Got Friends?

[Mike Bargman]

OK Crew...time to get a little on the mushy side. OK, maybe not too mushy. Something that has totally hit home with me this past couple weeks. I don't have a CLUE where I would be in this hobby without all my friends. Here's the scoop...I still live with my parents. I'm saving every cent I can to buy a house after the business I work for moves to our new airport in December. After that settles in, I plan on buying a house closer to my job. I simply refuse to rent. To me, it's like throwing money out the window. So, since I still live at home, I have NO WHERE to build anything. 2 years ago, when I bought my 35% AW 260, I took over the living room for over 2 weeks. I did everything in the living room, cut the cowl, mounted the motor...everything! Now, my parents were very understanding...NOT! They couldn't stand the fact that they had a toy airplane the size of a small vehicle in the living room especially with the Dremel going and the drill being used and the rancid smell of curing epoxy in the air. I can't even build a foamy correctly because of a lack of a proper building table.

Well, a little over a year ago, my buddy Dan Wilson and his wife Emily and their 2 year old son, now over 3 years old, Joseph, moved into a new house really close by. Practically within a good yell out the back door. When Dan got the house, the biggest thing I noticed was how big the garage (sorry, SHOP) was. 2 car garage with an oversized door. Dan was so excited to turn that garage into THE SHOP. As I recall, he had his minivan unloaded into the "shop" the day they moved in and my first words were "Don't let Em see this...she'll freak when she sees all the airplanes. hehe!" (Yes, Emily, I know you'll be reading this, so don't roll your eyes at me. )

After they moved in, it was get togethers, build sessions, GUITAR HERO sessions, fires in the fire pit in the back yard with beer and Slyders from White Castle and more build sessions. Dan has an old full size pool table with a giant piece of MDF board on it as a building surface. It's REALLY NICE! Lots of room! He hung all the planes on the ceiling and he even put the tails of a couple of...ahem..."loss's"... on the wall.

Nothing bad can be said about a buddy who offers up his shop to anything I need done. If there's a project, I get a text message "Stoppin' by?...shop session.?" Always something to do, ya know? When I bought my Dalton from Jon Leyland, it went right to Dan's house and got propped up on the table and we went to work on it. When it had problems, it went up on the table to get work done. Dan has every single tool you could think of as well. If I need it, it's there. I don't have room for tools or supplies at my house, so it all goes to the shop. Anytime I think of any shop supplies like glue, sandpaper, zip ties, kicker, etc...I'll grab it and drop it off at Dan's. It's the least I can do to help "stock" the shop.

About 3 weeks ago, I decided to sell my Dalton and downsize a little. I picked up a Dawghouse R/C Yak 55SP. I still had the Dalton in my truck so I couldn't even get the box of the Yak home. Dan came to where I work and brought the box to the shop for me with his minivan. He stored it there until I could start buying stuffing for the Yak. Once I got all the supplies, the box got opened and we went to work on the Yak. Popped open a couple beers, turned on some baseball games, open garage door when the weather was good and leisurely put together the Yak. I'd stop over there after work and do a couple of things here and there and Emily would usually invite me to dinner. It got to a point one night where she just asked me how many hot dogs I wanted...she just assumed that I was staying. (Yes, of course I was.) I refer to them as my second family and Emily refers to me as her pseudo pretend husband. It's pretty funny. I swear, in the last month, I've spent more time at Dan and Emily's than I have at home. Well, this weekend, we finally finished my Yak and buttoned it up and tonight, Dan took both planes out and took pictures of his EF Yak and mine next to it to see how they compared in size. Not too bad! They look great and I can't wait to maiden that thing.

With all of that said, I just thought I'd use my Staff privileges here on FG to throw some big props to my buddies, Dan Wilson and his wife Emily. That airplane easily could have been finished in a couple of nights, but it took 3 weeks, couple cases of beer, lots of food, laughs and songs on Guitar Hero to finish it. If you're not having fun while you're putting planes together or working on projects with friends, I can't imagine you're having too much fun in the hobby. I just don't see the fun without friends in the hobby. It's the only reason I'm still in it...the friendships. Thanks, Dan and Emily and Joseph...oh yeah and my two disciples, Stuka the Rotweiler and Gunner the German Shepherd!

[Mike Bargman]

More pics...

[TheTank]

Nice outfits! DAAAAAAAAAAAA BEARS!

Your 100% Right Mikey, is 100% about the friends for me in this hobby! I have met tons of great people over the years!

["X" Rated]

Its GOOD to have GREAT friends!!!! Keep the Dalton though. Good luck with your new Yak.

[Mike Bargman]

Dalton is sold.

That pic was taken on Halloween. We were Da Superfans...

I do believe Dan and I pretty much polished off a half gallon of Capt. Morgan...

[Vic3D]

Brian Urlacher=Beast.

[klhoard]

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OK, am I the only one that finds it "just a little" inconsiderate to not only claim rent-free squatters rights to your parents house, but then build a giant scale in their living room and complain that they aren't providing a proper building space?
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I could be wrong. . .
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[NCFRgal]

	Quote: Originally Posted by klhoard
	. OK, am I the only one that finds it "just a little" inconsiderate to not only claim rent-free squatters rights to your parents house, but then build a giant scale in their living room and complain that they aren't providing a proper building space? I could be wrong. . . .

Keith,

I don't think that Mike was "complaining" that his parents didn't "provide a proper building space", I think he was just setting up a little history for his story. Besides, that is not the point of this thread. Mike is a genuinely appreciative person and wanted to give "props" to people who have helped him out.

Mike,

You hit the nail on the head my friend. Why else would we travel 300 miles for a weekend contest, stand in the heat (or cold--cause we get both) in the middle of a cornfield in the middle of nowhere, every weekend if it weren't for our friends?? I will echo a previous post by saying that Will and I have made some really great friends through RC--you included. What is more fun than sitting back on Saturday night after a hard day of flying, relaxing with a cold one and joking about our unknowns (usually watching Mike burn his)? I really miss that during the winter. I know it will be difficult for you, but I hope to see you out and about a little this year. If not, you could at least be the recipient of the "Saturday night NCFR phone calls"!!

Marian

[Wayne]

	Quote: Originally Posted by klhoard
	. . OK, am I the only one that finds it "just a little" inconsiderate to not only claim rent-free squatters rights to your parents house, but then build a giant scale in their living room and complain that they aren't providing a proper building space? . . I could be wrong. . . . .

You gotta be kidding me...

[Mike Bargman]

Dude,

I'm not complaining AT ALL!!! I love my parents and just for the record, my stay with them is NOT rent-free. I pay most of the bills. Gas, Cable, Internet, Phone, Lawn Care and half of groceries. I was merely setting up the story, bro. No ill-intentions there AT ALL!!

[Wayne]

Mike,

You didnt need to explain yourself.
Anyone that has met you or knows you personally knows the deal.

Some people just have to post negative stuff just to see their name on a computer screen. Sad.

[DKnippen]

Very nice write up Mikey. This hobby is all about the bonds and friendships we build while were in the hobby. Matter of fact the only friends I have are in this hobby.