"Mike" wrote:

snip of most impressive stuff


A heart condition grounded Capt. Watkins in 2003, after he had spent
more than 21,000 hours in the air on more than 26,000 flights.

Survivors include his wife of 26 years, Monica Watkins of Lompoc; and
two brothers, John Watkins of Pasadena and retired Navy Adm. James D.
Watkins of Annapolis, who was chief of naval operations from 1982 to
1986 and secretary of energy under President George H.W. Bush.

The description "The Right Stuff' sounds pretty sickly in this
case I feel...God! what a guy!...I have a puny 13,000 hours which
sounds pretty unimpressive when you consider it was all in long
range stuff, likely 8 hour+ flights average...gee...
--

-Gord.
(use gordon in email)