You Never Know What a Day Might Bring – Part 6

It’s been over a year since the heart attack I suffered while hang gliding (see the “Heart Attack 3/6/09″ link on the right).  In regards to flying, I did return to the skies about 6 weeks after the event, and even though I never get to fly as often as I like, I was still able to put in over 10 hours of air time during 2009.  I set a personal altitude record of over 6,000 feet, and my longest flight of 2009 was about 2 hours and 20 minutes.  You can see a music video of some footage I shot of that flight by clicking here.  It was a fantastic day of foot-launched hang gliding at the Richmond Dale ridge (the same location where I had the heart attack) with five other Ohio Flyer pilots.

Coming in for a landing at the ridge.

A few days after that flight I had a six- month follow up appointment with my cardiologist, Dr. Mehta.  His nurse took an echo-cardiogram reading of my heart, and I waited anxiously as Dr. Mehta read the results.  He said “This is fantastic.  If I didn’t know better, I’d say your heart muscle has never suffered any damage!”  Donna and I were thrilled.  Even so, Dr. Mehta still insisted that I maintain a medicine regimen that included beta blockers for at least six more months.  I do not like the effect that beta blockers have on my mental clarity and energy levels, but I guess I’d better follow orders.  After all, it was my own insistence of reducing medications that got me into this predicament in the first place.

As I look back on this past year, I am as firm believer in the sovereignty of God as ever.  I may never know all the reasons or long-term effects of my scary experience, but God does and I trust Him.  This blog was prompted by my forced time off, and I’ve got a revised perspective on the precarious nature of life.  As the title of these chapters in my blog indicate you never know what a day might bring.  Any of us could wake up in the morning and get out of bed for the last time, because the events of that day just might propel us into the eternal presence of our Lord.

I have a fascination with studying what the Bible says about the end of the world, and I’m convinced that the popular view that we are living in the last days is entirely wrong.  I may write more about this topic in my blog.  But what intrigues me is how so many dear believers, when asked why they are so excited about their belief that we are living in the last days, say “I just can’t wait to be with the Lord in eternity!”  Well, I agree.  Being in the eternal presence of Jesus will be something wonderfully beyond our ability to comprehend.  If I challenge someone’s view by saying that, scripturally, I think this world will go on for hundreds, if not thousands, of years, the person usually acts dismayed and even angered.  It seems that many Christians have a mentality that it’s all going to be over soon, and our troubles in this world will go away when Jesus come to rapture us off the face of the earth.  Well, brothers and sisters, take heart!  Even though the end of the world may not come for a long, long time, I’m here to tell you that I have tiptoed right up to the edge of eternity, and we are all that close to dying every living, breathing moment.  You never know when the Lord might call YOU home, so you would be wise to live every day like it could be your last!

The “Illusion” of Design and Purpose?

To see a display of color that can rival the leaves on a sunny autumn day, visit a gathering of hang glider pilots as they unfurl their wings to prepare them for a day of flying.  Some sail colors are subdued, but most are bright and symmetrical, and it’s typically rare to see identical patterns from one kite to the next.  Other variations exist in the sizes and types of gliders.  Beginner wings typically have a lower “aspect ratio” with noticeably wider square footage nose to tail.  Higher performance kites are thinner, and the structure of the wing may be more rigid, imitating the wing design found on fixed wing airplanes.

It’s obvious that the design of each wing reflects its purpose.  Beginner pilots should learn to fly with a less challenging and more stable glider, while more experienced pilots can exchange stability for higher performance.  The visual differences between gliders of varying performance are obvious in some cases and less obvious in others.  Experience over time has allowed engineers to discover ways to increase performance while maintaining a higher degree of stability than in earlier designs.  Pilots can choose the type of wing they prefer to fly based on their purposes for flying – pleasure, duration, distance – or on other factors such as ease of transport or setup or the cost of purchasing and maintaining their equipment.

I currently own two gliders.  One, the Airwave Pulse, is a beginner/intermediate glider that is fairly easy to set up and fly.  The other glider, a Wills Wing Sport 2, is in the recreational/sport class.  It’s somewhat smaller and sleeker but is newer and has a bit higher performance capabilities.  Unlike my Pulse, the Sport 2 has a feature called “variable geometry” (VG) which allows the pilot to adjust the nose angle while in flight.  With more VG applied, the nose angle is wider, the sail is a bit tighter, and the kite is somewhat more efficient in straight and level flight.  But the trade-off is that it’s more resistant to turning or banking when in this mode.  So a pilot would release the VG when thermalling, but when the pilot needs to cover more distance the VG can be pulled on, allowing the kite to fly faster while losing less altitude between thermals.  Obviously, the invention of variable geometry was a major step forward in glider design.

