Posted by Dan_nO |
08-31-2007 @ 11:15 AM | 38,157 Views
A little about my life.
A couple of famous quotes from the Movie Forrest Gump...
Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." "You have to do the best with what God gave you".
I got married when i was 19, wife gave birth to Brendan when I was 26 years old. Had always dreamed of having a little boy and God blessed the both of us with him, we named him Brendan. I just as many guys having a little boy, always had thoughts and dreams of things that I would take him and do when he got older, sometimes putting off taking him with me to go to town to pick something up or to go see a buddy and trying to keep up with him toddling around, always thinking 'one of these days' he will be older and I will start taking him with me then.
Those dreams I always had of doing certain things with him like going down on the creek bank and hiking and stuff never came.
August 29th, 1994. I got up that morning just as I always did and got ready for work, just another day as all the others, we all get into things being a routine. Little did I know that before the day was over with that my life would be changed forever. After work that day, I went to see my mom at the hospital as she had had surgery that day, I didnt stay long as she still hadnt woken up much from surgery, and i was in a hurry to go and help someone put tobacco in a barn to earn some extra money for a sway control bar for a camper we had to make it safer to pull for a trip we were going on.
We loaded up a bunch of wagons and headed to the barn, I climbed all the way to the top tier of the barn 32 feet up and we started unloading and hanging the tobacco. The guy I was helping had his 11 year old son in the barn and he was up there next to me, this wasnt uncommon for farmers to have their kids doing stuff like that at this age, its been done for generations.
We got to a point where he was next to me and he accidently bumped my foot knocking it from the rail and i fell 32 feet to the ground breaking my back. I knew that things werent good not being able to feel anything from my hips down and the severe pain in my back.
I was air lifted to the University of Kentucky where I had surgery and them putting rods in my back and then onto Cardinal Hills Rehabilitation Center for rehab for several months before returning home.
Just in an instant my life had been changed forever and it would never be the same.
I went through dealing with a lot more surgeries from complications and infection, of depression, anger and frustration not being able to get around and do the things I once did, such simple things that we never give any thought to that was near impossible now...lots of thoughts as to "why me ", as we all sometimes do, it is something that I will never know.
Brendan turned 3 just a week after my accident, he doesnt ever remember me walking or the way I used to be, other than by video tapes we have of him and me together before the accident. It put a lot of undue stress on the marriage and got to the point it was just to much and 20 months after my accident it led to a divorce.
Its changed my life a bunch to say the least, I dont take things for granted as I use to, we are all guilty of that, I show and express emotions and feelings now where I didnt use to like most guys dont, even though there was a lot of bad things to happen due to my accident, there have been a lot of good things come from it also.
It made me realize how special and precious life really is, how we should cheerish and respect others that we care about and treat and talk to them the way we would like to be. It has brought a lot of people into my life and also Brendans that otherwise probably wouldnt have been here.
Time to start living again and getting on with life after the accident and all that happened. I needed a place to live. After looking at many houses to remodel and figuring the cost, it was cheaper to build a new one the way I needed it for a wheelchair. My family came to me and said, if you buy a piece of property and get the materials, the family has talked and we will build you a house ! I come from a large family, on my moms side that existed of 11 siblings, and most all of them have at least two kids a piece or more, so I have a bunch of cousins !
We started building the house in November 1996, uncles coming and helping my dad and me everyday, my aunts all taking turns cooking and bringing something for lunch everyday, weekends cousins came and we put all of the roof on in one day, insulated the whole house another weekend, it didnt take long with large groups being here at one time. During the time we were building, one of my Aunts, Barbara Sue, she wrote a poem about us building the house, it was called " The House That Love Built "
The House That Love Built
This is the house that Danny built, most homes would pale in compare.
Yes, this is the house that Danny built, without ever leaving his chair.
You see, he was the foreman, of a very motley crew. Sometimes they didnt agree with him, but they would do what he said to do.
