A giant in the history of aviation has passed away. General Chuck Yeager, the man who broke the sound barrier in the Bell X-1 rocket plane, was 97.
When I was a boy, I did a book report on his autobiography. It was recently published--the same year of my report, I think--and I was utterly fascinated by it. Yeager's wartime experiences read like bad fiction. I say "bad" because, if it had been fiction, no one would have believed it. Readers would have rolled their eyes at the unlikeliness of it all. Professional critics would have derided the main character as a Mary Sue and made snide jabs about "author wish fulfillment."
But it wasn't fiction. It all actually happened. And that makes the man's life all the more remarkable.
I'd encourage everyone to check out the book, assuming you can find a copy. This is the one I'm talking about, though it seems to be a used copy (i.e., it's out of print). Hopefully his heirs will put together an ebook version some day.
In recent years, General Yeager took to posting on Twitter. I don't have a Twitter account, so I don't "follow" anyone, but I'd read some of Yeager's posts from time to time. He revealed some fascinating behind-the-scenes stuff about the things he had been involved in, not just as a pilot, but also civil service things like diagnosing the Challenger disaster.
He lived a long, action-packed, amazing life. The world is a little duller now, a little less bold and brave and forthright.
Rest in peace, General.
One of the best. Several years ago, I enjoyed watching a documentary about him.
ReplyDeleteI've not visited your blog for a while. Glad to know you had a good Thanksgiving but bummer about the toe. I hope it behaves and doesn't send you to another Dr. visit.
Hey, Vijaya. Don't worry about the toe; it seems to have been a false alarm. I think I have some sort of internal scab that's in the process of growing out. I think that's what caused the temporary discomfort. But there's no pain now, and I'm back to my normal routine. :)
ReplyDeleteAs for Yeager, he was absolutely the best. He had "the right stuff," just like Tom Wolfe's book said, and he had it in abundance.