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Prayers - my best friend''s dad

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treefrog

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newsboyzgrl777 - I feel your pain.

I would have posted this on the snowmobile forum I used to be active on but I sold my snowmobile to buy an engagement ring and haven''t posted there in months. I think Pricescope is stuck with me now.

I am terribly sad to report the death of my best friend''s Ted''s father this morning. Ted''s father, and 3 other men were killed moments after takeoff in a small plane. They were departing from the Charleston SC area, in the dark, on the way to an amateur radio competition in the Bahamas. The awful details are in the link below. I''m pretty sure my friend Ted is mentioned in my Who''s Who. Ted is the guy I went snowmobiling with. I lived with him for years out of college. I can''t remember not knowing him, his parents, or his sister. We grew up practically across the street together. When Ted would go off on a sailboat race from Annapolis to Bermuda or Newport RI, his father and I would call and e-mail each other while following the race online. Ted''s father and I would follow the race obsessively. Now who''s going to follow the race with me when Ted goes out there?
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Ted just called but I missed the call. He was boarding a plane and had to shut his phone off. I called back 2 mins later but missed him. I feel bad I missed the call and he had to tell me via voice mail. My parents were very close to Ted''s parents too. Being roughly the same age, my paarents are in shock. Ted''s parents recently retired and moved to the Charleston, SC area. They were totally enjoying retirement and have been traveling all over the world. I am so, so sad. PLEASE pray for the families of all those involved in the crash.

http://www.journalscene.com/news/Plane-crashes-at-Summerville-Airport#

Treefrog
 
I''m so sorry this has happened. My condolences.
 
I am soo sorry for your friend''s lost and your lost. My condolences and prayers for his family and yours.
 
My sincerest condolences. You and your friend and his family are in my prayers.
 
Hi Treefrog,

I found this poem. I don't know if Ted's father was the pilot, but it still seems appropriate for anyone who loved flight & travel...

It's titled "High Flight", by John Gillespie Magee Jr
.

I reprint it here:


High Flight



Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings.
Sunward, I've climbed and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds, and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of...
Wheeled and soared and swung,
High in the sunlit silence. Hovering there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air,
Up, up, the long delirious blue.
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark or even eagle flew;
And while with silent uplifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

God speed to all the gentleman who passed. They are in a kinder gentler place.

My prayers go to all the family and friends who remain...*amen*

~Allyson
 
I''m so sorry...this is so sad. They sound like a very adventurous family. I''m not too far from Ft. Pierce (where the plane was
headed) and have flown over to the bahamas a couple of times. My thoughts are with you and your friends family.
 
So sorry to hear this news TF, my thoughts and prayers are immediately outgoing.

Allyson that is a very beautiful poem.
 
That''s terrible, prayers and hugs outgoing
 
Thank you all so much. I just read through the nearly 200 comments on that news website and was in tears... then my boss walked into my cubicle. Thank God for long sleeve shirts!

In addition to my closeness to the family for so many years, Ted''s father is about the same age as my father. I simply can''t imagine life without my dad. So I think of Ted and just can''t fathom what he is going through. Life is so precious, short, and unpredictable. You just never know what tomorrow may bring. I''ve been shown that over and over again. Ted is actually driving down to Charleston. I talked to a mutual friend of ours this morning. He is taking his dogs because he has no idea how long he''ll be down there with his family.

Vancity - no, Ted''s father was not the pilot. These guys were on their way to a ham radio contest in the Bahamas. If Ted''s father was the pilot, commercial airliners all over the East coast would be trying to get him to off the radio so they could land!
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I''m going to call Ted now. This will be tough.

Thank you all so much for keeping those families in your thoughts and prayers!

Treefrog
 
I am so sorry for the loss of your friend''s father. My condolences to all involved.

The above poem is beautiful!
 
I am so sorry... my prayers go out to the family.
 
So sorry to hear this treefrog, my thoughts are with their families.
 
I''m so sorry Treefrog! My thoughts to you and the families!
 
Major prayers going out, hun. *hug*
 
I''m so sorry for your loss. Prayers of comfort for you and all of his friends and family.
 
Thanks everybody. Vancity/dragonfly, I was reading through condolences I found on some ham radio website. Interestingly, somebody posted the exact same poem!

I talked to Ted. He is on his way down to SC. His sister got there last night. Ted said his father had done this trip many times before with the same crew and plane and was looking forward to it. He doesn''t have any other info yet. He''s holding up as well as could be expected. I''d imagine the drive will be incredibly long and painful though so please keep Ted in your thoughts as he does the 10+ hour drive.

Reading the support coming in from Moscow, Spain, Italy, India, Brazil, and every where in between is really amazing. One of the posts is from the grand-daughter of one of the men... just tears me up. It''s titled "I LOVE YOU GRANDPA"
I love and miss you grandpa Dallas, I cant believe this happened. I am in a state of shock, I dont want to believe it happened. Fly with the Angels Grandpa!!!!!! Love Ber Ber

http://www.journalscene.com/news/Plane-crashes-at-Summerville-Airport

Article with pics of the guys from last year''s trip:
http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/10/21/11157/?nc=1

Ignore the rude and insensitive comments.
http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2009/oct/21/report-plane-crash-near-jedburg-2-dead/


Treefrog
 
I am so sorry for your loss Treefrog. Sending prayers of comfort and healing to all... This is soooo sad.
 
I''m so sorry to hear this Treefrog. My thoughts are with your friend''s family and you.
 
I''m so sorry for your loss.
 
How terrible,

My condolences for the families.
 
Thanks everybody. I just got back very late last night. Ten hours of driving each way but the thought of not going wasn''t even a consideration. Summerville, SC is a beautiful town. I can see why they decided to retire there. I no sooner checked in to my hotel and Ted sent me a text message asking where I was. I wasn''t planning on telling them I was coming in case they tried to talk me out of it. Somebody let the cat out of the bag though and I''m glad they did. There wasn''t much time before we had to get ready to go to the funeral home and I was hoping to get a nap in but Ted''s next message was something like "How about coming over to the house?" I decided a nap was not important and told him I was on my way. Ted''s sister''s family had just arrived when I got to their house. I''m sure it was great for the family to see some friendly faces. It was nice that we had that opportunity to visit and sort of take the edge off before going to the funeral home.

Police had to direct traffic near the funeral home. A line wrapped around the building with people paying their respects for these men. It took me an hour just to even see the front door. There was a mass yesterday morning but there was no burial. The coroner said they died on impact, and did not suffer in the fire.

These were all great men. Pete, the pilot, flew many AngelFlight missions and was president of a local Angel Flight chapter (they volunteer to provide free flights for people with medical needs). Ed was instrumental in running several HAM radio clubs and did some work with local schools. I believe some of his equipment will be going to students that are interested in amateur radio but do not have the means to purchase the equipment. Dallas and Randy were no less generous with their time.

It was a tough time and will remain tough for a long time to come. Please keep the families and friends of these men in your prayers.

Treefrog
 
My condolences. My thoughts go out to both you and your friend, and his family. What a terrible accident!
 
Treeffrog,

I am so sorry for the loss of Ted''s father, and of course he was your friend too. Please accept my deepest sympathies.
 
My condolences Treefrog.
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thoughts and prayers are with you guys.
 
Treefrog - My condolences. So sorry to hear of your loss. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your friend''s family.
 
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