Writing Under Pressure

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How I hit the keyboard and produce at an alarming rate.

When I got my summer job at Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopters, my editors were quite upset. Especially Megg at Osborne/McGraw-Hill. You see, every summer for the past six years, I’ve devoted about two months to writing or revising Quicken: The Official Guide for Quicken Press, which is an Osborne imprint. The book sold like crazy in its first edition (for Quicken 99) — in fact, it was the second best selling book of all time at Osborne. Although sales have fallen off a bit, it continues to sell well and remains the top-selling book about Quicken every year.

Osborne makes money producing and selling this book. I make some money, too, although not as much as I’d like. It’s a Windows book and I really don’t like writing about Windows software. After 55+ titles (I’ve lost count again), I’ve gotten cranky and picky and would rather spend time flying than sitting in front of a computer writing about accounting software.

Can you blame me?

Anyway, my schedule at Papillon requires that I live up at the Grand Canyon every other week. Up there, I live in a trailer (which is discussed extensively in another blog ). I have my laptop, an Apple PowerBook. But I don’t have any of the other equipment I need to write computer books. And frankly, I like it that way.

On my off weeks, I assured Megg, I would work on the book. I’d reviewed information about the software’s new features and told her the book would be about a 20% revision. I’d knock it off during my off weeks in the month of June.

Well, the month didn’t start very well. My uncle passed away June 4 and I felt compelled to fly back to New Jersey to visit him one last time. That killed four days that I could have been working. That equates to at least four chapters of the 18-chapter book. To make matters worse, when I returned to Wickenburg after my trip, I got about 4-1/2 hours of sleep before I had to fly up to the Grand Canyon for my week at Papillon. Although I’d managed to finish the first chapter, I later discovered that my e-mail software had failed to deliver it to Megg & Co. When I returned to my office on June 14 — halfway through the month! — Megg still didn’t have any chapters.

After handling e-mail, voicemail, and chart orders (I run a discount mail order business for aviation charts and pilot supplies — PilotCharts.com ), I finally put my nose to the grindstone (or my fingers to the keyboard) and got to work. I revised Chapters 2 and 3 on Monday and Chapters 4 and 5 on Tuesday. It’s Wednesday and, unfortunately, I have a doctor’s appointment and a haircut appointment, so I think I’ll only get one chapter done today. But if I keep up my rate of production, I should be able to get through Chapter 10 by Friday afternoon. And I’ll probably do two more on Saturday.

The revision work isn’t difficult, especially when revising material that hasn’t changed. I read over every word and make minor changes to clarify information. I’m also adding sidebars, although I’m not convinced that they’ll really add anything of value to the book. Then I make brand new screenshots. That’s where things slow down, because I have to make the software’s screens look a certain way before I take the picture. That often requires manipulating data by creating transactions — sometimes dozens of them — to show what I need to show.

I complained a bit to Mike about the work yesterday. It’s terribly tedious and very boring. He reminded me about the “paychecks” that accompany projects like this one. That shut me up.

I’ll have the book done by the end of the month as promised. I have to. There are three more titles for Peachpit Press lined up behind it.

Got Another One

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I catch my second mouse and transport him to Grand Canyon Airport.

I can tell that the mouse problem is one I’ll be dealing with all summer.

Less than a month after catching my first mouse and letting him go at Grand Canyon Airport (see a previous blog entry for details), I realized that another mouse had taken its place. (I seriously doubt that the first mouse returned, since it is about 30 miles from Howard Mesa to the Airport and mice have very small legs.)

I set the trap up in the middle of the floor one night, with a dab of peanut butter for bait. That night, I heard tiny noises that woke me. (I had had a rough day and wasn’t sleeping very soundly anyway.) At one point, I thought I heard the trap bang shut. But I must have dreamed that, because the little noises continued, on and off, all night and the trap was still wide open in the morning.

Mike, Jack the Dog, and Alex the Bird came to visit me the next day. They spent the night. No mouse is dumb enough to show its face when a dog is around, so I didn’t bother setting the trap.

