Karl From New Hampshire Blog

While Memorial Day is to many the weekend to plant your garden, and the un-official true beginning of Spring, it is primarily set aside as a day of remembrance.  We all know that, but I find, as I get older and wiser to the world, that it becomes more poignant each year.  We are a country at war, for one thing, at that certainly adds to the dynamic.  Also, the surviving members of what is now widely referred to as the “Greatest Generation”, are departing rapidly.  These men and women, eventually to be unavailable to share their stories, inspired the great documentary film-maker Ken Burns to devote a series to them.

Another New Hampshire guy was inspired by a Word War II soldier as well.  Russ Wilkins, who now lives in Florida, grew up in Hollis, New Hampshire, not far from me.  When he was young, he noticed a picture of a young soldier and asked his mother about it.  It was her brother, Elliott Russell Lund, who had died at a POW camp after being captured during the Battle of the Bulge.  Russ became fascinated with the story and eventually enlisted in the Army himself.  He learned that his Uncle’s remains had not been identified until two years after the end of the war.  It took another three years after that before his remains were returned home and were laid to rest.

Russ found himself stationed in Germany during the 70′s and his lingering curiosity about the fate of his uncle led him to the library.  Fast forward thirty years, and Russ realized he had amassed boxes and boxes of research.  He decide to compile it into “something like a book”, not expecting to publish anything or even to write a book, per se.  However, the daunting task had uncovered much more than the circumstances surrounding his uncle’s death.  Indeed, Russ questions whether or not the remains that his family laid to rest, were, in fact, those of Elliott Russell Lund.  No surprise that a book was born, and is now available, and titled, “Missing In Belgium”.  I’m looking forward to reading it.

The book also talks about a number, that I’m ashamed to admit I did not know, that over 70,000 soldiers never returned from, and were never accounted for after, World War II.  I was astonished at that number.  Pause, and think, of the magnitude of that.  Not to mention Vietnam, or any other war, but just this one event in history, left 70,000 question marks.  That many soldiers who never returned “home”, in any form.  Certainly not in one piece, to embark on their civilian future and enjoy the freedoms they had just sacrificed so valiantly for.  To marry and raise a family and enjoy the comfort and security of a home in America.

So, on this Memorial Day, I’m sending my heartfelt thanks, and condolences, to the families of those 70,000.  How difficult it must still be, to wonder about the fate of a loved one.  A father, a son, a brother, a mother, sister, daughter.  Gone off to serve their country and never to be seen again, and with no history of their demise or location.  As a father, I can’t imagine losing a child, and wonder if I could cope with losing a child in that kind of evaporative way.  Just gone.

While the world often wonders, it seems, about our intent as a country, there are 70,000 families across this country who understand completely what America is all about.  They will, I imagine, have a collective moment of silence this Memorial Day, remembering the seventy thousand gone.

Alas…the Great Swine Flu epidemic of 2009 has turned out to be a dud.  So far, at least, the cases that have arisen have been fairly benign, and most recipients of the virus are recovering rather swiftly.  Much has been made of the media coverage, somewhat crazed, but frankly, not nearly as rabid as it could have been.  No one is more ready and willing to pounce on the “mainstream media” than I am, and as a talk-show host I suppose, I’m a teeny, tiny part of it, but I thought the coverage was restrained, by and large.  Remember, had the spread of this flu, and the virus itself, been more aggressive, and coverage had been lacking or “behind-the-curve”, the media would have been excoriated for that as well.

In a way…a strange sort of way…the false alarm may do us more harm than good.  As a culture, we have a short memory.  Consider that just eight years after 9/11, half the country wonders if terrorism really exists.  So we will forget about this non-event rather quickly, but the incident, however brief, raised some interesting questions.

First, we are reminded that in the event of an easily transmissible disease, this over-populated and very mobile planet spreads germs quickly.  Even though the number of cases of Swine Flu came nowhere near some of the earlier, dire predictions, you’ve got to give the little bug credit.  It went from Mexico to Texas to New Hampshire in no time at all.  Travelling, as viruses do, without the time-crushing security checks and long waits at the baggage carousel that slow down larger species.

