Thrown out of an FBO...

Well, all I can say to the owner of the FBO and many who have posted in
indignation at Jay's almighty gaff is 'get a life'. How a throw away
comment made in jest can generate so much stomach acid is beyond me. It's a
slippery slope down the mountain of political correctness.....

YMMV,
Kevin



"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
oups.com...
Decades ago, in my younger days (okay, waaaay younger), I was asked to
leave a drinking establishment or two, and I've had a few women show me
the door, over time...but I never thought I'd ever be asked to leave an
FBO.

To our amazement, it happened to Mary and me today.

It all started pleasantly enough, with a brunch flight to a small town
airport in North Central Iowa. The weather today was absolutely
gorgeous, with temperatures in the 70s and smooth, calm air above a low
haze layer. We called ahead to make sure the FBO had a courtesy car
available, and within an hour we were on the ramp chatting with the
line guy.

Sadly, our favorite restaurant (we visit this little town a couple of
times per year) had gone belly up after over 100 years of continuous
operation, so we asked the FBO owner if he had any recommendations. A
large man, our conversation made it clear that he had enjoyed the
culinary delights from most (if not all) of the restaurants in his
small town, and we made mental note of the ones he most recommended.
He then jovially sent us on our merry way.

After finding the recommended locally-owned greasy spoon restaurant
(always our target!), we were soon enjoying a tasty, affordable lunch
accompanied by rapid-fire repartee' from our blue-haired veteran
waitress. We had a great time with her caustic, slightly off-color
humor, and finished off with two pieces of her home-made coconut cream
pie. We were soon waddling our way back to the courtesy van.

As always, we made a bee-line for the nearest gas station, and topped
off the tank. In my opinion, folks who use courtesy cars and don't add
a little gas are abusing a very nice system, and we always want to do
our part to make sure that the traditional "airport car" lives on.
Minutes later we were back inside the FBO, fat, dumb, and looking
forward to another great flight home.

Walking through the lobby area, I called out to the owner (who was
sitting at his desk behind the counter) and thanked him for a wonderful
recommendation. He stood up and walked over to the counter to bid us
farewell, we chatted about the restaurant we had visited, and I
mentioned to him that we had "topped off the tank" for him in his van.

He replied that we "Didn't have to do that...", but Mary remarked that
we ALWAYS tried to fill the tanks, in thanks for the use of their car.
I then mentioned that we, too, had a courtesy van at our hotel in Iowa
City, and that I hadn't had to fill the tank in three years, thanks to
the generosity of our pilot guests.

He laughed and said that he "Had to fill the tank more often than
that!", to which I laughingly replied "Yeah, the only time the tanks
don't get filled at our place is when charter pilots use our van --
those guys are the cheapest SOBs around!"

His face suddenly flushed red, and his tone abruptly changed. "Well,
I'm a charter pilot, and I believe you're insulting me, now..." he
growled in a quiet but somehow menacing voice. Still laughing, not
sure if he was joking, too, but somewhat alarmed at his sudden change
of tone, I replied in a conspiratorial way "Well, we all know *why*
they don't fill the tanks -- they're not making diddly squat, and those
kids can't afford to shell out too much cash..."

This placated him not at all. He went on to tell me how he's got "Six
charter pilots working for him, and they all make a good wage, and you
shouldn't be making blanket statements insulting 'em that way..."

Just like *that* the atmosphere in the office changed, and I was
starting to get flustered at his sudden change of personality. Mary
piped up and said that this was all "Just our observation of the way
some charter pilots behaved...", and I replied that I was "Just joking
around..." -- to which he snarled "Okay, 'John Kerry' -- maybe you
folks shouldn't be coming around here and borrowing my car anymore..."


I was dumb-founded -- he was kicking us out, and asking us not to come
back! Mary (for the first time in a very long time) was speechless. I
simply didn't know how to handle a situation that had gone from
friendly to adversarial in the span of three sentences.

My surprise quickly passed, though, and I was well on my way from
flustered to incredulous, bordering on the angry. I just stared at him
in disbelief, but Mary quickly filled the gap, stating in her best "Mom
voice" that "Avoiding this place shouldn't be too hard." He asked me
if the keys were in the van, to which I replied in the affirmative. He
then turned on his heel and walked away, leaving us shaking our heads.

Our day ruined, it was a quiet flight home, as we pondered what could
make a guy snap like that over such inconsequential banter. The only
thing we could think of us was that he was having a very, very bad day
-- perhaps something had gone wrong with one of his charter pilots, or
a charter job had fallen through? -- and our jokes tipped him over the
edge.

We'll never know -- and we'll never be back. It's a shame -- with all
the problems facing GA, small-town airports simply can't afford to have
FBOs driving off what little business they have (we were the only plane
there) -- but for us there are literally hundreds of other airports to
visit, so it won't matter much.

But this day will always bother me, nonetheless.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Good points. And I do think the FBO owner's reaction was a bit much...but I
wasn't there either. We only have Jay's version. Being from Mass. and having
voted for John Kerry in '04, I could instantly tell that I don't agree with
his politics-and that's putting it mildly. But as others have noticed, Mr.
Honeck has several "opinions" that encompass large groups with what appears
to be no exceptions for individuals within those groups.

That's bigotry. And Mr. Honeck has repeatedly demonstrated himself to be a
bigot. And every now and then, he gets caught by it because he will
verbalize one of these sweeping generalizations to somebody who happens to
be one of those individuals.

mike

"Judah" wrote in message
. ..
"mike regish" wrote in
:

"Andrew Sarangan" wrote in message

What I am saying is that people should be able to express their
opinions freely without fearing negative reactions or reprimand from
others.

