He said:
You're an idiot what are you trying to do flying into that canyon when you can't see?!?
You could have hit me!!
Whoa!! That right there sums up the FINE LINE between doing your job and making everyone HAPPY, and pulling a boneheaded move that ticks off everybody!
I'm with YOU!! Who's the idiot??? I think I told you this one -- once during a huge season, we were out to scout whether we could get some retardant down into the smoke inversion... the fires were screaming for help and it had been so smoked in, that no aircraft had flown for days. There were 2 or 3 heavies orbiting up high, and I kept dipping down into the top of the inversion, to see if I could find a thinner part so we could get down in the canyons, head up to the fire, and go to work.
Well, I tried, and moved over, and tried again... repeat, repeat. It would look okay until I got down in it, and it was just GARBAGE. I hated to call it off... and was wondering if I should try yet another spot, when one of the old (OLD) guys in the PB4Y2 said over the radio "Hey! Mary! I got a word for what we're doin' here..."
I called him back, laughing, and said, "What's that?"
He said with a grin in his voice, "STUPID...."
And we all headed for the barn......
Maybe you'll cross paths again with that crabby ole guy.........................