The next night — last night — I set the trap up on the sofa. I threw some extra special treats in with the peanut butter: some broken up cashews. I climbed up to bed and read for a while. By 9 PM, I was falling asleep, so I killed the light and pretty much passed out.

Crash! It was the sound of the two sides of the trap dropping shut that woke me. And, moments later, my little captive trying to get out of the trap. Knowing I’d never be able to sleep through the continued noise, I turned on the lights and climbed out of bed. It was only 9:30. That little bugger hadn’t wasted any time going on the prowl. I put the trap outside on the picnic table and went to bed.

This morning, I happened to be flying back to the airport again. So I loaded up the trap and its occupant with the rest of my gear. At the airport, I had to literally shake the trap to get the mouse out. He hit the tall grass and disappeared.

I wonder if he’ll find the other mouse I relocated….

Jumper Away!

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The Grand Canyon has its first suicide by helicopter jump…and I happen to be the pilot.

It’s true. I was the pilot in the helicopter that made the news this week.

I don’t want to spend too many bytes discussing it here. Frankly, I’m a little tired of talking about it.

The short version is this: we were near the end of a North Canyon tour in the Dragon Corridor. We were about 2 minutes from crossing back over the south rim. I suddenly realized that the passenger beside me had his door open and was sticking his head out. About a second later, I realized that he was trying to get out. I grabbed his belt and held him, then started to think about what would happen if I got him back inside and he went berserk. He could have taken the controls or hurt me. We could have crashed. So I let go of him and he jumped. It’s as simple as that.

He fell 3000 feet. I didn’t circle back. Why should I? He was obviously dead. Besides, I was hysterical, screaming into the radio and shaking like a leaf. And then I had to deal with his headset hanging out the door by its cord — something I didn’t want hitting the tail rotor. And getting his door closed. And calming the other passengers. And landing us all safely at the heliport.

I talked to a lot of policemen. I was offered counseling. I was told over and over that I did the right thing. There’s no question about that. That’s probably why I’m not having much of a problem with it. It takes two hands to fly a helicopter. And it may have taken two hands to fight off a suicidal maniac. So I made my choice based on what we’re taught: in an emergency, your first priority is to fly the helicopter.

I took the next day off. When I came back to work on Saturday, people were surprised to see me. They obviously thought I’d become a basket case, traumatized by the event. I hadn’t. Although I do admit that I jumped when a passenger beside me yesterday quickly reached for her camera (near her seat belt clasp). And the movement of passengers shifting in their seats in the back of the helicopter makes me wonder if someone is heading for a door.

But I think I’ll get over all that. After all, this is the first time this has ever happened. Forty years of tours, millions of people flown. What’s the chance that it happens again? To me?

I’m Officially a LOCAL Now

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I finally get my hands on a Grand Canyon Market canvas grocery bag.

Mike came up to spend the day with me on Friday. Thursday had been extremely weird for me — I’ll probably write up a brief description of that ordeal somewhere here — and I got the day off to recover from the weirdness. Mike figured I needed company and volunteered to drive up. Although he wanted to drive in to Flagstaff for the day, I didn’t feel like dealing with the long drive or traffic. So instead, we took our bicycles to the Grand Canyon.

We had lunch at El Tovar (why not?) and took the bikes over to the bike trail that runs from the library to the new Canyon Information Plaza. The trail was pleasant: paved smooth, winding through tall trees, and completely underutilized. I wasn’t sure, but it seemed as if it were mostly uphill. (I later discovered I was right.) We did the two miles to the Info Plaza, looked at some of the displays there, and then continued on to the Mather Point Lookout, which is one of my favorite canyon viewpoints.

We rode back on the main road. But on the way, we made a point of stopping at the Marketplace area, where the post office and grocery store are. That was where I’d get my canvas bag.

As we wheeled our bikes to the bike rack, I saw a woman waiting by the curb with five canvas bags. I pointed at them and said aloud, “That’s what I need.”

