Dear Dr. Hare,
I’m so sorry, I’m painfully aware of the missed appointments; somehow I hoped you’d perhaps gloss over that (but you didn’t). It’s true, I’m working hard to get the forest project closer to where I want it to be. These images come in unexpected waves, and right now it seems I’m catching one.
You’re right. Almost 15 years ago I was working for some astonishingly ignorant person, slaving away alongside a few dozen other unfortunate souls. In the middle of a meeting with a self-employed client, I had a quasi-religious experience. From there, it took me one more employment to break free. That’s not to say that my life as an employee was all bad: sometimes I look back to the numbed state of mind I put myself into from Sunday night to Friday evening, to cope with the daily grind. Numbness has its advantages, right? And I recall that things regularly got better by Tuesday already (Sunday nights and Monday mornings were the worst). Anyway, that’s in the past, and it’s not as if being on one’s own came without frustrations and dullnesses. If I suffer from mistakes today, however, I can be sure those mistakes are my own!
Speaking of quasi-religious experiences: I spent Christmas evening at the family dinner table, browsing the web for used aircraft. Believe it or not, I consider moving to Scotland. I guess I’d buy a used single-engine propeller plane. (Though admittedly the more recent models seem to be rather costly. I was amazed to see that you can also order, new, a “345 mph, four seat, pressurized aircraft that could be easily built in one’s home shop.” Reactions I got to this latter proposal here at home, however, have been subdued.) Anyway, I’m dreaming of long strolls along the seashore, and quick flights to Rome, Sicily, Geneva, Salzburg, and Munich. I always thought I couldn’t get a pilot certificate, with my prescription glasses, but it turns out it’s not a problem. What do you think?
Jens