Watched a show on the KKK the other day. Don't see how you can listen to
any of those guys' opinions without getting ****ed. But, hey...that's
just me.

Yeah, but they take the "Jews are cheap *******s" to the next level by
adding, "so we should burn crosses on their lawn and kill them all."

And that's where their opinion goes from being mostly harmless, silly
stereotype to offensive and perhaps even intolerable.

But tolerance is not just about tolerating the differences that we all
have. It's about tolerating the people who don't - at least long enough to
have a chance to educate them. Sure, Jay's joke was insensitive and
tasteless. But it wasn't all that harmful by itself.

The reaction of the FBO Owner / Charter Pilot was immature and useless. He
would have been much better to smile and say, "I bet you didn't know I am
also a Charter Pilot." Then he might have changed Jay's opinion, even if
just a bit.

Tolerance goes both ways. If every time people get offended they
immediately shut the door and stomp their feet, no one will ever change.

That's bigotry. And Mr. Honeck has repeatedly demonstrated himself to be a
bigot. And every now and then, he gets caught by it because he will
verbalize one of these sweeping generalizations to somebody who happens to
be one of those individuals.

mike

Wow, first I "hate FBOs", and now I'm a "bigot"? Soon, you'll be
calling me a "social climber"...

;-)

Just once it would be good of you to contribute something positive to
this group, Mike. Try it sometime -- it'll make you feel better.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

You know, Jay, you could do us all a favor and let us know what FBO
this is. While I might buy gas from them if their price was in the
ball park and they were on the way, I certainly wouldn't let them work
on a plane I was flying.

No, that wouldn't be right. I wouldn't want anyone impugning my
business in a worldwide forum on the basis of single experience, and
I'm willing to write off the issue as a "bad day".

I post it here only because (a) I found the experience to be quite
amazing, and (b) it's always fun to watch the different (and utterly
predictable) reactions from certain members of this group.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Peter Duniho wrote:
"The Visitor" wrote in message
...

He has nowhere near enough data points to justify a comment describing
"all" charter pilots.

Do you not need more data points to dispute it?


No. To support a blanket generalization, one needs to survey the entire
population. To refute a blanket generalization, one need only survey a
single member of the population, so long as that member is a
counter-example.

I wouldn't say the entire population, but I would want a sample size
that gives me at least a 95% confidence level! :-)


Matt

KevinBlack wrote:

Well, all I can say to the owner of the FBO and many who have posted in
indignation at Jay's almighty gaff is 'get a life'. How a throw away
comment made in jest can generate so much stomach acid is beyond me. It's a
slippery slope down the mountain of political correctness.....

Yes, especially when you can't even distinguish between common decency
and courtesy and political correctness. Sure, the guy seemed way to
thin-skinned, however, Jay had a couple of opportunities to undo things
after the guy's first comment that suggested he was becoming offended.
I wasn't there, so maybe Jay just didn't realize it soon enough,
however, as one who deals with the public as much as Jay, I have to
believe his skills of perception in this area should be good.

I think he could have unwound this pretty quickly, but instead, his ego
and then the beginnings of anger got in the way. That's fine, but then
don't anguish over it afterward. If you are one who is bothered by
things like this, and I'll admit I am as well, then you have to learn to
stop them as soon as the symptoms appear. It generally isn't that hard
to do. I think a "Hey, no offense, I was just making conversation."
would have stopped it. The guy would have made one more comment to get
in the last word and Jay could have then either ignored it or said,
"Hey, you may be right." and walked away. I'm guessing either would
have stopped the "don't come back" comment.

This isn't being PC, it is simply being perceptive.


Matt

Yes dear.

mike

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
ups.com...
That's bigotry. And Mr. Honeck has repeatedly demonstrated himself to be
a
bigot. And every now and then, he gets caught by it because he will
verbalize one of these sweeping generalizations to somebody who happens
to
be one of those individuals.

mike

Wow, first I "hate FBOs", and now I'm a "bigot"? Soon, you'll be
calling me a "social climber"...

;-)

Just once it would be good of you to contribute something positive to
this group, Mike. Try it sometime -- it'll make you feel better.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Jay Honeck" wrote:

Personally, I thought his Kerry crack was pretty funny, and I actually
held out hope that it meant his attitude was turning humorous.
Unfortunately, his next sentence (inviting us not to come back) proved
me wrong.
--

Maybe you can extend the olive branch and invite him to your hotel for
a free nights stay.

Ron Lee

Ah...see? Now you've enlightened me again. I though you just thought charter
pilots were cheap *******s.

mike

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
ups.com...
That's bigotry. And Mr. Honeck has repeatedly demonstrated himself to be
a
bigot. And every now and then, he gets caught by it because he will
verbalize one of these sweeping generalizations to somebody who happens
to
be one of those individuals.

mike

Wow, first I "hate FBOs", and now I'm a "bigot"? Soon, you'll be
calling me a "social climber"...

;-)

Just once it would be good of you to contribute something positive to
this group, Mike. Try it sometime -- it'll make you feel better.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Jay Honeck" wrote:

That's bigotry. And Mr. Honeck has repeatedly demonstrated himself to be a
bigot. And every now and then, he gets caught by it because he will
verbalize one of these sweeping generalizations to somebody who happens to
be one of those individuals.

mike

Wow, first I "hate FBOs", and now I'm a "bigot"? Soon, you'll be
calling me a "social climber"...

Don't let his comments bother you Jay. His "bigotry" comment is
typical of liberals who are the worst at fomenting racism and poverty
in the USA. Now before you liberals get your panties in a wad, that
is fact, not a generalization.

Ron Lee