Second, I , at least, was reminded that it is the Center For Disease Control and Food and Drug Administration, both Federal Agencies that operate with the expected awesome fluidity and effectiveness that federal agencies are known for,to whom we turn for protection and guidance,   It’s like learning there is a murderer loose in town, and realizing that Barney Fife is your Police Chief.  Only days into the Swine Flu scare, we learned that there were only very limited amounts of Tamiflu doses available, state by state, and further, that it was unknown whether or not the Tamiflu was effective against this particular strain of Swine Flu.  To further un-assure citizens, the FDA announced that a Swine Flu vaccine was at least six months off.  Remember…when a federal agency tells you a result is six months away, figure on six years…or better.

This in itself struck me as odd.  Swine Flu has existed for decades, in fact, it is almost exactly the same as the Spanish Flu which killed tens of millions of people around 1918.  So what do these agencies do in their spare time?  It seems as though, like the CIA may have noted student pilots from the Middle East taking flight lessons that didn’t include learning how to take-off and land, that this is something we may have been at least moderately prepared for, or at least, paying attention to.   For years there have been murmurs amongst the nation’s security-elite, that our food supplies, and our citizens, are very vulnerable to biological attack.

Just like the idea of terrorists with box cutters simultaneously taking over several commercial airliners and flying them into buildings in New York and the Pentagon would have seemed ridiculous…before it happened…so too does the idea of thousands of people dying from something you can’t see.  You have to use your imagination.  A recent event in my life opened my eyes to the vulnerability of the human body.

Without any outward investment on my part, I am blessed with pretty good health.  In over thirty years of full time work, including many round-the-clock shifts during the winter when plowing snow, I don’t think I’ve been home sick more than seven or eight times.  I am a creature of routine, and I usually get myself out the door to work, one way or another.  Then, last year, my wife decided we should take our kids to the opening of a new water park up in North Conway, New Hampshire.  An indoor water park.  I remember, walking in, the air was humid and thick with disease.  My wife laughed.

We were there two days.  When we got home, my son Mitchell, then 10, and I, came down with an intestinal disorder that truly seemed like it would kill me.  Over a period of about 36 hours, I expelled, from every orifice in my body, every last drop of moisture my body had to give.  At times, this expelling of fluids would happen simultaneously.  I lost 14 pounds in two days.
I was so dehydrated and thirsty I would have inhaled seawater, but I couldn’t even keep water down for a few days.  Eating was painful for about a week.  We had to call Clean Harbors, Inc. to clean the house.  I had the physical appearance of Dustin Hoffman in the last scene of Papillion.

A few days after this dreadful event, I read in the newspaper that there had been an outbreak of Norovirus, a stomach ailment, at the hotel across the street from where we had stayed.  Over 20 people had been admitted to the local hospital.  I marveled at the thought of some invisible little germ, floating around in that North Country wind, and landing, in a celebration of opportunity, in my nostril.  The humidity of the water park had made my nostril a warm and inviting place for a microbe to breed and grow.

It seems silly, but that event really impressed me.  Had I just been recovering from…say…pneumonia, that Norovirus would have killed me.  I’ve never been that sick in my life.  It was violent, and could easily, I believe, killed an elderly, infirm, or very young person.  So imagine a strain of that, a little more powerful, a little faster-travelling, and a little more transferrable.

Or…don’t imagine it.  But any American who thinks we are not incredibly vulnerable to an attack of that nature, and that there are not viruses up to the job sitting in laboratories right now, better think again.  Hey, if you need a persuader, just let me know.  I’ll send you pictures of my bathroom from last October.

On Monday, April 27th, an incredible sight appeared over the skies of New York.  Circling the Statue of Liberty, at low altitude and accompanied by two fighter jets, a 747 was maneuvering at barely 1,000 feet AGL(above ground level).  This was not an American or United jet, though, this was Air Force One, a member of the Presidents fleet.  However, on a warm New York day, you can cut the smog with a knife, and through the haze it was difficult to see the brilliant insignia.

