Tomstoy2
Member
I'm ashamed to admit it, but it's all so true.
I've spent the better part of 52 years totally lost in my desires to fly models of one sort or another. All in pursuit of that tiny little bit of fleeting happiness when thing finally do go right!
52 years I could have spent doing something a hell of a lot better and definitely more important, time with family, with friends, advancing my career, picking my nose.
So, why do I do it? Why have I wasted my time and money, forsaken my family, my career and health for this stupid hobby, gone thru so much heart break and anguish?
It's not so easy to define.
I remember my mom dragging me thru a dime store back when I was 8 years old. God, how I hated that, being dragged and scolded the entire time, being bored out of my juvenile mind when all I really wanted was to create some mayhem.
Then, there behind the counter, there it was! An assortment of balsa wood airplanes!!! How cool is that! Look, you simply glue little pieces of wood together, put in a rubber band, cover it with tissue paper, wind it up and toss it in the air!
One look was all it took! One lousy, life defining look.
But what to do, It's not like mom is going to give me the $1.57 plus tax it would take to buy it, and it would take all damn summer of doing without to save up my allowance, working my sorry *** off doing chores to buy it?
That day, an idea came to me. The grocery store would give you 3 cents back for every pop bottle you returned! You didn't even have to buy a pop!
As soon as we got home I immediately jumped onto my bicycle and started riding thru the alleys, rummaging thru everybody's trash cans in the neighborhood looking for pop bottles to refund. Put up with all sorts of people yelling at me to get the hell out of their trash!
After a few weeks I finally had enough money saved up. Not telling mom, I jumped back on my bike, rode all the way across town and bought the kit,,,, only to discover they would not sell an 8 year old kid the tube of glue I needed to put the thing together!
Back home I rode, model in hand, glueless.
Now I had to beg mom to come back with me and buy the glue for me with the money I had, ( after the beating I got when I explained to her that I rode all the way across town on my bike ).
Back home now, sore butt and all, I dive into my kit. Damn, this is confusing! nothing but a box full of light easy to break wood and a few pictures. What the hell is this!
A week later, I had something resembling a Wildcat!!!
Off I go to the park to fly her, once again, not letting mom know what I was up to and where I was going! Future *** whooping to come up,,, I'll deal with that later.
I wind her up, let her go,,, she fly's! About 3 feet, then down into the ground and smashes into pieces!!!
What the hell? I gather everything up, did my first 'walk of shame', go home and take my beating for wandering off.
Later, the next day, I go to the library. Once again without telling mom where the hell I was going or what I was up to. It's the one place I could wander off to and get away without getting my sorry *** whooped.
I gather up a bunch of books and start researching things like center of gravity, thrust, drag and gravity.
A week later I'm airborne, and this time it actually fly's!!! Now this will be worth the *** beating!!!
And, so it began.
My downward spiral into this damnable hobby. A hobby that has been full of pain, pitfalls, misery and a financial drain.
Oh what a long road it has been!
By the time I was 10 I figured out how to make a rudder kicker. Then as a teen came control line. After that, the first radio control came out. Now that was a firm kick in the head! Who can forget to pitfalls of AM radio?
Then, I'm out of the military. The first helicopters are just hitting the market. Remember the days of trying to learn how to fly those before gyros came out?
Now it's multi's, cameras that record the flight in HD and fpv!!! I'm finally at the pinnacle of all I ever dreamed about when I was 8!!!
Oh, but the pain, aggravation, sleepless nights, lost concentration on the job, ignoring family, locking myself in the hobby room for days on end, and above all the drain on my finances!
That is why I must confess I have an illness,,, I'm a multi-holic!!!!
There is no cure. There is no pill you can take, no treatment center you can check into. All you can do is to continue to spiral downward into the abyss.
To those who consider going into this hobby,,, "be forewarned", I say. There is a terrible cost you must pay. A terrible cost,,, all for a few fleeting blissful moments when things do actually go right.
I need help.
So, was it worth it?
