On Two Divergent Thoughts

Today I’m struck by two widely divergent thoughts. 

One is a big to-do halfway around the world from where I sit, a modern fairy tale of sorts. Will and Katy got married this morning, in a ceremony that Will’s mother would have loved. A lot of people were there, and as at any wedding, there was a lot of well wishes, smiles, and pictures. I understand the church was full of onlookers and family, as well as some VIP types.

Okay...the church was Westminster Abbey, there were heads of state in attendance, and William and Catherine are in line for the British Throne. Okay, so when your grandmother’s the Queen of England, and your mother is the late Princess Diana, you tend to do things like weddings big. It’s sort of expected; after all...you are royalty. Of course, I add my well wishes to the happy couple; and hope that this fairy tale wedding has a fairy tale ending: that they live happily ever after.

Then I look out my window. It’s raining today as I write this. It’s as if God Himself were crying over the metro Eugene-Springfield area today. There are police all over town. A route is being prepared to get blocked off. Flags are at half staff; half the town is wearing blue ribbons. My RCMP pin has a black band over it. That band will remain in place until Monday. I’ve read that the RCMP-and possibly some of BC’s finest-will be visiting today as well.

As will police from California, Washington State, and all over Oregon. This is because today there’s a funeral for one of Eugene’s finest. 

Chris Kilcullen was a twelve year officer with the Eugene Police Department. He was a motorcycle officer who was fatally shot last week while stopping a vehicle, in what was described as a routine traffic stop. The person who killed him had been tailgating him, according to written reports. He was a 13-year veteran of the police department, and was the first Eugene officer killed in the line of duty since 1934. His death made a widow of his wife, and left two children fatherless. 

And it was one of those shots that was a freakish, million to one shot. While he was wearing a Kevlar vest-which is pretty much standard issue-I understand the bullet went in just inside the armhole at close range. 

Now, I’ve never been a cop. I have worked in security and crowd control in four states; I have shields for two of those (California and Illinois). And one certainly doesn’t like to see an officer shot. These people are here to serve and protect; even when they hand us a traffic ticket they are doing their jobs. And those jobs can be thankless at times.

I’m not going to cast aspersions at the shooter; there may be some mental issues that are not being released to the public. We don’t know the whole story, we may never know the whole story, and what’s really sad is the more they’re finding, the less they really learn about what’s happened.

Yes, today in my neck of the woods, there’s a big-to. So big it’s in the new Matthew Knight arena, for a man who died serving his community. 

Like I said...two widely divergent thoughts. One happy, one sad. While most of the world celebrates a wedding, we’re having a funeral for a man many of you never heard of. 

Now you have. He sounds like he was a heck of a nice guy, from all accounts.

RIP, Officer Kilcullen. You left behind more than family; you’ve left behind friends who knew you well...better than I did. You’ve stopped more than traffic today.

Your death has brought our community to a standstill.  

Enough for now.

Flying the automated skies...

So, I just got back from a whirlwind trip to Florida. I’d like to say it was all fun and games, but part of being an ordained minister is getting to do funerals or graveside services for family member who have gone on to their rewards.

This isn’t about the loss of family, though. She had worked well, long, and hard for her Lord, and it was her time to go hear the words “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” Rest in Peace, Aunt Bea. You will be missed.

However, this is really about the flights, at least as they should have been.

The first half—EUG to PDX to DEN to MCO—I had no problems. I flew United, and could work on some course audio items (I’m currently working on my 3^rd doctorate), watched “The Martian Child”, and generally took it easy. I enjoyed listening to the flight deck, from time to time.

The return leg is where I hit issues. All of them weather related, so if you’re looking for me to rag on United, this isn’t your blog. (Sorry, kids.) MCO to ORD had issues. Two hours, due mostly to weather between Orlando and Chicago. The pilot was smart on this flight—he didn’t turn on the in-flight entertainment until we were pretty well clear of Orlando airspace, so we couldn’t listen to the flight deck. I was, as a result, able to miss my connection to PDX as a result of being two hours late, but was able to catch the last flight out of the evening. My wife had to come get me in Portland, and brought me home the next morning after we both stayed in Portland. (Hey, I’d been up for 20 hours at that point. Even I have my limits.)

Now, the funny part. Due to a mixup, they had booked me out for the flight I took, but 24 hours later. So now I’ve been getting automated messages telling me that flight 321 was delayed, gate changed, and would be taking off from Chicago-O’Hare at 8:30 pm.

Never mind the fact I was home already…I’m still laughing over that.

Addendum: I did get the remainder of the fare (PDX-EUG) refunded. It took three calls over two days, and almost an hour of my time to do it, but it’s the principle of the thing. All I will tell you is that the amount refunded, while not what I expected, will cover the gas Deena spent to come get me.

Enough for now.

(posted 2/28/08)