Emergency.

 

Emergency

By Kevin Barkman

            It happened at noon. A hot, still day. Not a breath of wind to cool our hot faces. Even the fan did little to dent the heat. Dad was flying with Mr. Brain, going into -------.  Mrs. Baily was doing radio. The one bright side of the day.  School was horrid, I mean, who can think when it is a hundred degrees?  So me, in my normal angry way was stomping upstairs to complain to my ever patient mother. When the phone rang.   It seems that bad news always comes by phone. I don’t know why. But it seems that way.  My mom, answering, suddenly had a very odd expression on her face, and asked in a loud voice “is the plane ok?”   no, no... paper, mom will need paper. And a pen. For the info. Anger gone, in a rush, I bolted down stairs, grabbed a new note book, and a new pen, and ran with all speed back upstairs to  my mother. Who was scrambling for paper. I gave her what I had, to find that the new pen did not work. I grabbed dad’s nice pen, and gave it to her. An odd thing, a new pen not working, but it seems that often, we are better with the old, tried and true, rather than the new, fancy  non working things.

            I knew that if dad was talking on the phone, he must be ok. And that somehow, we had to them out, and the  airplane.  Though first was dad, and Mr. Brian. And we must contact a ton of people, who all, I was not sure. 

            It turned out that Mrs Baily did not know yet, and not wanting other people to tell her mom rushed to the car, I still not knowing what happened, except there was an accident, went running with her, grabbing my cell phone, in case mom’s load ran out. Mom told me while we were driving what happened. Dad had had a prop strike, just a small one, we found out in the end, but it sounded big when we started.  I was not even sure if the airplane was flipped or not. Most prop strikes I had heard of flipped. Which meant rebuilding the airplane. In the end, it was only a minor strike, due to airstrip problems.

            We got to Mrs baily’s house, and mom announced the news, in very good fashion.  Mom called all kinds of people. Mom needed her computer, so I walked home.  I kept thinking of more things. Computer, load, phone charger, my bike, so I could run errands.   Kalebs phone, incase of brown out. Which happens a lot here.  I also got mom’s ipod touch, which she likes to skype with.  And several note books.

In the end, mom called a million people. And dad and Mr. Brian hiked out.  It Ended up they hiked something like forty kilometres. Through clay, up almost vertical slopes, and down again. And then had crazy trip by skylap, a hundred ten cc moto with platforms on the side. Then a very very long bus ride home. they were home at midnight.  Very tired.   

            After weeks of talking to HQ we got permission to hike a prop in, and fly the airplane out to the airport. 

We left at four a.m. on Tuesday something like six weeks after it all happened. We drove in Mr. Brian’s land cruiser.  First destination—CDO to pick up the prop.  

            We arrived in CDO at seven, and picked the prop up. It was in a huge wooden crate. We had made a special wooden rack to screw it too, and we mounted it up top. It made driving a odd thing. The truck veered sharply to one side, and was hard to handle. So the rest of the trip took a while longer.

            After a seven hour drive, we drove into the place we started hiking from. Several men were there to help us hike it in. the whole thing weighed hundred and seventy pounds. And the trail very steep, and treacherously slippery clay.  It is all jungle, and very beautiful, but difficult to travel through.

            The hike took only about forty five minutes to the missionary’s house, and another fifteen to the airstrip. But by the end I was covered in mud and my shoes were sloshing from the rivers we crossed.  It took much longer with the prop.  

            It was almost three when we started taking the old prop off. We were just finished when the prop got to us. The skies were dark, and we worked quickly to get the prop on. But still, we were soaked by the time we had the new prop on. And it was well after dark before we got the old one apart. And back to the houses for supper.

             I went to bed at seven thirty, right after breakfast, and conked out. It had been a long day.

            The next day dad and I were up at five, a little before the sun. we ate a hurried breakfast, and went back out to the airplanes.  There was fog all around the mountains, and it was beautiful. My feet were very wrinkled from walking half the day in wet running shoes.  I made several trips to get tools, and other things.

            Dad and Mr. Brian did a full inspection and dad was in the air at eight thirty, and was home by nine something. Mr. Brian and I on the other hand had a long hike, and drive home. With wet shoes and clothes.

             We got home around nine p.m. very tired stinky, and wet. But we had a good trip.  I had no calluses left on my feet. I guess hiking in wet shoes for two days with no socks was a bit hard on them.

               

my dad is the one in checkered shirt. for those who dont know

i am not just standing there, i am holding the prop under my arm. i had to think of something...it was getting hard holding that thing for who knows how long!

and it rained. and rained. and rained.

this is a skylab, they haul amazing amounts of things with them.

More Pictures.

 well here are some more pictures or the zip line.

here i am, about to go down the second shortest one.

                                                        going down.

a better view of the above

just a random picture

ready to go down the long one with my dad. almost a kilometer. that is a long ways.

on our way.

 

i did not take this video, the one i took did not work. sorry  it goes in circles.  makes you kinda dizzy.

