[Sailor Steve]

It's funny. My dad's big hobby was playing golf, and he won United's company-wide tournament on two separate occasions. When the time came I asked him if he was going to miss flying. He said "Are you kidding? Now I get to play golf three times a week instead of just once!" I don't think he was just putting on a good face with that comment. He at one point stated a little unhappiness with his career by that time, stating that a DC-10 was like "A giant flying office building". He also turned down the chance to fly to Hong Kong and Tokyo when Pan-Am went out of business and United picked up those routes. Though it would have meant a serious pay increase it also meant fewer flights with each one being a lot more hours. He said "I have the seniority to be offered that kind of work. I also have the seniority to turn it down."

As for luck, I think he was talking about the chance of that opportunity coming along right when his trucking dream failed. If he had the company he wouldn't have been looking for something better. And there's the other half, the bad luck. He had a few close calls in his career, and while training and experience were involved, he also believed that sometimes things happened suddenly and there was nothing you can do about it. Not Karma, or luck as some force in the universe, but sometimes things just happen.