Trader Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 For a Pilots Son Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AME Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 I call BS.... if your family is that important to you pick a career that allows you to be there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conehead Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. We all make choices in life, right? And compremise is part of life... A friend of mine is the son of an Air Canada pilot, he says Dad was never around when he was a kid... he wouldn't do that to his kids, and he chose a career that let him be home regularly with his kids.. as an AME. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steam Driven Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 I call BS to your BS... Your view is very simplistic... I don't know of a career that will pay me the salary that I now make that would allow me to spend more time with my family... A career that keeps my family in the style to which they have become accustomed... For you to say that I don't feel my Family is important is an insult... I read that poem, thought about my Son and my Daughter and it brought a tear to my eye... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AME Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 Yeah night shift forever, Aviation is a very demanding mistress and very few people are able to balance their love for it with a family Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AME Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 I call BS to your BS... Your view is very simplistic... I don't know of a career that will pay me the salary that I now make that would allow me to spend more time with my family... A career that keeps my family in the style to which they have become accustomed... For you to say that I don't feel my Family is important is an insult... I read that poem, thought about my Son and my Daughter and it brought a tear to my eye... I didn't say it wasn't touching, all I said was it's a choice, you will decide what's the most important to you, for me I spend half my life away from my family because that is what I need to do, but that is a choice, if you have issues with the time you spend away from your family you need to examine your choices? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thinair Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 A tear jerker for sure, if you've got the patience to sit through the lamenting of Sarah Mclachlan As a pilot I get to spend way more quality time with my family than any of the 9 to 5 people I know. However that doesn't make it any easier when you miss significant holidays, or they really need you and you're 2000 miles away etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest woxof Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 Some are away for long periods of time with good or bad pay and some have more time off at home than they know what to do with again with good or bad pay. Ive had the worst and the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steam Driven Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 For you to simply say, "if your family is that important to you pick a career that allows you to be there... " Is very callous and disrespectful... Some of us have spent decades training and preparing for the career we have now. Families arrived long after the career was chosen... It is not just a simple choice as your attempted characterization... I love my Family and am providing for it the best way I know how. Is there anything more anyone can do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AME Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 I'm not sure why you think I'm "very callous and disrespectful" when I suggested that the choice between career and family is yours to make? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handyman Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 I'm not sure why you think I'm "very callous and disrespectful" when I suggested that the choice between career and family is yours to make? and some just have less choices available to them. A wrench and a tube of grease was not for me! My career included defending this nation..should I have stayed home like some Mama's boy? I think not and although I lost out on several great moments, my son understands and respects the commitment I made. Can you say the same? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newgirl Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 Airline jobs are not the only ones who work over holidays etc. What about our policemen, firemen, hospital staff, armed forces, care home workers ad nauseum. There are so few professions that acutally shut down the shop on holidays. I don't think us airline people have it so bad! We all knew what we were signing up for and most of us are well paid for the time we spend away from home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gumbi Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 I'm not sure why you think I'm "very callous and disrespectful" when I suggested that the choice between career and family is yours to make? Simply because at the age you make your choice to become a pilot, family is not in the cards yet. So, what your words are suggesting is that we quit what we've worked so hard to achieve, because, at a later stage, we realize that our job keeps us away from our family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mo32a Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 It could have been titled "long haul truckers son" or any of many other careers. Especially the armed forces - they are away for months - and put their life on the line every day - and don't get paid a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AME Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 Simply because at the age you make your choice to become a pilot, family is not in the cards yet. So, what your words are suggesting is that we quit what we've worked so hard to achieve, because, at a later stage, we realize that our job keeps us away from our family. I'm not suggesting for a moment that you quit your job, my whole point is being away from your family is a choice, if you decided early to be a Pilot and far away then the choice was to have a family knowing that you would not be there. It sucks I don't have a family of my own because I made that choice, now I do have a step family (married for the first and only time at age 48) and again I've made a choice to be away, do I like it? No.....do I whine about it? No.... how long will I continue? I don't know yet. My mother used to say..."You made your bed, now lay in it" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AME Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 and some just have less choices available to them. A wrench and a tube of grease was not for me! My career included defending this nation..should I have stayed home like some Mama's boy? I think not and although I lost out on several great moments, my son understands and respects the commitment I made. Can you say the same? and I started flying when I was 17 and found it mind numbingly boring, not everyone can sit for hours and do nothing I offer my thanks for serving our country, unfortunately where I grew up (North eastern BC) that was never presented as an option so no I didn't serve, does that make me a "Mama's boy" I highly doubt it. Can I say the same? no.... because I never had children Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch Cronin Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 Well then Brett, you cannot possibly know how it feels to have them, and not be with them... so I think you ought to retract your "I call BS". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gumbi Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 ....I've made a choice to be away, do I like it? No.....do I whine about it? No.... My mother used to say..."You made your bed, now lay in it"..... Therein lies the sterility of this discussion... You're reading this as if we were whining about it... Not the case, simply stating facts and going about our business with a smile on our face and our heads filled with awesome images, just like the author tried to convey in his poem. That's all I see in this. And I'm very comfy in the bed I've laid, hope you are too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handyman Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 and I started flying when I was 17 and found it mind numbingly boring, not everyone can sit for hours and do nothing I offer my thanks for serving our country, unfortunately where I grew up (North eastern BC) that was never presented as an option so no I didn't serve, does that make me a "Mama's boy" I highly doubt it. Can I say the same? no.... because I never had children Let me explain my "Mama's Boy" comment...I was not calling you a mama's Boy for not jointing the Forces but those that did and couldn't or wouldn't follow through on their commitment. Yes we had several that had to get home for this reason or that some were legitimate and others were "Mama's Boys. Your comments however, were wrong and very narrow minded. PS It doesn't matter where you grew up...the people that answer the call of duty came from all places big and small and some even from under a rock! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rattler Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 I was a pilot's son and even though duty times were longer for pilots when I was growing up and dad might be away for over a week at a time, when he was home it was quality time. In fact he spent more time with me and my brothers at our various events (sporting etc.) than the other fathers who were 9-5ers. My friends were envious as Dad had time during the week (when he was home) for us, their fathers only had weekends. Guess a lot depends upon the man, a strong family commitment will overcome anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deicer Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 Guess a lot depends upon the man, a strong family commitment will overcome anything. Wiser words never spoken. Being addicted to aviation as well, occasions still are occasions. Just because we may celebrate Christmas on the 23rd or 27th doesn't mean that Christmas doesn't come to our house. As for other things, well, in my experience, throwing a child's birthday party 3 days after the actual day still gets them just as wound up Iceman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeker Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 I am a pilot and I also think that poem is nonsense. First of all, it's pretty crappy writing - the rhythm and cadence changes with every stanza and the vocabulary is juvenile. More importantly though is the question about whether the sentiment is justifiable and in my opinion it isn't. As others have pointed out; this is a career choice - either he knew about the requirements of the job or he should have known about the requirements of the job - either way stop whining already. I often fly with people who mention things like, "my young son (or wife) is upset about the fact that I had to come to work today - WHAT? You have got to set the tone from the beginning about what this job entails and about what the benefits are; if you allow yourself, or your wife, or your kids to latch onto the idea that they are somehow being shortchanged by the work schedule then this will become the reality in their (or your) eyes and it will consume them (or you). You must constantly point out and highlight the fact that when you are home that you are 100% home and will be for several days at a time. My kids believe that they are the big winners because I regularly remind them of the fact that I am home for 5 (or 7, or 9) days at a stretch. Yah the guy down the street sees his kid every day for an hour before bedtime and then leaves before the kids wake up and he'll get some time with them on the weekend if he isn't working on something in the home office but I get to see my kids in the morning, after school and right through to bedtime for a week at a time. I've done Christmas on the 23rd before but can almost always get the day of the Christmas concert or birthday off since these days are not official public holidays and are therefore not also being bid for by the whole pilot group. The important thing is that you must personally choose to see the schedule as a bonus and must also teach the family to see it that way too - that is the secret to familial happiness. My mother is a nurse and when I was growing up she chose to work on Christmas day every year because she was paid doubletime for the shift - even as very young children we understood that this was a significant benefit for the family and we accepted that Christmas "morning" was just as sweet when celebrated at 4:00 PM when my mother got home as it would have been at 7:00 AM. If she had allowed us to feel that it was a loss - we would have felt that way instead. It's all about how you choose to frame it and present it to the other members of your family. I can see the guy who wrote this poem sitting in the flight deck pining for the birthday party he has missed rather than joyfully celebrating the entire week he has just spent with the family - he is choosing to see the negative rather the the positive - wrong attitude! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spreadsheet Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 Right on Seeker, although it's nice to see the kids every day many of us office folks wish we could see our kids more than just a couple of hours after work / before bed. Many nights or weekends it's a token hour or two of 'quality time' and then back to work. But that's also a choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AME Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 Well then Brett, you cannot possibly know how it feels to have them, and not be with them... so I think you ought to retract your "I call BS". Mitch I grew living with it....... and no it was not aviation related but Dad was gone a lot and I never really knew him until I was 19 and working with him. p.s. Just because you don't agree with me doesn't mean I have to retract how I feel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfhunter Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 Hi Trader Look what you did. Take a nice tune, a harmless poem, share it with your AEF friends and suddenly fuzzy bunnies lie eviscerated on the sidewalk. Got to run, a chickadee just hit the window; I have to let the cat out. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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