She heard me and said, “Do you want one of mine? I have nine of them.”

“Why do you have nine?”

“Well, I’m a LOCAL.” (She stressed the word as if it were something she was proud of that pained her very deeply.) “Every time I come here, I forget to bring my bag and have to buy another one. They cost about $6 each.”

I’d heard they cost $10, but I still hadn’t seen one in the store. I said, “If you’re serious, I’ll give you six bucks for one.”

“Sold.”

She transfered groceries out of the biggest of the bags, moving them into the other bags. Her gallon of milk didn’t fit, but she didn’t seem to care. I got the feeling that she thought the $6 was worth it. I gave her the money and she gave me the bag. I rolled it up and bungeed it onto my bike.

So I now have the bag. I’m a LOCAL. I’m looking forward to using it next time I’m up here.

Decisions, Decisions

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I make a tough decision each day on what vehicle I’ll use to commute to work.

I’m spoiled. I know it. Even though I live in a tiny trailer when I’m working at the Grand Canyon, I have three vehicles to choose from for my daily commute from Howard Mesa to Grand Canyon Airport.

Three! The first is my “airport car,” a 1987 Toyota MR2. I’m the original owner of this little gem and put most of its 130,000 miles on it. I learned to drive a stick shift on it and it still has the original clutch. (Okay, so it’s a little high, but it does still work. Toyotas are great cars.) I remember when it was brand new and shiny and lovingly waxed. Now its paint is faded from the sun, its windshield is pitted from road debris, and it’s covered with dust. Still, it gets about 25-30 miles to the gallon — something to consider when fuel is $2+ per gallon. And it’s peppy. (Read that fast.)The second is my 1999 Jeep. It’s perfect for the 5 miles of dirt road between the main highway and the trailer atop Howard Mesa. Unfortunately, it only gets about 15 miles per gallon and its soft top makes a ton of noise at highway speeds. And it rides like a cardboard box in heavy wind.

The third is my 1999 Robinson R22 Beta II helicopter. Yes, I brought that with me. Heck, why the hell not? It’s not like anyone would be flying it at home. And there’s nothing like turning a 36-mile, 45-minute commute into a 25-nautical mile, 20-minute commute. Of course, it burns about 10 gallons of fuel per hour and with warmup and shutdown time, the hobbs meter registers .5 hours after each commuting flight. 100LL costs $3+ per gallon up here. Ouch. And let’s not even talk about the other cost of operating that vehicle.

Photo
Three Niner Lima and the Toyota parked behind the camper at Howard Mesa.

Of course, they’re not all here at the same time. For example, tonight the Jeep and Toyota are at Howard Mesa and the helicopter is at the airport. The other night, the helicopter and Toyota were at Howard Mesa and the Jeep was at the airport. Sometimes it’s tough to remember where each of them are. But it’s easy if I remember that two vehicles are always where I am. When I drive the Jeep to the airport tomorrow, both the Jeep and the helicopter will be at the airport with me while the Toyota waits patiently atop the mesa.

So how do I decide? Well, when I’m tired after a hard day flying or if it’s really windy at quitting time, I take whatever road vehicle is at the airport to Howard Mesa. If I’m not tired and feel like getting back home quickly, I take the helicopter. Pretty easy decision.

In the morning, it’s also an easy decision. I take the helicopter. I love flying it in the morning. But this morning, I took the Toyota. Why? Because I thought I might be driving to Flagstaff from work. I hate driving the Jeep long distances because of all that roof noise. The other day, I took the Jeep home from the airport even though it wasn’t noisy. Why? I’m still trying to figure that one out. I did discover, however, that the side step on the driver’s side needs welding. So I have to take it back to the airport tomorrow. Bummer.

Why all these vehicles? So I have options. I don’t want to get stuck at the airport or at the trailer. With two vehicles wherever I am, there’s always an option for getting from point A to point B.

And if you’re wondering what I have at home, it’s my sole remaining car, a 2003 Honda S2000. That car will never see the top of Howard Mesa.