It was also difficult to see through the panic, as one might well imagine, that was unfolding throughout Manhattan and New York City in general.  Office buildings were evacuated, emergency lines were jammed, traffic snarled, and general mayhem ensued.  Unless you’ve just retired from Amish country, nearly every American knows that the sight of a low-flying, large jet over New York would stir up some pretty bad memories, at the very least.

Even for me, a New Hampshire native, the video of a Boeing 747 flying that low with two fighter jets escorting, brought a certain chill over me.  It reminded me of how that sight, in and of itself, brings me back to September 11th, 2001 instantly.

Surely, for New Yorkers, it must have been frightening.  What explanation could there possibly be?  Another aircraft without power ditching in the Hudson?  Has “Hudson Ditching” become some kind of cult-sport among airline pilots, with some crusty, old pilot now trying it with a 747?

Imagine now, the mass-astonishment at learning that the entire event was a staged photo-op, choreographed by White House staff.  Huh?  My first thought was how entirely insensitive someone must be to order such a flight.  The obvious reaction it would invoke, not to mention the danger of folks getting crushed in a mass exodus or in crammed stairwells.  Nearly a week later, I am still stunned at the decision.

For the first few days, the news was that the idea had come from the Defense Department and that President Obama had not known about it.  That seemed, and still does seem, implausible to me.  I don’t pretend to know anything about White house protocol in such matters, it just seems beyond belief to me that any Air Force One 747 goes anywhere without the Presidents knowledge.  Either way, that someone on his staff made the decision is equally unsettling to me, given the depth of the transgression and the crater of bad judgment it represents.

As a private pilot, I know just enough to be dangerous, but I do know that landing, taking off, and low-level maneuvering are the three most dangerous phases of flight.  It’s simple, there is less altitude, and therefore less time and options if something goes wrong.  There is also the matter of airplane performance at slower speeds which is diminished in any size aircraft. If you pay attention to news coverage of aviation accidents, you will notice a much greater incidence of accidents at, or near airports.  “Low and slow” is the saying among pilots, and it warrants your full attention when flying in that configuration.

Now, with that information, consider the further astonishment of learning that the FBI, FAA, New York Mayor’s Office, and others were informed of the flight beforehand, but ordered not to leak it to anyone.  You can bet they didn’t want any nut-cases launching shoulder-fired rockets from below, but why inform anyone in that case?  It is simply amazing to me that no where in this chain-of-command, someone didn’t stop and say…”Does the President know about this?  Because this is really going to make him look like an insensitive, egomaniacal, jerk.”  Yes, it did.

Add to this gooey mix of insensibilities the additional fact that just a few months ago an Airbus was forced to ditch in the Hudson River after both engines pigged out on Roasted Goose, and you have one more good reason not to be flying a jet low in that area without necessity.   I can tell you, even in a small plane, I would be on high-alert for bird strikes in that part of town.  I have flown down the “VFR Corridor” on the Hudson River many times flying into Teterboro, New Jersey.  It is congested airspace, even without the birds, and the idea of maneuvering a 747 at low altitude in that area is mind-boggling.  I am surprised, in a way, that the pilots of Air Force One accepted the mission without voicing concern.  Or maybe they did.

No matter how you view it, the facts of the case are yet another indication, in my opinion, of a certain “kid-in-a-candy-store” kind of mentality that seems to pervade the new administration.  The mistakes while overseas, the Tonight Show appearance, are all instances of a kind of “tackiness” that is uncomfortable.  I’m trying to imagine a “President McCain” ordering such a stunt, and it doesn’t seem likely.  Add this to the release of our torture protocol to our enemies, and one must admit there is a significant naivety here.

Let’s hope that this is not “Doogie Howser:President of the United States”, because frankly, I don’t see the “networks” picking it up for another season.