographical reasons I probably never will. But that doesn't stop me from wishing you all the very best of luck in your fight, sir.
BM
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Look, there's a Bear.
It was not a scary moment for me but from the pilots’ point of view we were ready to crash.
Here is my experience relative to a “forced” landing.
I was flight mechanic on a Bell HTL-1 (early model 47) and we were returning from an assignment on a Coast Guard Icebreaker to our base in Traverse City, Michigan. We had a leaky tail rotor gearbox so every fifty miles or so we would land and I would fill up the gearbox with of all things, fish oil. Very smelly stuff. My pilot, who had been involved in several crashes, was easily freaked out.
While flying in the left seat I was holding the oil can between my legs and reading a map. We were about twenty minutes out when the pilot saw a bear. He very excitedly told me to look. When I leaned over, my legs spread and the can hit the deck making a loud bang. The pilot thought there was something wrong with the tail rotor gearbox and he made a quick turn looking for a spot to land. In the process of making his maneuver he really made a hard over. On that particular helicopter type when there was an excessive side load on the mast it would cause the planetary gears to really growl.
Upon hearing that, he really wanted to get on the ground. He picked out a landing spot in front of what we later found out was a veterinarians office. To get from where we were to that landing spot we had to pass over a turkey farm and in the process we made the turkeys stampede and over 100 birds were killed in the pileup at the fence surrounding the turkey farm.
Oh yes, in the process of landing, we took out the vets' telephone line.
Here is my experience relative to a “forced” landing.
I was flight mechanic on a Bell HTL-1 (early model 47) and we were returning from an assignment on a Coast Guard Icebreaker to our base in Traverse City, Michigan. We had a leaky tail rotor gearbox so every fifty miles or so we would land and I would fill up the gearbox with of all things, fish oil. Very smelly stuff. My pilot, who had been involved in several crashes, was easily freaked out.
While flying in the left seat I was holding the oil can between my legs and reading a map. We were about twenty minutes out when the pilot saw a bear. He very excitedly told me to look. When I leaned over, my legs spread and the can hit the deck making a loud bang. The pilot thought there was something wrong with the tail rotor gearbox and he made a quick turn looking for a spot to land. In the process of making his maneuver he really made a hard over. On that particular helicopter type when there was an excessive side load on the mast it would cause the planetary gears to really growl.
Upon hearing that, he really wanted to get on the ground. He picked out a landing spot in front of what we later found out was a veterinarians office. To get from where we were to that landing spot we had to pass over a turkey farm and in the process we made the turkeys stampede and over 100 birds were killed in the pileup at the fence surrounding the turkey farm.
Oh yes, in the process of landing, we took out the vets' telephone line.
I talked with Lu earlier this evening. He's completed the latest chemotherapy treatment, and he's about to undergo more medical treatment to help rebuild his white cell count. He's a little weak, obviously, but he's in good spirits.
He has a rather novel way of psyching himself up. He's decided to call his disease Sidney. He tells me that every night before he falls asleep, he looks at the empty chair across the room, imagines he can see Sidney sitting there, and says "F*** you, Sidney!"
He has a rather novel way of psyching himself up. He's decided to call his disease Sidney. He tells me that every night before he falls asleep, he looks at the empty chair across the room, imagines he can see Sidney sitting there, and says "F*** you, Sidney!"
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pigboat
Please tell Lu his latest adventure in the Bell made me laugh my head off.
Get well soon, Lu.
BOFH
Please tell Lu his latest adventure in the Bell made me laugh my head off.
Get well soon, Lu.
BOFH
Last edited by BOFH; 3rd Jul 2005 at 22:26.
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The Sidney business makes perfect sense to me - keep your pecker up Lu, and keep the stories coming.
Treadders
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Just read in - thanks Lu - great stories so far and I hope you soon feel up to writing a few more (I actually mean a LOT more but don't want to appear greedy) I have always wanted to fly/fly in an amphib/seaplane so am totally enthralled ... also, as LowNSlow said the idea of flying so freely (compared with the restrictions imposed in SE England these days) is just bliss to imagine!
oh and yeah **** Off Sidney!!!! (I think that might be first time I have sworn on proon 
).
I have always wanted to fly/fly in an amphib/seaplane so am totally enthralled ... also, as LowNSlow said the idea of flying so freely (compared with the restrictions imposed in SE England these days) is just bliss to imagine! oh and yeah **** Off Sidney!!!!
(I think that might be first time I have sworn on proon ).
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Did anyone catch Lu on Channel 5 last night? (Documentary on the A330 that glided in after losing power). I was surprised to see such a serious documentary on C5 – it made a change from "Glamour girls with rotweillers" / "When reptiles go bad" / "I married a goat" etc
I look forward to more memoir instalments, and wish Lu all the best in vanquishing Sidney
I look forward to more memoir instalments, and wish Lu all the best in vanquishing Sidney
I talked to Lu about an hour and a half ago. He'd like to thank those who expressed their good wishes. It means a lot to him.
