Kobe is king here in L.A. He meant so much to all of us. And you're right, he should not have been flying that helicopter. He got all his requisite certifications, yada yada, but he was a hobby amateur pilot. Real pilots know about the fog that was there, and the way the machine handles in the extra pressure of fog, and how to handle such low visibility. A man who can afford a pilot, should hire one when he ferries 9 people. I'm all for getting your own maching and flying it maybe with a friend or two. He got his certifications and they wanted to sell him the most expensive machine they could. There's blood on many hands in this situation, and lessons to be learned. If 9 people need to be transported, you need a near professional, former professional or current professional to fly them, period.
I am not a fan of spectator sports but this man appears to be very popular and for lots of good reasons. Talking to a buddy last night, it would seem that Kobe has lots of admiring fans up here in Canada. Sad.
I have been up and down numerous times in small helicopters, especially many decades ago while slashing seismic lines for oil and gas exploration in the Canadian Rocky mountains — both in SE British Columbia and SW Alberta. Back in those days, large straight lanes were still cleared with chain saws. These days, the jug lines are run around and in between trees, a major improvement. Clear cut seismic lines can have negative ecological impacts. I digress.
Our camp helicopter pilot had an accident and ended up spending several weeks recovering in hospital. The stats of helicopters are not pretty — it is the most dangerous form of modern transportation. I believe helicopter use is even more dangerous in mountain ranges due to shifting winds.
It is indeed spectacular to fly around the Rockies in a helicopter but frankly if I never get in one again I will be very, very happy.
Every helicopter pilot I've met has been cautious to a fault, and it sounds like this company is no exception. And yet they were flying VFR in fog, when other helicopters were grounded. The pressure to not "be the bad guy" and tell Kobe you can't fly must be immense.
David Olney . Olney died of an apparent heart attack during a performance onstage at the 30A Songwriter Festival in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, on January 18, 2020, at age 71. He was in the middle of his third song "when he stopped, apologized and shut his eyes," Amy Rigby said of Olney. "David was playing a song when he paused, said 'I'm sorry' and put his chin to his chest. He never dropped his guitar or fell off his stool. It was as easy and gentle as he was," fellow singer Scott Miller said. . Olney was a revered figure in the folk-rock and Americana communities who had recorded 20 albums of his own as well as having his songs covered by Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, Del McCoury and his former roommate Steve Earle.
WTH?!? I just watched the video for "Subdivisions" the other night on YouTube. I have no real knowledge of drumming but his work always seemed crisp, precise and integrated with the other instruments.
From 1959-62, he generated some notoriety by pretending to be G. Clifford Prout Jr., the president of the Society for Indecency to Naked Animals (SINA). Henry called the prank organization 'a parody of uptight, silly morality chasers.' (Slogans included 'A nude horse is a rude horse.') But Walter Cronkite, who broadcast a serious segment on SINA for CBS News, never forgave Henry for not letting him in on the joke."
I hope those who were harmed by him can learn to forgive him. I hope he learned how to experience forgiveness.
In addition to his transgressions wiki has this, in so as far as perspective goes: Up to the time of his death, Imus had been famously known for his contribution to private charity work.<105> He raised millions for the rehabilitation of wounded veterans of the Iraq war and for children with cancer and siblings of victims of sudden infant death syndrome, who had spent summers since 1999 on his ranch near Ribera, New Mexico.<105>
Imus Ranch
In 1999, Imus and Deirdre founded the Imus Ranch, a working 4,000-acre (16 km2) cattle ranch near Ribera, New Mexico, 50 miles (80 km) southeast of Santa Fe, for children with cancer and siblings of SIDS victims and children with sickle cell anemia. .<106> Until its closing in 2014, the Imus family volunteered their time at the Imus Ranch between Memorial Day and Labor Day each year. Imus continued his broadcasts from a studio there, while the rest of his cast broadcast from New York.
Wow, it's almost as if the world is made up of shades of gray.
