Quo Vadis...er, I Mean, Where The Heck is the Flying Curmudgeon Taking Us?

The Merriam-Webster's Dictionary definition of a curmudgeon is: "a crusty, ill-tempered and usually old man."

Now, The Flying Curmudgeon wouldn't necessarily call 45 old, and he likes to think that he is not, for the most part, ill-tempered.

However, TFC obviously does have some strong opinions on most things. Otherwise, he wouldn't be blogging under the nom de web of The Flying Curmudgeon.

TFC has been giving some thought to the direction of this blog, currently in it's infancy.

The Flying Curmudgeon's stated purpose in the original post was to provide a place for people to come and vent about their experiences with commercial air travel, and to add his perspective as a commercial airline captain.

This is, and hopefully will remain, TFC's primary focus.

However, as your humble correspondent, it occurred to The Flying Curmudgeon that in order to keep the discussion interesting and relevant, he will have to take the lead role.

Where do we go from here?

Does The Flying Curmudgeon ONLY deal with aviation and related issues, or does he jump, feet-first into the fray, and delve into whatever issues he deems important and worthy of discussion?

The answer is obvious.

TFC will focus on whatever topics he deems worthy of discussion, with a special emphasis on aviation-related matters, in keeping with the stated theme of this blog.

With so many important issues - The War on Terror, Globalization, Immigration, etc. - focusing strictly on the trials and tribulations of commercial air travel seemed a bit like fiddling while Rome burns.

Nothing occurs in a vacuum, especially commercial air travel in the Post-911 World.

Every time one steps into an airport or onboard a commercial aircraft, there are constant reminders of this. From the price of a ticket (with oil hovering around $90/barrel) to the indignities of going through airport security, there is no escaping the fact we live in an increasingly interconnected, complicated, and frequently dangerous world.

In his work, The Flying Curmudgeon comes into contact with a host of people - from all walks of life.

(Speaking of which, best of luck to you in your movie, Ms. Campbell. It was a pleasure meeting you. :) )

Meeting so many people, from the famous (occasionally infamous) to the not-so-famous, and being a student of history, The Flying Curmudgeon is compelled to add his voice to the debate.

One thing TFC has learned over the years is many people are, unfortunately, NOT students of history. Edmund Burke said: "Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it."

The state of history knowledge in this country is abysmal. Don't believe The Flying Curmudgeon? Just watch Leno or Hannity do their "Man-on-the-Street" interviews. The average American can't tell you who his or her congressman is, but they can tell you who is winning on American Idol.

Pathetic.

In the public school system today, it seems it is not politically correct to teach kids about a bunch of dead white men.

How can we expect freedom and liberty to survive if average Americans don't know what it cost our forebears to bequeath them to us?

The Flying Curmudgeon will be an honest broker of information.

At all times, intellectual honesty will be the hallmark of this blog. Political correctness will have no place here.

As a retired military officer, TFC will pay special attention to The War on Terror and on the efforts of our men and women in uniform to defend our way of life.

With all this in mind, The Flying Curmudgeon has come up with a motto for this blog: Flying High and Shooting Straight.

This will be the basis for all discussions here at The Flying Curmudgeon.

TFC hopes you will join him for the ride.

Saddle up!


TFC