Several years had passed since I’d been “airborne” in free flight but apparently my passion for soaring still exists. About 5 years ago while visiting Brazil, I signed up for a tandem hang gliding flight with Konrad from Rio Hang Gliding. Rio has to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world and flying near Sugar Loaf and Corcovado with the Ocean beyond was another of my most cherished experiences. When I returned, I decided that I wanted to take up the sport but quickly found it to be logistically challenging. In addition to a requirement for near perfect air conditions, you had to be able to drive to a launch site which didn’t bode well with me so I quickly discovered that paragliding was a more practical option.
Category Archives: Learning
Mrs. Thisted
Speaking of learning, my favorite teacher in high school was Mrs. Thisted. I was not very interested in the classes she taught – English, Drama, Writing, etc. as I was more of a math and physics kind of guy at the time but I liked her. In addition to teaching core courses, she headed up the yearbook staff and I was the photographer. I did OK in her classes as I had a pretty good knowledge of English language and vocabulary but I didn’t really like to read or write and had a bit of difficulty with those assignments. Mostly just that I wouldn’t apply myself but, over the course of a few short years, we became friends. For graduation, Mrs. Thisted gave me a very nice blank book. My first thought was “why would she give me this kind of gift – she doesn’t know me at all”
Learning to learn
One of the primary purposes of this adventure for me is to learn new things. I’ve found that I’ve become a bit stagnant in my learning. As a child, learning came easy – I showed up in class and got straight A’s. That pretty much happened all the way through high school. When I showed up at Colorado State University, one of the first things I learned is that didn’t know as much as I thought I knew. Continue reading Learning to learn