At 05:12 18 May 2004, Tom Seim wrote: (Snip)

Let's be serious for a moment. In regards to soaring,
which is what
this news group is about, you are a quitter. I, on
the other hand, am
a triple diamond holder. You don't use your real name
(surprise!). I,
on the other hand, do. I don't really care what else
you do, it's
irrelevent. But, were you to follow me around for a
single day, you
would be totally clueless about things that I am an
expert at. So
what? That has nothing to do with this news group.
You are basically a
bitter old man. I feel sorry for you.

Tom

I don't have a clue who Lennie is and I know that some
of the things he has said are somewhat provocative
but earlier in this thread, before the mudslinging
started he perhaps let slip something that we should
all consider. As human beings we all have limitations
and our limitations are different. We should all ask
ourselves 'am I competent to carry out the task'. Those
who can honestly answer yes and are flying within their
own limitations are the safe pilots. Those who are
not aware of the limitations or deliberately fly outside
them are something else. Anyone who recognises that
to continue when they are not sure of what they are
doing or realises that their committment has altered
and then act on that is not a quitter, he is a very
brave man. The graveyards are full of people who think
that they can get away with it for ever.

A triple diamond holder, does that make you a better
safer pilot do you think? It might, it probably does
but it could also mean that you are lucky, possess
better equipment or are a cheater. I am not for one
moment suggesting that you are any of the latter just
that in terms of safety and competence those little
sparkling gems mean very little. What means a great
deal more is the attitude you adopt when you take to
the air. Experience is not the number of diamonds you
have or even the number of flying hours, it is what
you have learned in achieving them. Safety is not about
achieving it is about attitude, skill and staying with
the limitations of yourself, your glider and others,
using the experience gained to avoid the dangerous
situations. Recognising that the time has come to quit
is the bravest that anyone could do.

Who should we really feel sorry for?