Idle Hands

So, sometimes, on rainy days like today or the occasional quiet afternoon, we get bored and start looking for ways to amuse ourselves and help pass the time.  There is no longer a television to help entertain us and the silly blond chick in the office is always hogging the Internet.  (Oh, wait, that's me, woops!)  Anywho, here's a collection of a few of my pics & short stories describing how we keep our idle hands from doing the devil's work at the DeWitt Municipal Airport!

My fly experiment on top of field maps

*Flies can be fun* About a month ago, before the heat got absolutely unbearable, this place was swarming with flies.  We're talking biblical, plague proportions here, not just 5 to 10.  They were everywhere.  In the hangar, in the bathrooms, in both ours and Bullocks office, and pretty much anywhere in between!  I could go on a 15 minute fly killing spree with my trusty swatter and barely make a dent in the tiny winged population.  Then one day, Alex casually mentioned that flies on had a 24 hour life span.  What?!?!  I didn't know this and was very skeptical of his theory.  I thought they at least bugged the crap out of me for several months...

  Well, one day about 3pm a fly flew into the opening of my drink cup and I decided this would be the perfect time to test Alex's fly statement.  And yes, it is totally disgusting that this happened and I know most people would be grossed out watching a fly swarm about their drinking cup all day, but for me I looked at the predicament through the eyes of a scientist.  This was my experiment.  The next day the fly was still alive but by 1pm, dead and a door knob.  Who knew Alex was so versed on the life of flies!  ... Now if we could just figure out a way to trap the rest of them.  

Shawn, G.W., Matthew, Turbo working on Puddle Jumper

*Daily Maintenance* Most down time is spent on working on stuff.  Airplanes, loader trucks, the golf cart, pumps, engines, breaks, and tires; it all breaks down or has mechanical issues at one point or another.  Shawn & Alex not only have to drive the loader trucks and mix the chemicals, but they also have to be part-time mechanics, welders, painters, etc.  Matthew, along with Robert wonderful assistance, has to know the ins and outs of his fine tuned machine and be chief maintenance man anytime a problem arises.  Even, G.W. works on his little plane puddle jumper daily.  He calls it Puddle Jumper, but her formal name is Samantha Jane.  Such funny relationships, men and their machines.

Cupcake lovingly brushing Canine

*Doggy Daycare*  During the downtime, we also like to give a little extra TLC to the mammals in our life that don't get enough attention when we're busy.  Turbo, Woodrow, Kramer, & Canine aren't exactly starved for attention but the we really love our pups around here and like to go the extra mile for them.  Heath's dog Canine is some sort of mix between a German Shepard and a Husky and since he refuses to shave the poor fella he has to brush him frequently to keep massive amounts of hair from getting too thick and bushy.  Kramer is supposed to go to the vet once a month to get his allergy shots but since we've been so busy Matthew's been somewhat neglectful.  Luckily, Alex took Kramer to the vet last week and for the time being his skin is clear and itch free.  Turbo and Woodrow are spoiled on a daily basis but I do like to give this long walks on the runway whenever I get time to leave the office.  108lb Turbo needs the exercise and Woodrow, whom I believe would be a great case study for doggy Ritalin, needs to run off as much energy as possible!

Matthew & Alex playing on their I-devices

*Game Boys*  Every since Matthew was a little kid he has loved video games.  Mario Brothers, Zelda, Donkey Kong, Ken Griffey Jr Baseball, Halo, and all of the Madden's.  You name it, he's played it.  So it comes as no surprise to me that when he got a new Ipod for Father's Day, he figured out all the games he could play on it right away.  Alex has an Iphone and I'm pretty sure he taught Matthew a thing or two about all the games they could play on their I-devices.  Their current fascination, and I believe most of America's, is Angry Birds.  When I took this picture last week, I stood in the doorway of my office looking at them for like 5 minutes before either one of them looked up.  I'm not really a big fan of the video games.  I've dabbled into Solitaire on my pc a few times and play the occasion game of Brick-Breaker on my phone, other than that I don't really see the appeal.  But, whatever keeps my men happy, keeps me happy! 

Matthew's morning siesta

*Airport Naps*  When all else fails, we slumber.  I've already mentioned how great the airport is for accommodating the occasional siesta (http://aufderheideflying.blogspot.com/2011/05/good-ol-fashioned-airport-nap.html) and rainy days like today are perfect for catching up on a few Z's.  Matthew and all the guys have really worked their booties off this season and truly deserve a break every now in then.  So I'll let them rest for a little while...  Until I get get bored and try that whole stick their fingers in cold water trick! :)