Brocky, I think the gods of PPRuNe will forgive you.
WG774, what did you think of his collection of model aircraft? You only saw about half of them. There's a closet ful of helicopters that wasn't shown.
**** you Sidney.
Brocky, I think the gods of PPRuNe will forgive you.
WG774, what did you think of his collection of model aircraft? You only saw about half of them. There's a closet ful of helicopters that wasn't shown.
**** you Sidney.
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Wow! I didn't realise that was Lu's collection! I just thought that, in keeping with many documentaries, they interviewed him in an environment roughly "in keeping" with his profession, i.e. a room at a design studio or suchlike.
It was a brief glimpse, but from what I could make out it appeared Lu has a rather serious collection! Does he have a model of an FD2? Any pictures?
B***er off Sidney!
It was a brief glimpse, but from what I could make out it appeared Lu has a rather serious collection! Does he have a model of an FD2?
Any pictures?B***er off Sidney!
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Lu 's collection
Hello, my name is Lyne and I'm Lu daughter
My father has a very big collection and I will try to get pictures to post to you , he had made a full closet of glass and he has about 300 to 500 airplanes and pictures and very amusing memories .
I've being trying to encourage him to put down all his memories on papers so he can edit them .I'm sure a lot of peoples would be interested in reading about all of his experiences.
My father is a fighter and a very courageous man, his wisdom is great, his tenderness is the best thing that I have.
Let me tell you a story about Lu.
I've meet him in the beginning of the 90's, he was here in Canada for work on a contrat for about 6 months, I was his hairdresser and one day I was showing pictures of my family(mother, brother& friend) ,he was sitting on my chair and then he saw a picture of my mother, asked who she was and wanted to meet her, so that same night I called my mother told her about what Lu said and then the next day gave my mother phone # to Lu.
They meet and 1 year later got married and Lu stayed here with us.(I'm still waiting for my 10% of commission) ha ha ha joke with Lu.Then I started calling Lu "my almost Daddy")
When I've learned about Lu illness, I was thrown out of my chair,
having lost my real father in 2000 of lung cancer, Lu became for me a different kind of father.
Life gave me the opportunity to have both side of having a father.
I love my real father but Lu showed me the other side, the side of being kind, tender, loving, wise in his response , no judging of his part for anything but giving really good advise and the most important just caring and respecting what we have to say and when ruff times arrived just taking me in his arms and allowing me to cry and have a shoulder.
During his first treatment, Lu asked me to become his daughter , I'm so privilegous, it is a honnor for me to be call his daughter.
And his heart is so big and so honest that no words are good enough to express what he means to me and my family.
His is there always to encourage us and his grandkids to do the best that we can that now it is our turns just to be there for him and encourage him to fight this illness(f...you Sidney).
With out him knowing what he means in my life, I would like to honnor him and let you know what a wonderful human being he is.
I pray for his recovery and long life with all of us .Because we all need to learn more good thing from him.
My father has a very big collection and I will try to get pictures to post to you , he had made a full closet of glass and he has about 300 to 500 airplanes and pictures and very amusing memories .
I've being trying to encourage him to put down all his memories on papers so he can edit them .I'm sure a lot of peoples would be interested in reading about all of his experiences.
My father is a fighter and a very courageous man, his wisdom is great, his tenderness is the best thing that I have.
Let me tell you a story about Lu.
I've meet him in the beginning of the 90's, he was here in Canada for work on a contrat for about 6 months, I was his hairdresser and one day I was showing pictures of my family(mother, brother& friend) ,he was sitting on my chair and then he saw a picture of my mother, asked who she was and wanted to meet her, so that same night I called my mother told her about what Lu said and then the next day gave my mother phone # to Lu.
They meet and 1 year later got married and Lu stayed here with us.(I'm still waiting for my 10% of commission) ha ha ha joke with Lu.Then I started calling Lu "my almost Daddy")
When I've learned about Lu illness, I was thrown out of my chair,
having lost my real father in 2000 of lung cancer, Lu became for me a different kind of father.
Life gave me the opportunity to have both side of having a father.
I love my real father but Lu showed me the other side, the side of being kind, tender, loving, wise in his response , no judging of his part for anything but giving really good advise and the most important just caring and respecting what we have to say and when ruff times arrived just taking me in his arms and allowing me to cry and have a shoulder.
During his first treatment, Lu asked me to become his daughter , I'm so privilegous, it is a honnor for me to be call his daughter.
And his heart is so big and so honest that no words are good enough to express what he means to me and my family.
His is there always to encourage us and his grandkids to do the best that we can that now it is our turns just to be there for him and encourage him to fight this illness(f...you Sidney).
With out him knowing what he means in my life, I would like to honnor him and let you know what a wonderful human being he is.
I pray for his recovery and long life with all of us .Because we all need to learn more good thing from him.