One of my fellow pilots, Michal, has an Airwave Pulse exactly the same size as my other glider.  We both recently removed and sent our sails to a shop on the west coast where a fellow named Kamron (he was involved in the original design of the Pulse) replaced the leading edge of each glider because they had begun to show signs of age.  This model, when introduced in the early 90′s, boasted a plastic laminated leading edge which was intended to decrease drag.  Over the years the lamination on these sails begins to peel off.  Because the glider is, otherwise, a very popular one due to it’s desirable flying characteristics, it is worth the cost of replacing the laminated leading edge with one made of Dacron like the rest of the sail.  Both Michal and I also chose to replace the old foam inserts inside of the leading edge pockets with mylar inserts.  The mylar option has proven to provide a more aerodynamic shape for the leading edge, improving the flying characteristics of the glider.

When I first flew my Pulse with the new leading edge and the mylar inserts, I could not have been happier.  The kite flew like a dream.  The stability and the roll characteristics improved noticeably.  Michal, on the other hand, was very disappointed with the results he experienced.  His Pulse felt very unstable in flight, and it seemed to “porpoise” (rocking forward and back) when flying straight.  Something was not right!  We examined his flying wires and the way the sail was mounted on the frame to make sure it was reinstalled correctly.  Everything appeared to be in order.  So one day in early spring Michal and John, the local hang gliding instructor, set up both gliders side by side to look for even the tiniest variances between the two wings.

John noticed that my Pulse had been shimmed so that the sail was a tiny bit tighter.  Thin rings of aluminum were installed at the wing tips which, in effect, extended the length of the leading edge tubes and pulled the sail so it was more taught.  The width of these shims was less than 1/2 inch on each side.  The only other difference found between the two kites was the way that the new mylar insert was positioned inside the leading edge pocket.  The mylar inside of my wing was shifted downward so that it wrapped around the bottom of the leading edge a bit further than on Michal’s wing.  John and Michal worked all afternoon to adjust his glider so that it imitated mine.  When John test flew Michal’s wing the difference in handling was astounding!  The kite was very stable and the porpoising was gone.  The tiny changes had made a remarkable difference.

Perhaps Kamron, as the designer of the glider, could have flown Michal’s glider and figured out what was wrong without the need to compare the gliders side by side.  As an experienced engineer with thousands of hours of flight time he, most likely, would have had the knowledge and experience to determine how micro changes in the dimensions of the wing would affect the flying characteristics of the glider he designed.

No one would argue that it takes much experience, education, and wisdom to continually improve on the design of hang gliders.  Early gliders were primitive, they had poor performance, and they were dangerous.  But the accumulated intelligent input by both engineers and experienced pilots has resulted in gliders that are safer, higher performance, and more specialized in their flying characteristics than earlier models.  This is the effect of intelligent design, and it’s obvious to even the most inexperienced observer.

I see the same evidence of intelligent design in the natural world as well.  To me it is obvious – there is purpose in every specialized component of every living thing.  But many people who would quickly acknowledge the evidence of design in man-made objects can, somehow, look at the natural world with all its wonders and believe that it all happened by random, purposeless chance.  They have been convinced that, through the process of evolution by natural selection, everything we observe in nature today is the result of naturalistic causes.

Recently I listened to a discussion forum featuring two of the world’s most famous atheistic evolutionists: Lawrence Krauss and Richard Dawson.  This was not a debate, because they agreed on almost everything.  Rather it was a meeting of the minds, a conversation, where they carried on a high level discussion in front of an adoring and mesmerized crowd at Stanford University. The topic was science education and the need to eliminate in discussions about origins any remnants of the belief that an intelligent designer had anything to do with the world we see today.  They equated believers in God-ordained processes to those who still believe the world is flat.  Evolution, in their opinion, is no longer a theory but, instead, is an indisputable fact.  Dawkins and Krauss set religious belief and progressive science education at opposite ends of the spectrum, indicating that the two were mutually exclusive.

I found numerous contradictions in their discussions, two of which I’ll highlight here.   Early in the forum Dawkins, in remarking about the obvious simplicity of evolution, remarked “It’s somewhat baffling to me why we had to wait for our Darwin until the middle of the 19th century.”  My immediate thought was that if evolution is so obvious, why did it take so long for someone to postulate a theory?  Evolution is not obvious.  Evolution is a theory because no one has observed the macro-processes required for it to take place.  I personally am amazed that any thoughtful person could believe that evolution explains everything including the origins of the material universe.  Most rational human beings are deeply aware of the necessary involvement of intelligence when purposeful design is observed.  Kraus and Dawkins kept referring to “the illusion of design” in nature.  In other words, it’s overwhelmingly obvious that purpose and order point to a designer…but they call this an illusion.  Only fools (according to Dawkins and Krauss) could believe that an extremely intelligent and powerful being could have created and ordered the universe.