Id didnt go up in a hurry, there were many plans to survey. Someone said you"ll never make it, but they did it anyway.
Yes, this is the house that Danny built, it was put together board by board. Only by the help of a loving family, and a lot of grace from the Lord.
We hope that you"ll be happy,
in your new home designed,
by your specifications,
with you and Bren in mind.
Now go on and start with living well, you deserve a thing or two.
Someday when you're not too busy, have us all over for a barbeque.
No matter where God leads us,
He's there to help us along.
With love and Prayers and family, you"ll always be happy in your new home.
1997 just a couple of weeks before Christmas the house was finished, I got enough furniture for it to be moved into and Brendan spent Christmas with me that year, it was really special.
Over time I have over come a lot of obsticles, just figuring out ways to do things differently so I can still do some of the things I used to without help, but at times I still have to ask for help.
Two of my friends got me back into flying after the house was finished, it was a lot different. Brendan would go to the field with me but didnt want to fly, but this would all change as he got older.
In my life being changed the way it has and taking me down a different path in life to a lot of different places, it has brought a lot of you here on the Giants into my life which wouldnt be in it if it hadnt have been for my accident.
Even though its tough at times day to day, I wouldnt trade the situation for the world, because without it, I wouldnt have a lot of great people in my life that I have met in person here on the Giants, and some that I talk to that I havent yet met in person, but each and every one of you have played a special part in my life and I thank each and every one of you for being here.
I have been blessed in having my accident that I have the relationship with Brendan that I do and we have been able to do what we are doing together.
A couple of famous quotes from the Movie Forrest Gump...
Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." "You have to do the best with what God gave you".
I got married when i was 19, wife gave birth to Brendan when I was 26 years old. Had always dreamed of having a little boy and God blessed the both of us with him, we named him Brendan. I just as many guys having a little boy, always had thoughts and dreams of things that I would take him and do when he got older, sometimes putting off taking him with me to go to town to pick something up or to go see a buddy and trying to keep up with him toddling around, always thinking 'one of these days' he will be older and I will start taking him with me then.
Those dreams I always had of doing certain things with him like going down on the creek bank and hiking and stuff never came.
August 29th, 1994. I got up that morning just as I always did and got ready for work, just another day as all the others, we all get into things being a routine. Little did I know that before the day was over with that my life would be changed forever. After work that day, I went to see my mom at the hospital as she had had surgery that day, I didnt stay long as she still hadnt woken up much from surgery, and i was in a hurry to go and help someone put tobacco in a barn to earn some extra money for a sway control bar for a camper we had to make it safer to pull for a trip we were going on.
We loaded up a bunch of wagons and headed to the barn, I climbed all the way to the top tier of the barn 32 feet up and we started unloading and hanging the tobacco. The guy I was helping had his 11 year old son in the barn and he was up there next to me, this wasnt uncommon for farmers to have their kids doing stuff like that at this age, its been done for generations.
We got to a point where he was next to me and he accidently bumped my foot knocking it from the rail and i fell 32 feet to the ground breaking my back. I knew that things werent good not being able to feel anything from my hips down and the severe pain in my back.
I was air lifted to the University of Kentucky where I had surgery and them putting rods in my back and then onto Cardinal Hills Rehabilitation Center for rehab for several months before returning home.
Just in an instant my life had been changed forever and it would never be the same.
I went through dealing with a lot more surgeries from complications and infection, of depression, anger and frustration not being able to get around and do the things I once did, such simple things that we never give any thought to that was near impossible now...lots of thoughts as to "why me ", as we all sometimes do, it is something that I will never know.
Brendan turned 3 just a week after my accident, he doesnt ever remember me walking or the way I used to be, other than by video tapes we have of him and me together before the accident. It put a lot of undue stress on the marriage and got to the point it was just to much and 20 months after my accident it led to a divorce.
Its changed my life a bunch to say the least, I dont take things for granted as I use to, we are all guilty of that, I show and express emotions and feelings now where I didnt use to like most guys dont, even though there was a lot of bad things to happen due to my accident, there have been a lot of good things come from it also.