You are damn right it was!
I've spent the better part of 52 years totally lost in my desires to fly models of one sort or another. All in pursuit of that tiny little bit of fleeting happiness when thing finally do go right!
52 years I could have spent doing something a hell of a lot better and definitely more important, time with family, with friends, advancing my career, picking my nose.
So, why do I do it? Why have I wasted my time and money, forsaken my family, my career and health for this stupid hobby, gone thru so much heart break and anguish?
It's not so easy to define.
I remember my mom dragging me thru a dime store back when I was 8 years old. God, how I hated that, being dragged and scolded the entire time, being bored out of my juvenile mind when all I really wanted was to create some mayhem.
Then, there behind the counter, there it was! An assortment of balsa wood airplanes!!! How cool is that! Look, you simply glue little pieces of wood together, put in a rubber band, cover it with tissue paper, wind it up and toss it in the air!
One look was all it took! One lousy, life defining look.
But what to do, It's not like mom is going to give me the $1.57 plus tax it would take to buy it, and it would take all damn summer of doing without to save up my allowance, working my sorry *** off doing chores to buy it?
That day, an idea came to me. The grocery store would give you 3 cents back for every pop bottle you returned! You didn't even have to buy a pop!
As soon as we got home I immediately jumped onto my bicycle and started riding thru the alleys, rummaging thru everybody's trash cans in the neighborhood looking for pop bottles to refund. Put up with all sorts of people yelling at me to get the hell out of their trash!
After a few weeks I finally had enough money saved up. Not telling mom, I jumped back on my bike, rode all the way across town and bought the kit,,,, only to discover they would not sell an 8 year old kid the tube of glue I needed to put the thing together!
Back home I rode, model in hand, glueless.
Now I had to beg mom to come back with me and buy the glue for me with the money I had, ( after the beating I got when I explained to her that I rode all the way across town on my bike ).
Back home now, sore butt and all, I dive into my kit. Damn, this is confusing! nothing but a box full of light easy to break wood and a few pictures. What the hell is this!
A week later, I had something resembling a Wildcat!!!
Off I go to the park to fly her, once again, not letting mom know what I was up to and where I was going! Future *** whooping to come up,,, I'll deal with that later.
I wind her up, let her go,,, she fly's! About 3 feet, then down into the ground and smashes into pieces!!!
What the hell? I gather everything up, did my first 'walk of shame', go home and take my beating for wandering off.
Later, the next day, I go to the library. Once again without telling mom where the hell I was going or what I was up to. It's the one place I could wander off to and get away without getting my sorry *** whooped.
I gather up a bunch of books and start researching things like center of gravity, thrust, drag and gravity.
A week later I'm airborne, and this time it actually fly's!!! Now this will be worth the *** beating!!!
And, so it began.
My downward spiral into this damnable hobby. A hobby that has been full of pain, pitfalls, misery and a financial drain.
Oh what a long road it has been!
By the time I was 10 I figured out how to make a rudder kicker. Then as a teen came control line. After that, the first radio control came out. Now that was a firm kick in the head! Who can forget to pitfalls of AM radio?
Then, I'm out of the military. The first helicopters are just hitting the market. Remember the days of trying to learn how to fly those before gyros came out?
Now it's multi's, cameras that record the flight in HD and fpv!!! I'm finally at the pinnacle of all I ever dreamed about when I was 8!!!
Oh, but the pain, aggravation, sleepless nights, lost concentration on the job, ignoring family, locking myself in the hobby room for days on end, and above all the drain on my finances!
That is why I must confess I have an illness,,, I'm a multi-holic!!!!
There is no cure. There is no pill you can take, no treatment center you can check into. All you can do is to continue to spiral downward into the abyss.
To those who consider going into this hobby,,, "be forewarned", I say. There is a terrible cost you must pay. A terrible cost,,, all for a few fleeting blissful moments when things do actually go right.
I need help.
So, was it worth it?
You are damn right it was!
Last edited by a moderator:
I try to stay worthy.