Dawkins explains that evolution can be summed up in one word: heredity.  He defines heredity as “high fidelity replication of coded information.”  Krauss agreed.  I find this to be fascinating and even comical.  Both Dawkins and Krauss have been guest speakers on the SETI Institute’s weekly radio program titled “Are We Alone?”  The mission of the SETI Institute (the acronym SETI stands for Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence) is to “explore, understand, and explain the origin, nature, and prevalence of life in the universe.”  One project funded by SETI is the Alien Telescope Array (ATA) which is a large number of small radio telescope dishes that are scanning the celestial skies for signals from intelligent beings.

The SETI Alien Telescope Array

In the Frequently Asked Questions section of the SETI web page researchers explain how they will know if signals are from extra terrestrial beings.  SETI researchers are listening for “narrow band signals” in the otherwise random radio static spread evenly across the frequency spectrum.  Intelligent life forms would purposely pack a lot of energy, or information, in a narrow band of “spectral space.” In other words, the purposeful packing of high amounts of orderly information into a very small space (relatively speaking) is a sign of intelligence.  Hmmmm, biologists are awed by the incredible amount of information packed into the strands of DNA that can be found in each and every cell of every living thing.  One strand of a DNA molecule is estimated to contain approximately 350 megabytes of information.  That’s a lot of information packed into something as tiny as the human cell!

So let me get this straight…if SETI researchers intercept a radio signal that is more than just static, this probably indicates that the signal was created by intelligent beings.  But the massive amount of beautifully coded  information packed into a single strand of DNA is a random occurrence caused by nothing but purposeless chance, and it’s origins can be traced back to absolutely…nothing??  The incredible contradictions in reasoning here will never cease to amaze me!  It reminds me of the verse in Romans:

Since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse…their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.  Claiming to be wise they became fools…

Romans 1: 20-22

The only point of disagreement in the conversation between Krauss and Dawkins came when they discussed the question about whether there is purpose in the universe.  Krauss commented that he remains open to the idea that an accidental universe could have purpose.  Dawkins disagreed, and was somewhat flabbergasted.  He even commented that the idea of purpose in a naturalistic world view is “stupid.”  It’s the one point in the discussion where I agreed with Dawkins.  Purpose implies design and meaning.  If the natural world is a result of random causes, how could one believe that it has purpose?  Yet Krauss commented that the world is filled with the “illusion of purpose” that is so powerful that he still has not eliminated the possibility that the universe does have some sort of undefined purpose.

The “illusion” of design…the “illusion” of purpose…these guys have a lot of faith.  I guess it does take faith to believe that chance plus billions of years can produce a universe, from nothing, that is so orderly that it appears to have design and purpose.  If you reject the idea of an intelligent God who is the Creator of everything, you will believe in just about anything to explain away the obvious.

You Never Know What a Day Might Bring – Part 5

After a forced but thoroughly enjoyable and fruitful recuperation period I started the gradual transition back to a normal life.  An appointment with my own cardiologist several weeks after the heart attack gave me the opportunity to fully explain to him the circumstances around the event.  Dr. Mehta felt partly responsible for giving in to my pressure to stop taking Plavix in October 2008, but I assured him that he had fully warned me of the risk I was taking, and that the decision was one that I owned completely.  He viewed the brief video of my emergency catheterization procedure about which he commented “You were one sick fellow.”  Even so, Dr. Mehta said that, after a month, I could do anything I wanted to do, including flying.  I should just listen to my body and quit if it said “Enough!”  He also prescribed cardiac rehabilitation at the hospital near my home, which I started a few days later.

Transcendence and Glory

We have three boys who are now adults.  Our oldest, Ryan, is interested in the more traditional sports, especially basketball and golf.  Ryan has the most naturally gorgeous basketball shooting form of anyone I know, and the same is true of his golf swing.  The guy just had it from the womb!  Jeff, my second son, and his brother Phil have had an interest in non-traditional sports, particularly extreme BMX biking.  Donna and I have supported all 3 boys in their interests and activities, usually timing our summer vacation plans around the sports camps they wanted to attend.

Recreation and Redemption

We all do it.  We all recreate.  If you want to start a lively discussion among friends or even strangers, just ask them what they like to do to have fun.  Those of us who seek to live an integrated life in which our faith in God is actively woven through every fabric of our existence had better develop a theology that includes recreation as a vital element.  Otherwise we could be accused of being inconsistent in our systems of belief.

I have devoted much time in reflection and study of this topic.  Perhaps this is because I enjoy playing so much that I hope to justify the time I spend in the pursuit of recreational happiness.  But I honestly believe that God is pleased when our frolic bolsters our faith and when the end result of an afternoon of play causes us to well up in gratitude to the Lord of creation who made it all possible.   So allow me to take a crack at developing a theology of recreation that may settle into your soul, giving you reason to rejoice in the God of rest and refreshment.

