I swear, I am so tired of that expression. It has become the final refuge of those truly desperate individuals who have attempted to participate in our (or any, for that matter) hobby, only to find it simply beyond them. They either are unwilling to devote the time required to successfully go from wheels up to wheels down, or they just don't have it within them to get beyond the fact that they are simply sitting in a chair, staring at a monitor, and not really going anywhere at all (can you imagine?).

So, in any given forum, the final answer, the last invective hurled in the direction of those who "get it" is, as above, "Get A Life!" Now, that's actually a rather interesting sentiment, and food for thought in between layovers. No, seriously. Let's look at this from their perspective. Starting from scratch, we see they are obviously computer savvy, with skills sufficient to permit them to find, enter, read and comprehend (oops, did that slip out? I thought it, but didn't mean to type it) posts, and ultimately respond to them. We, as the caring and kind-hearted (stop laughing) aficionados who populate said forums for purposes which remain our own, but mainly to gather and disseminate information, spend our time in patient explanation and debate with those unfortunates who will obviously never quite "Get It". Yes, we do on occasion revert to that stock phrase "Do a forum search" for those who seem incapable of locating the FS9 cfg file (I had to put a shortcut on the desktop). But eventually, the inevitable happens. The heretofore-mentioned exchange of ideas deteriorates into a morass of diatribe, vitriol and generally all around nastiness, frequently culminated with the "Get A Life!" phrase with which we have become so familiar.

But what does it mean? I mean, really. To those on the "outside looking in" without the fortitude to devote the time necessary to successfully enjoy our hobby, I suppose we appear as a group wrapped in our own exclusive world, filled with esoteric knowledge and technique (seriously, short of being on a 737 in which both pilots become incapacitated, how often will you need to use your acumen at a CAT III landing?). What "The Outsiders" fail to grasp is that, in addition to being overgrown children fascinated with pixels and human interface devices, we are hobbyists devoted to learning all we can about a subject that will forever remain (for most of us) beyond our grasp. Knowledge for the sake of knowledge is a wonderful thing. But like anything else, it takes time, effort and devotion.

As it has been said, flight simmers are a unique group. I have every intention of getting that PIC 737, if for no other reason than some marketing guy had the smarts to advertise the program's usefulness in training "real world" pilots. Hey, good enough for me! Sign me up, put me in, coach! And, like me, you may just find yourself, as you reach for that credit card (if you have to refer to the card for the numbers, I'm sorry, you are an Outsider who obviously has not spent nearly enough time/money on the hobby!), you may find yourself asking, "Why on earth am I about to invest the money I would have otherwise used for cat food (which explains the dirty looks and scratch scars I have courtesy of kitty) on a program which will provide me with virtually no useful information pertinent to my every day pursuit of productivity, happiness and credit card debt? Well, this is a "get it" type of question. If you have to ask, you have likely typed those words "Get A Life" at least once.

It is a question of, well, fun. Challenge. A learning opportunity simply for the sake of learning something new. Ask your friend the golfer exactly why he feels the need to be up with the birds in awful weather on a Saturday just to chase some silly ball and hit it with a stick why he does this, and generally the response is along the lines of "I dunno, it's fun." Just a word of advice, don't keep pestering your golfer friend for an answer to that question. They have lots of sticks with which to hit you, and they tend to be quite accurate with them. The point is, the simple act of learning something new, applicable or no, is a good thing. When we stop learning, we stop growing. I've exchanged mail with several individuals well into their 70's who are sharp as a tack. While I can't attribute that to flight simulation (the subject of the mail exchange), it is that same drive to learn that, I believe, contributes to their acuity. So, how can this be a bad thing?

Hey, I'm not ever going to pilot a 737. Heck, it's all I can do to bring myself to even board one, let alone sit in front. But despite that, I have every intention of purchasing that bird (couldn't finagle my way onto the beta team... I must be slipping). Why? Well, the reasons are many and varied, but one of them is that it is something new, something challenging. Of course, the cockpit looks terribly cool and complicated, and there is nothing better than someone seeing it and saying "You can fly that thing?" Personally, I'm still waiting for someone to do that, but hey, the anticipation is half the fun, right?

Get A Life. Well, I'd say we've all got a life. And, a life which is devoted to learning something new all the time. A life which is rich with a variety of challenges. Sure, we're not going to be featured in any magazine or periodical (unless of course it is a story about someone being clubbed into a pulp by an enraged golfer...). We're not going to be gracing the halls of some television reality show (unless they place us in a real cockpit at FL270 and tell us to land, now that's entertainment!). But, what we will be is individuals with keen interests in learning and practicing things, which would otherwise be far beyond our grasp. Will that keep us sharp as we continue our march towards that great waiting room in the sky? Beats me, but at least I know I'll be able to fly the hell out of there if I get even the slightest opportunity!

And for those who insist on exclaiming "Get A Life" when they find themselves at the end of their emotional and communicative rope, we can say "Got One!"

Three Green!

Chip Barber
rfbarber@optonline.net