Since yesterday's post about by desire for a little red biplane, I have been greatly amused by the response — people going out of their way to track me down and convince me that I do not want an airplane. There's several things about all this that I find very amusing:
- People think I'm going to run right out and buy an airplane. Maybe it's the motorcycle — my judgment is obviously so far gone that I'm liable to try to do anything I dream up, regardless of the cost or consequences.
- People telling me what I want. How do you know what I want? No, really? Do I know myself that badly, and you know me so well, that you can tell me what I want? If you wish to say, "I don't think this is wise" or "Have you considered these factors?" or "I personally would want..." ...that's fine, but people telling me that I don't want one thing and want something else instead is laughable. It's even more amusing when they tell me what I do want, and they're very, very, very wrong.
- People think I have the means to do this. Ummm... sorry. Not now. Not on this budget. I don't think I could even pull off the $3000 or so that would be necessary to get my license, let alone insurance, or the cost of the aircraft itself. Of course, you might not know that. Or you might assume that, given the fact that I've bought a house, financed my college education, a motorcycle, and maintain a few cars that I might somehow see aircraft ownership as financially feasible. I don't. That's why I was asking for handouts, you see. :-)
- It's obvious some of these people who have gone out of their way to talk me out of this have done their research. This leads me to conclude one of two things:
- They've looked into this because they themselves wanted to do it, made a decision based on that data, and now want to convince me that their decision was the only logical choice, or;
- They saw that I wanted to do it, decided that was a bad idea, and went looking for evidence to support their claim.
Why do people do either of these things? - They think they will impress me with anecdotes I haven't heard before. Come on, folks. Case in point: I ride a motorcycle. I know they call them "donorcycles" in the emergency room. Everybody has some cousin of a relative of a next door neighbor that got hurt on one. Do you think I'm going to be so wowed by the statement that "You can't pull over by the side of the road when you're in the air" or "It's not a matter of if your engine fails, but when" that I'm just going to drop the whole idea? Do you?
The other possibility, of course, is that I am indeed insane, irresponsible, a risk-taker, and that I don't listen to advice from anyone. :-)
Now, where have I heard that before...?
4 comments:
> Maybe it's the motorcycle — my judgment is obviously so far gone
That's funny, but no. A motorcycle is not in even vaguely the same category as an airplane. Motorcycles are really only a little more dangerous than cars, and they cost a lot less. (Of course, "only a little more dangerous than cars" is a bit like saying "only a little more fattening than bacon".)
> People think I have the means to do this.
Cultural difference. You live within your means, partly because neither you nor your spouse was raised in the US. Americans who have the sense to not buy what they can't afford are as rare as hens' teeth. Around here, people who can't quite make their credit card payments will nonetheless go out and charge a new DVD on their credit card simply because they want it. Twenty thousand for a biplane and license and such would be trickier to come up with, but if they wanted it bad enough they'd just go get another couple of credit cards and make it happen. This is not an aspect of American culture that I suggest you adopt, incidentally. It makes people quite miserable over the long run. But if people think you could actually go out and buy a biplane, this is why.
> The other possibility, of course, is that I am indeed insane,
Let me cut you in on a little secret: everyone's insane. It's just a question of which particular variety of insanity you have.
> irresponsible,
No.
> a risk-taker,
Yes. Well, somewhat.
*Flying* a biplane *is* something I can see you doing.
> and that I don't listen to advice from anyone. :-)
People only take advice when it's advice they've *asked* for. Sometimes not even then, but certainly not at any other time.
>Motorcycles are really only a little more dangerous than cars, and they cost a lot less. (Of course, "only a little more dangerous than cars" is a bit like saying "only a little more fattening than bacon".)
I laughed out loud at this. I really did.
Of course, the bit about the cost isn't always true; car or even a biplane seem like perfectly reasonable purchases next to, say, a Vyrus 984---a $68,000 motorcycle that I'm legally licensed to operate, should I ever find someone willing to let me.
> *Flying* a biplane *is* something I can see you doing.
Yeah, me too. Perhaps I should check into this whole "sport pilot" certification that I've been hearing so much about...
> Of course, the bit about the cost isn't always true; car or even
> a biplane seem like perfectly reasonable purchases next to, say,
> a Vyrus 984---a $68,000 motorcycle that I'm legally licensed to
> operate, should I ever find someone willing to let me.
Somehow, I don't see you owning one of those. You'd think of too many things to do with what's left over from $68,000 after buying a more affordable motorcycle. I mean, just think of the aquarium equipment you could buy with that kind of money!
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