It made me realize how special and precious life really is, how we should cheerish and respect others that we care about and treat and talk to them the way we would like to be. It has brought a lot of people into my life and also Brendans that otherwise probably wouldnt have been here.
Time to start living again and getting on with life after the accident and all that happened. I needed a place to live. After looking at many houses to remodel and figuring the cost, it was cheaper to build a new one the way I needed it for a wheelchair. My family came to me and said, if you buy a piece of property and get the materials, the family has talked and we will build you a house ! I come from a large family, on my moms side that existed of 11 siblings, and most all of them have at least two kids a piece or more, so I have a bunch of cousins !
We started building the house in November 1996, uncles coming and helping my dad and me everyday, my aunts all taking turns cooking and bringing something for lunch everyday, weekends cousins came and we put all of the roof on in one day, insulated the whole house another weekend, it didnt take long with large groups being here at one time. During the time we were building, one of my Aunts, Barbara Sue, she wrote a poem about us building the house, it was called " The House That Love Built "
The House That Love Built
This is the house that Danny built, most homes would pale in compare.
Yes, this is the house that Danny built, without ever leaving his chair.
You see, he was the foreman, of a very motley crew. Sometimes they didnt agree with him, but they would do what he said to do.
Id didnt go up in a hurry, there were many plans to survey. Someone said you"ll never make it, but they did it anyway.
Yes, this is the house that Danny built, it was put together board by board. Only by the help of a loving family, and a lot of grace from the Lord.
We hope that you"ll be happy,
in your new home designed,
by your specifications,
with you and Bren in mind.
Now go on and start with living well, you deserve a thing or two.
Someday when you're not too busy, have us all over for a barbeque.
No matter where God leads us,
He's there to help us along.
With love and Prayers and family, you"ll always be happy in your new home.
1997 just a couple of weeks before Christmas the house was finished, I got enough furniture for it to be moved into and Brendan spent Christmas with me that year, it was really special.
Over time I have over come a lot of obsticles, just figuring out ways to do things differently so I can still do some of the things I used to without help, but at times I still have to ask for help.
Two of my friends got me back into flying after the house was finished, it was a lot different. Brendan would go to the field with me but didnt want to fly, but this would all change as he got older.
In my life being changed the way it has and taking me down a different path in life to a lot of different places, it has brought a lot of you here on the Giants into my life which wouldnt be in it if it hadnt have been for my accident.
Even though its tough at times day to day, I wouldnt trade the situation for the world, because without it, I wouldnt have a lot of great people in my life that I have met in person here on the Giants, and some that I talk to that I havent yet met in person, but each and every one of you have played a special part in my life and I thank each and every one of you for being here.
I have been blessed in having my accident that I have the relationship with Brendan that I do and we have been able to do what we are doing together.
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Posted by Dan_nO |
08-30-2007 @ 08:58 PM | 44,029 Views
To follow up with the previous story...
Its now Sept. 20, 2004 Mike is talking about going to the Masters. He asks if Brendan fly's, and says that most of his memories involved flying with his dad. I told him that Brendan had just turned 13 and was afraid to fly because he was afraid of crashing, Mike said in time he will get over it hopefully and he will start flying with you, ( Brendans flying all comes to be later ).
Mike goes back to talking about the Masters and wanted to know where Frankfort was in relation to Louisville and Lexington, so I explained and asked why. His reply was that it was on the way and it would be about time to stop and get gas and stuff, for me to give him my phone number and depending on when they left he thought it would work out for them to stop.
I got a phone call one morning and it was Mike, he said Brian and I just left Champaign and are headed that way, we should be through there at around noon and wanted to stop and eat and get gas. I met Mike out by the interstate and we went to eat, he showed me his planes in the trailer and i was shocked they were so huge, had never been around any planes so big.
So I finally got to meet Mike and Brian in person for the first time. I called Bill, a friend of mine and he met us also, it was a neat day !
