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 Honorable Mentions...
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Love O Fair |
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Joined: February 2016 Posts: 1802 Location: When?? | Another long-winded blah-blah from LOF. Here we all are, hung up in our hovels. No doubt lots of instruments being played more than usual these days, all around the globe-- and with playing often comes creating. So I did.. and I would like to tell someone about its inspiration. And since the OFC has a pretty well-stocked population of old codgers like myself, I thought you guys might appreciate this one. Early 90’s. My family flew commercial hot air balloons, and we were working a gig at California’s Moffett Field Naval Air Station for the annual SF Bay Area Fleet Week air shows. Inside of Moffett’s giant dirigible hangar were many vendors, one of which was the POW MIA booth. Their table had about a hundred silver honor bracelets spread out on black velvet, glittering under the bright hangar lights. So I looked away, let my hand drop blindly onto the table, and chose the first bracelet my fingers touched. It honors a US Navy fighter pilot we lost in Vietnam (1969), and it has hung on my office wall for the decades I’ve had it. I wear it every year on the date of his loss, and also put a photo of him up as my computer monitor background during that time. I have since researched him and have made friend contact with people who knew him. Heard some good stories. He grew up in Seal Beach, California, which was essentially ground zero for the classic 1960’s southern California beach scene. Anyway, there I sit, feet propped up on my desk, Ovation in lap, with his monitor photo looking back at me.. and I think to myself, "Son, you need a tune.” I figure that any given fighter pilot-type, especially coming from where he did, would definitely be into Corvettes, and girls in bikinis, and surfboards, and such. Right? Heck yes. So I put on my best Dick Dale surfer beat sound and had at it. Twenty minutes later it was a thing, and during the past couple of weeks has developed into an actual song (instrumental). Certainly nothing too fancy, but I like it. I think he would, too. His name was Paul Swigart, and the title of the song is “The Crusader”, named after the type of plane he flew. So that’s mine for today. I have many, but I’ll spare you. Thing is, though, most of us here have been writing music since.. forever. So I am starting this thread not so much to write out lyrics and tabs, but rather in the event that anyone else here would ever care to merely describe the personal inspirations of their own music. I the meantime, I just thought this young guy and his sacrifice was worth the honorable mention. Thanks for reading. ~LOF~ (Paul E Swigart.jpg) Attachments ----------------  Paul E Swigart.jpg (54KB - 0 downloads) | ||
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| seesquare |
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| alpep |
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| Jonmark Stone |
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| arumako |
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Joined: October 2012 Posts: 1034 Location: Yokohama, Japan | |||
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| Love O Fair |
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Joined: February 2016 Posts: 1802 Location: When?? | Thanks, everyone, for your replies. While I was too young to be in the Vietnam conflict myself, I, too, have my share of family and friend names on the memorial wall, and another one who came home with one arm, one leg and a colostomy bag for life. It looks like was right when I figured that I would be in the company of the same here at the OFC. Paul Swigart was an enigma to me for many years, a mystery name on a bracelet until the internet came along and I was finally able to garner information. His documentation is MIA, never recovered. @Jonmark - >>>Moffett was a favorite landmark. Were you guys doing the airshows in the mid to late 80's?<<< Our balloon operation was based in Visalia, CA from 1986-2010, and we supported hundreds of rallies, air shows and various sponsor-promotional flights all over the USA during that span. The fun part of the annual Moffett shows was that once we finished our morning flights, some of us would go into Hangar One (the big silver dirigible hangar) and rig for tethered rides inside of that tall sucker so that people could at least get a brief feel of it. A very unique thing to actually “fly” indoors. I don’t recall ever doing a balloon show at Watsonville where you kept your Tomahawk, but I do know WVI, and have friends with a crop duster company that was formerly based at that airport. It is one of the few areas in California that has not changed much since back when you were here. Still very nice. >>>played music in San Jose.<<< And, boy, do they still ever jam in San Jose. A few years back I was there during the inaugural city jam. At one point in the evening there were 155 live performances happening simultaneously around town, from large venues to corner bars. >>>Do you have the new song posted anywhere?<<< No, I have not recorded the song at all. It’s just Swigart and I cruising along with a guitar at this point. @arumako - >>>Never wrote a song for him. Thinking maybe I should<<< The theme of the thread can be anything.. not just veterans and war.. and what you have said about your friend so far definitely fits the theme, so I am hoping you write that song! PS: Since Moffett has been closed down, Google bought and now owns Hangar One. The silver outer cover (hazardous asbestos) was also removed down to bare frame and started over with new covering. What kinds of things the Google folk do in there is anyone's guess. Here are photos from the 'good ol' days'. Edited by Love O Fair 2020-04-19 3:52 PM (Hangar One.jpg) Attachments ---------------- Hangar One.jpg (100KB - 0 downloads) | ||
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| Beal |
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Joined: January 2002 Posts: 14127 Location: 6 String Ranch | |||
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