Turkey Vultures and Venn Diagrams

Eagles are majestic birds who rule the skies above mountains and ridges, but few birds compare in their thermal soaring abilities like the turkey vulture.  These relatively large birds live all over the North American continent and are usually associated by most people as devourers of carrion – dead animals (as in road kill).  Vultures scavenge for food in open fields, along shorelines, and in rocky terrain, but they most often are seen circling in the skies as they search for their next meal.  The scientific name for turkey vulture, Cathartes aura, means “cleansing breeze.” They are not deemed the most beautiful of birds, perched in a creepy, hunched over position when not in flight. 

Eagles, Wonder Winds, and Rest

The most memorable flight I’ve had so far took place at the Richmond Dale ridge on a Saturday afternoon in mid-October 2007.  The flight lasted 3 1/2 hours.  Two other Ohio Flyer pilots enjoyed the flying on that day which always adds a extra level of enjoyment as together we explore the atmosphere around the ridge.  Only a few times did I need to scratch (fly close to the trees or near the top of the ridge) to stay up. Most of the time I was able to experiment with finding the best part of the lift band while trying to gain as much altitude as possible. I was only able to achieve a maximum altitude of 350 feet above the launch, but my variometer logbook recorded a cumulative altitude gain during the flight of 10,700 feet.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull – Part 3

The freshly-rennovated radial ramp at Henson's Gap is one of the nicest launch ramps in the world.

Team Challenge is a hang gliding competition event sponsored and hosted by the Tennessee Tree Toppers hang gliding club based in Dunlap, Tennessee.  Their premier launch sight at Henson’s Gap is the location of the week long meet that is promoted as an event where cross-country flying novices are teamed up with more experienced pilots.  Scoring is based on a sliding scale where the distances accomplished by team members each day are multiplied by a factor determined by each pilot’s relative skill level and glider performance level.  Tom, a member of the Ohio Flyers club, had lobbied for our involvement in the meet each year, but to my knowledge no team made up of just Ohio Flyers members had ever competed.  Dad’s challenge to me to “go for it” prompted my registration for the event in the fall of 2008.  Some other Ohio Flyers registered as well.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull – Part 2

On Wednesday this week my father, who lives with mom next door to us in the home where I grew up, came over to ask if I wanted to go with him to fly indoor electric remote control airplanes in the gymnasium of an elementary school not far from where we live.  I was pleased that he asked me to go; I was hoping we could spend more time together during my recuperation enjoying his flying hobby.  Dad’s real passion, when the weather permits, is flying RC gliders and sailplanes from slopes or by towing them up with a small electric winch.  It’s a miniature version of what I do in hang gliding.  We frequently compare notes on how the flying was that day in each of our aviating worlds.  Today, even though it was warm outside, was too gusty to fly outdoor model airplanes so the indoor variety would suffice.

Aviation of one form or another has been a part of our family life from my earliest recollections.  Gas-powered control line and RC model airplanes pacified our interests until my brother’s desire to learn to fly launched him, Dad, and me into the world of full-scale aviation.  We all earned our pilots’ licenses while I was in Jr. High and High School.  I could legally fly an airplane by myself before I could drive a car by myself.  My brother went to technical school after graduation where he earned his airframe and powerplant mechanic’s license.  He’s now the chief mechanic and inspector for a jet charter service in Columbus.  Dad owned several different small airplanes during the time that we were actively flying.  At this present time, none of us has a current license to fly an airplane.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull – Part 1

The novella with this title, written by Richard Bach, exploded on the scene in 1970, and it was an instant phenomenon.  Selling over 1 million copies within 2 years, Jonathan Livingston Seagull remained on the New York Times best seller list where it remained for 38 weeks straight.  The story is about a restless seagull who is bored with the day-to-day existence that is the fate of all seagulls – scrapping for food on the shores and in the wake of the fishing boats.  To pass the time, Jonathan began a relentless pursuit of perfection in flight which lifted him to heights he’d never known or anticipated.

Perhaps the positive “you have purpose beyond simple mundane existence” message of the book hit the scenes at the perfect time when the country was reeling from the cultural traumas and civil unrest induced by the Viet Nam war and the political turmoil of the late 60′s.  It grabbed me simply because it was about a young seagull who loved to fly.  Even though I found Bach’s philosophical/religious themes in the book (higher planes of existence, reincarnation) to be out of alignment with my recently renewed Christianity, I was able to “eat the fish and spit out the bones,” to use a uniquely appropriate metaphor my pastor frequently invokes.  I was so enamored with Jonathan that I used quotes from Seagull when writing the script for our National Honor Society induction ceremony for which I was responsible in our senior year of high school.