Its now Sept. 20, 2004 Mike is talking about going to the Masters. He asks if Brendan fly's, and says that most of his memories involved flying with his dad. I told him that Brendan had just turned 13 and was afraid to fly because he was afraid of crashing, Mike said in time he will get over it hopefully and he will start flying with you, ( Brendans flying all comes to be later ).
Mike goes back to talking about the Masters and wanted to know where Frankfort was in relation to Louisville and Lexington, so I explained and asked why. His reply was that it was on the way and it would be about time to stop and get gas and stuff, for me to give him my phone number and depending on when they left he thought it would work out for them to stop.
I got a phone call one morning and it was Mike, he said Brian and I just left Champaign and are headed that way, we should be through there at around noon and wanted to stop and eat and get gas. I met Mike out by the interstate and we went to eat, he showed me his planes in the trailer and i was shocked they were so huge, had never been around any planes so big.
So I finally got to meet Mike and Brian in person for the first time. I called Bill, a friend of mine and he met us also, it was a neat day !
Posted by Dan_nO |
08-30-2007 @ 07:46 PM | 45,536 Views
The beginning of it all...
Back in 2004 I bought a H9 Twist 3D, I had always been a sport flyer and seen some vids and thought the 3D stuff was neat.
So in being new to this type of flying I looked to get something fairly inexpensive and bought a Twist 3D designed by Mike McConville at Horizon Hobby.
It dead sticked on the first flight and floated to the ground like a falling leaf and broke the fuse in half. I at the time only knew about RC Universe ( sorry ) and was posting there as to what happened and got several replies.
This is now the funny part !!! Wayne, you always told me that I needed to tell this story so here it comes.
While posting in the forum about what had happened, this guy by the name of Mike McConville made a post in reply to mine. Now keep in mind, Im new to all of this and had no idea about IMAC and Freestyle and competing, none of it !
So, I see this post made by Mike and see all the sponsors under his name, I set and think ok, this is some rep from Horizon that is just trying to sooth and smooth things over...I had no idea who Mike was at all, had never heard the name before in all these years flying.
Time went on, discussing what had happened, I finally talk to Mike on the phone and he gets me to check the CG....it was WAY to far forward making the plane tail heavy. I told Mike that was what the instructions said, he had me check the instructions, low and behold there had been a misprint in the instructions, so the culprit was found.
Mike offered to send me a new plane, it was already fixed and I thanked him anyways for his offer. As time went on we stayed in touch via email.
I started seeing videos of Mark Leeseberg and thought man that is awesome, you know where this is going....
I start emailing Mike links to the pages where I found videos of Mark, again remember I dont know who Mike is or what he does !
This went on for a few weeks, I sent Mike another one and said something about it, Mike replied and said Mark is an awesome pilot, very talented young man, that he knew who Mark was because he had flown with and competed against Mark.
Im setting that thinking, ok, I know Mark does all of this and he is one of the top dogs doing this, sooooo how does Mike fly and compete with Mark...Google is a shocking form of information at times let me tell ya !
I go to Google, type in Mike McConville, hit enter and BAM !!! Page after page, Mike McConville TOC competitor, Don Lowe Masters, Tuscon Shootout, JR Challenge, Im setting with my chin now down on my desk.
I then see another link with Mikes name and also Horizon Hobby, I think ok, I know he works for Horizon from the sponsors under his name and now talking to him, so I go to that page.
Ummmmmm, Mike McConville, lead aircraft designer for the H9 planes for Horizon Hobby. HOLY COW !!! Now im setting and thinking to myself, I bet he really thinks that im crazy carrying on about Mark and him realizing that i had no idea who he is. Actually Mike thought it was funny and got several good laughs from my emails, so I brightened his days some at work lol.
So this was my first encounter with Mike McConville, not knowing who he was at all or what he did and does.
This crashing of an airplane because of an honest mistake later leads to a growing life long friendship which I will tell the storys about now that Max has given us a place to do so.
