No agenda but a few fun mash-ups. And I’ll sing some Prince.

When: Monday nite 4/25, 7:30pm EDT.
(“doors” open at 7 for community hang)

Where: https://youtu.be/xLHeoxypnn4

Who gets 10%: https://www.gbfb.org/ Greater Boston Food Bank. The Greater Boston Food Bank works passionately to end hunger across Eastern Massachusetts by providing our neighbors in need the healthy food and resources they need to thrive.

http://paypal.me/vancevancevance or
https://venmo.com/vancevancevance or
a check to VanceFunder P.O. Box 17,
Arlington, MA 02476 for this web-groovery.
Pay or not, up to you. Let’s stay connected.

This week, pajamas = more flannel than you’ve ever seen
I teach and coach stuff.

NEW ALBUM. Donate any amount = name on the cover. Same links above, note “VanceFunder”. Any amount over $1, but $1000 + makes you exec producer, name in heavy black font.

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PETE AZURE

I adored Pete.

Watching this giant of a man fly on the fields of Geneseo NY was always a joy. He was a fine model flyer, really clean builder, if but a believer in the more-wood-the-better school, and the nicest, always smiling guy.

Pete beckoned me over to his car one NATS and said, “Hey Vance, you’re good with big biplanes - maybe you have a few minutes to help me get this thing going?” I believe it was a Sopwith Pup or Camel, all green, beautifully finished, and *huge*. For the uninitiated non-modeler here, a big balsa wood-constructed, tissue-covered, rubberband-powered free-flying airplane doesn’t necessarily translate into a heavy model per say. But it can and his did. Still, it looked pretty flyable after a once over, so we commenced.

Pete entrusted me to the first test glides over the unforgiving short grass at the National Warplane Museum where we hold our yearly contest. It was a lot of airplane, so I was kneeling and test-gliding it out of my hands to a spot 10-15 feet in front of me, into a more accommodating tuft of green. We adjusted some tail surfaces, added some nose ballast, wound it up a bit, and got it to go. Not far, not for long, but I got to live up to my reputation in his eyes as being able to work a little magic, and Pete left me with a feeling of trust and some great laughs.

And he had a wondrous laugh. Sorry Pete that I made you laugh because I know that it inflamed your COPD. But you still laughed, flew, wheezed, laughed some more, flew some more, guided your grandsons who clearly thought you hung the moon to fly non-stop through the weekend, and made time to make me feel like I actually knew something about something.

As your people might say, “Yah hey” and “Sage up”, Pete. Sure, as your sister requested, I’ll play Old White Men on Monday nite.

To the rest of us modelers out there, hell, any and all of us sporting a pulse, there’s a final date stamped on your butt and only Dah Good Lawd can see it. What are you saving your best for? What day is that?

As my modeling people say, “Use the good wood”.

xovg