"As sparsely populated and isolated as Haskell was, the virus infecting the county might well have died there, might well have failed to spread to the outside world. That would be so except for one thing: this was wartime."
"When you were lucky enough at last to be admitted, you were met at the door by le Pere Lebas himself. He would curse you out in a loud voice and call you dirty names. That is the way he received everyone - officers, aces, ladies, stars, and boxers alike. This kept the crowd inside laughing until closing time."
Later generations of pilots will be known for avoiding doctors, but Rickenbacker gets the doctor to help him. He wants to prove that Lt Spiegel could do the job just as well as him. So he gets himself sent to the hospital to show he is dispensable.
Last year we did theTwelve Days of Aerial Combat, just for fun. This Christmas, remembering the Wrights' telegram this past week in December 1903, we found twelve numbers associated with some aviation firsts, which demonstrate just how fast aviation progressed from December 17, 1903 to July 20, 1969.
"As the winter deepens, air traffic slows down. There is much rain and snow. Even on dry days the heavy clouds drift so low that no takeoffs are ordered. We sit around in our rooms. I am quartered in the country house of a lace manufacturer."