Thanks Max !!!
Back in 2004 I bought a H9 Twist 3D, I had always been a sport flyer and seen some vids and thought the 3D stuff was neat.
So in being new to this type of flying I looked to get something fairly inexpensive and bought a Twist 3D designed by Mike McConville at Horizon Hobby.
It dead sticked on the first flight and floated to the ground like a falling leaf and broke the fuse in half. I at the time only knew about RC Universe ( sorry ) and was posting there as to what happened and got several replies.
This is now the funny part !!! Wayne, you always told me that I needed to tell this story so here it comes.
While posting in the forum about what had happened, this guy by the name of Mike McConville made a post in reply to mine. Now keep in mind, Im new to all of this and had no idea about IMAC and Freestyle and competing, none of it !
So, I see this post made by Mike and see all the sponsors under his name, I set and think ok, this is some rep from Horizon that is just trying to sooth and smooth things over...I had no idea who Mike was at all, had never heard the name before in all these years flying.
Time went on, discussing what had happened, I finally talk to Mike on the phone and he gets me to check the CG....it was WAY to far forward making the plane tail heavy. I told Mike that was what the instructions said, he had me check the instructions, low and behold there had been a misprint in the instructions, so the culprit was found.
Mike offered to send me a new plane, it was already fixed and I thanked him anyways for his offer. As time went on we stayed in touch via email.
I started seeing videos of Mark Leeseberg and thought man that is awesome, you know where this is going....
I start emailing Mike links to the pages where I found videos of Mark, again remember I dont know who Mike is or what he does !
This went on for a few weeks, I sent Mike another one and said something about it, Mike replied and said Mark is an awesome pilot, very talented young man, that he knew who Mark was because he had flown with and competed against Mark.
Im setting that thinking, ok, I know Mark does all of this and he is one of the top dogs doing this, sooooo how does Mike fly and compete with Mark...Google is a shocking form of information at times let me tell ya !
I go to Google, type in Mike McConville, hit enter and BAM !!! Page after page, Mike McConville TOC competitor, Don Lowe Masters, Tuscon Shootout, JR Challenge, Im setting with my chin now down on my desk.
I then see another link with Mikes name and also Horizon Hobby, I think ok, I know he works for Horizon from the sponsors under his name and now talking to him, so I go to that page.
Ummmmmm, Mike McConville, lead aircraft designer for the H9 planes for Horizon Hobby. HOLY COW !!! Now im setting and thinking to myself, I bet he really thinks that im crazy carrying on about Mark and him realizing that i had no idea who he is. Actually Mike thought it was funny and got several good laughs from my emails, so I brightened his days some at work lol.
So this was my first encounter with Mike McConville, not knowing who he was at all or what he did and does.
This crashing of an airplane because of an honest mistake later leads to a growing life long friendship which I will tell the storys about now that Max has given us a place to do so.
Thanks Max !!!
Posted by Dan_nO |
08-30-2007 @ 07:27 PM | 45,075 Views
The beginning of it all...
Back in 2004 I bought a H9 Twist 3D, I had always been a sport flyer and seen some vids and thought the 3D stuff was neat.
So in being new to this type of flying I looked to get something fairly inexpensive and bought a Twist 3D designed by Mike McConville at Horizon Hobby.
It dead sticked on the first flight and floated to the ground like a falling leaf and broke the fuse in half. I at the time only knew about RC Universe ( sorry ) and was posting there as to what happened and got several replies.
This is now the funny part !!!
Back in 2004 I bought a H9 Twist 3D, I had always been a sport flyer and seen some vids and thought the 3D stuff was neat.
So in being new to this type of flying I looked to get something fairly inexpensive and bought a Twist 3D designed by Mike McConville at Horizon Hobby.
It dead sticked on the first flight and floated to the ground like a falling leaf and broke the fuse in half. I at the time only knew about RC Universe ( sorry ) and was posting there as to what happened and got several replies.
This is now the funny part !!!
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