Frankie and Slim

Frankie and Slim
Happy New Year

Monday, February 09, 2009

154.9 ROUNDS TO 155

Michael Phelps vs Sully
Robert Downy Jr. vs Sully
Barbara Streisand vs Sully
Sean Penn vs Sully
A Rod vs Sully
Barry Bonds vs Sully

Chris Brown vs Sully
Clint Eastwood vs Sully
We dare to call athletes, musicians and movie stars "Heroes" vs Sully......?


Now we have a hero to hold up as an example for our children and grandchildren, Captain C.B. "Sully" Sullenberger.

Can you spot a hero? If you watched 60 Minutes last night and heard the events of the crash of flight 1549 into the Hudson River, you know who a real hero is.

Kati Couric asked Captain Sullenberger if he prayed during the five minute event and he said, "I left that to someone in the back. I had to concentrate on landing that plane." He is the pilot I want under similar circumstances. Keep your eye on the ball and do what your years of training taught you to do. Thank God he didn't throw up his hands and cry "Jesus take the wheel". He believes his 42 years flying aircraft was to prepare him for this moment in time.


All 155 passengers and crew were saved in that crash. Two were injured but not life threatening. The crew worked with the Captain like a well oiled machine. It was a magical five minutes.

We have given up watching 60 minutes but I'm glad I made an exception for this episode. If you have missed any of the interviews with Captain Sully, try to catch him on another. He says he is not comfortable with the label of "Hero" but he will accept it because this has given people a story of "good news" and we all need more of that in this day and time.

At the end of the interview I couldn't help but notice if the flight #1549 had a decimal point before the nine and was then rounded off, the number would be 155, the number of lives saved. Not really a point just a number thing.


Hooray Captain Sullenberger and the crew of 1549!

ILYB link for the next couple of days.

ILYB link for past few days.

16 comments:

  1. I do not watch 60 minutes either, but also caught it last night and was so glad that I did! I could not agree with you more on this post. There are hundreds of heroes like Sully every day, but because their courage is not of such magnitude we do not hear about them. We need to remind our children about this man of character for years to come.

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  2. I do watch '60 Minutes' every Sunday night and did catch the episode with Sully. Yes, he is a hero in every sense of the word. He is also someone who knows what his job is and focuses on that. Thank heavens he was the pilot of that plane.

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  3. Annie,

    I did not see 60 minutes last night but did see and hear the voice recordings from the cockpit and control tower.

    Did you ever hear two people as professional and calm under the circumstances as Captain Sullenberger and the Air Traffic Control person who tried to help guide the plane to Teterboro or back to LaGuardia? They were both extraordinary in the face of calamity.

    I fly a lot and am very happy to know that people like "Sully" and the Air Traffic Control guy are "On the Job."

    One more point. USAir couldn't buy publicity like this..They must be delighted the way the whole thing turned out.

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  4. We usually watch it and I was glad we did last night. What a great guy!

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  5. Couldn't have said it better!

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  6. I was glued to the tv and my eyes filled with tears as I watched this true American hero revisit the people of board who's lives he had saved.

    What a story! What a man! What a spirit lifter! : )

    Thanks for your great post today...
    xoxo

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  7. I liked his comeback to the prayer qyestion. Action makes the difference.

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  8. Thank God he didn't throw up his hands and cry "Jesus take the wheel".

    *SUCH* a good point! He seems like a humble guy.

    I still can't believe this crash was caused by BIRDS!

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  9. I'd say you could put Sully vs any of the Obama cabinet appointee's.

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  10. Tabor, I certainly hope we will use this story for years to come.

    Darlene, this man showed us all the importance of knowing our jobs.

    Nancy, you are so right to include that air traffic controller. Yep, he also knew his job and played a valuable role. We should all include him in our search for heroes.

    Yep Judy, that summarizes the Captain, "What a great guy"!.

    Thanks Monica, but your probably could have said it better. You say everything so well.

    Grammie, I was crying too. It is a spirit lifter.

    Loving Annie, this is certainly a situation where "actions speak louder than (prayer) words".

    RK, you are so right about the amazement that his crash was caused by birds. I kept mumbling to myself, "birds? birds? birds?".

    Cliff, you made a good point but I do have to say I don't recall anyone calling any politician or government employee a hero...... That would be too much for me to bear. While we're cutting salaries of bailout corporation leaders, we need to jump in and slash some government salaries to the bare bone. I guess that's another story though.

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  11. Great post and oh so true. I have watched excerpts from the interview. It was great.
    Ralph

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  12. I didn't see the interview. Your observation with the 1549 vs 155 is very interesting.

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  13. I didn't see the interview either, but i've been reading about Captain Sullenberger!
    Wow! What an American hero is is for sure!
    Nice post, GA!

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  14. You make me want to catch his very next interview. I will look for it. What an amazing man and what a way to keep it together under pressure. Whether he wants to hear it or not, he IS a hero.

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  15. Great story. And he's a Purdue grad, I might add.
    I saw a recording of the marching band contest last night. I though of your granddaughter.

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  16. Sully is quite a guy! You are SO right about the value of him staying level headed and doing what he was trained to do.
    He is a true hero.
    If I was a passenger on that plane, I'd send him chocolate truffles for life!!
    :-)
    Thank God for the Sullys of the world!!!

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