TEB Teterboro Airport

TEB. "Teterboro Airport is designed as a "reliever" airport that serves vital interests and general aviation requirements of the Northern New Jersey and the New York Metropolitan Area." That according to the airport website, at www.teb.com. Why should we care about this airport, that I've never been too? Because almost all mail destined for Irag, for our troops, is labeled and sent on to TEB. Boxes and bags, that are very heavy. Typical postage seems to be about $25-$42. I was going to write something cool related to this but God keeps impressing upon me that beyond sending mail and Care packages, what our troops really need is PRAYER. I can't handle every package going to TEB, but the ones that I do, I place my hand on it, and say, "Father, bless this gift and the giver, may you protect the solider who receives piece of mail, amen". I would encourage everyone to find a name of a solider, perhaps you know one personally, and pray for them EVERY day. Pray for their protection, salvation, their families, girlriends, troops around them. Pray that God keeps them safe and that order be restored in Iraq, that the enemy will give up and seek out living full lives in peace. If you'd like to send a package to TEB, I'd suggest you find someone who knows a soldier and ask them if you can send a package. You can also send one online. I'd suggest going through the USO. Refer to www.uso.org.

I'm leaving on a jet plane

In a few weeks, I'll be taking a trip out West, for business and pleasure. Like most Americans, I've been thinking about the plans more than I've been getting my home cleaned. later tonight I'll probably purchase my tickets online. I've been checking, orbitz.com, kayak.com and the individual airlines as well. Lots of choices. I can go non-stop, (most expensive but most relaxing--providing you enjoy praying mantis seating on a regional jet (CRJ-700-900s). I can skip though a hub airport like Denver, Dallas or Chicago. I prefer Denver but they don't have free Wifi, and I think DFW does but thats not important when you're at a real hub city like these. The real activity besides eating is watching planes and people. We had seriously thought about driving over to Omaha and taking WN, or Southwest either non-stop or going through LAS. LAS has a good airport, and fairly good plane watching, that is, is you like looking at Southwest. The 737s are cool but they tend to look alike unless you see the Shamu or NBA plane. Oh, BTW, my favorite website is www.airliner.net. if you like airplane photos, they have the ultimate database.

Fly over country

Yup, greetings from the fly over state of Iowa. I've lived here since graduation from a great midwestern University and life in Iowa is good but getting out of here is expensive. To fly out of Des Moines is pricey; To drive out of Des Moines, either by I-35 to the south or north, promises you hours of countryside. Go South to MCI, and its 3 hours; go North to MSP, and its 4 hoursl To go East or West on I-80, that great ribbon of concrete, (which I read somewhere else today, that the nation's interstate highway system is 50 years old...wow!), means, at least 6 hours in ORD, 2 hours to OMA, 8 hours to DEN, and 22 to BDL. Thats alot of driving, but I've done it all, and we do live in a Big Country.

As you can see I use city codes instead of city names because I used to work heavily, in the airline industry, back in the mid-eighties. I was forced to memorize city codes and now they are just stuck in my head. SCE is State College, PA. EYW, is Key West, Florida. PWK is Palwaukee airport in Wheeling, Illinois, not far from where I grew up. Sitting on my patio with my family, eating dinner, and watching the "heavies" flyover our house, enroute to ORD. Oh how my father used to curse those planes. I loved taking a break from dinner, (particularily chicken on the bone), and walking out in the yard and spying the 747s, that were inbound from Europe. Nowadays, if you were go to plane spotting from my yard in Illinois, you'd see 747s, A340s, 767s, 777s. The big plane that everyone is braggng about is the A380 but it may be awhile until we see it state side. Who knows what US airline will be the first to get them, and fly them here in the states?