Randomness

 Yesterday, that was Friday, i had a very hard training day.  in the morning i went running, and in the afternoon  i went mountain biking with Rich and Luke. we only went 20some km. but still. it was muddy, and slippery. and lots of fun. in the evening i played. here is a picture of me playing. jump smashing. 

 i should also say that while mountain biking we found a 10km running trail. that is exiting, as all we have been doing lately is 5km.


this is a picture Kaleb drew for my novel. i would post the other amazing ones, but this was the only one on the computer. the white at the top is for the title.(of my novel)

i have written one book, and am working on two more. one i am writing, the other i am still outlining. if you would like to read my finished novel, just comment, and i will send it to you by email, or however works best.


 i after i find the camera i am going to take pictures of my garden. it is doing pretty good right now. i am just getting ready to plant pinto beans. something that is very hard to find here, but we love to eat.

 well i better go do my chores.

a knife i made

as you all know, i like to make things, and i like knives, so it was normal that sooner or later a made a knife. i have made several others, including some throwing knives. but most of them were more like machetes.
i made a knife from a peice of angle iron. i cut it out with a hack saw, and then used a grinder to shape it more. it is kinda dirty in the picture, cause i was throwing it, and missed a lot. the handle is made from lacing for the super cub, airplane. the stuff used to sew the covering together.
i still need to temper it. but i have to wait till the welder gets set up.

it is only sharp on one side all the way down, but the tip is sharp on both sides for about an inch down.

The Longest Dual Zip Line In Asia

My friend Luke had a birthday, and he invited us to go to the longest double zip line in Asia. Richard, another friend of mine came along also. it was amazing. there was a total of three zip lines. two shorter ones, and one really long one, almost a kilometer long!!! i liked all of them, but the long one was the best, you got to lie down. and went much further. the shorter ones, you sat up, and spun in circles. this was my first time, and i was a little nervous at first, but it was all for nothing, it was so much fun.

i did not get many good pictures. but Luke did, so i will see if i can get some of his. and maybe a video of going down. not sure if it turned out. mine did not. which is too bad.

my mom and dad getting ready to go on the second longest one.

Kaleb and i walking up after the first two.

me infront of the place to go on the longest one. my heart was beating pretty fast. you cant see it in the picture. but when you get on the platform, you just see a drop off, and they open the gate, and you freak out for half a second, before you fly out. it was awesome.

the list of things to check before riding.
Luke, on the far left, and Richard in the middle.

rich in his harnessthe landing place for the long one. it gave your quite a jerk to stop
the starting place for the mid length one.

what you see walking back up.

well, i better go to bed now. i might post a more in depth post on this, not sure.

have a good day, or night or whatever.

Kevin

Working On The Car

well i just finished changing some bushings on our Honda CR-V. we also changed the front arm on the right side.

that was petty fun. we also aligned the back wheels, because we had to take the arms off. i learned a lot. like very much a lot.


here are some pictures. none of them are very good, but at least they are pictures.

taking every thing apart.

the engine. we had to do some real twisting and turning to get some of the bolts out to change the front arm

one of the bushings. not sure if you can see, but it was not holding anything. totally gone.

Finishing up.

pictures, at last.:)

here are some more pictures

Kaleb measuring me. i am now six foot one.

i am not sure if i said this before, but we changed the shocks on our car. it was a very fun job.


i just got back from training. it went pretty good at first, till a huge rain storm hit. and the building is not sealed very well, so water was running in. so we quit early.

as for writing. i am now writing two more novels. one i am just writing chapter three, and the other i am outlining, a process that took me almost six months last time.

i just decided like last week i should learn about poems. i have never read or written any, but i figured i could learn. here is one of my attempts at writing one.

Last Farewell

This picture that was drawn in sorrow

Of pain turned to joy on the ‘morrow

The story that did not end well

Twas the man who fell

He delved into this pit of lies

Running away from all the goodbyes

And there he fell

And said his last farewell

He turned away from what he had longed for

Torn his heart apart and opened the door

To the one who could heal

And now no more does he feel

The pain of yesterdays sorrows

No more does he fear tomorrow

For his pain has turned to joy

And the man to a boy

Kalebs airplane

so here is a picture of Kaleb with his airplane he made out of balsa wood, and some kind of thin paper stuff. this is just one of many.

howdy

well, not much is happening. i am doing school. and training hard. and that is about it.

Waterfall

i started school today. i am not sure if i am exited or not. i only did like half a day because so much time was spent cleaning my office. i do a full day tomorrow. what was, or is it like when you start or started school? comment and tell me about it. i would love to hear.


my garden is doing ok, but not geat. that may be because i have been gone so much lately.

here are some pictures of the trip to CDO where the tournament was held. there was a really cool water fall that we stopped at. we never stopped before cause we are always in a hurry. but this time we stopped. it was really cool.

tournaments, and finally some pictures!

the tournament was somewhat disappointing. but i learned a lot. at first the tournament web site said that the tournament would be Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. and the prize was going to be 40thousand pesos. a ton of cash. And we were meant to get t-shirts too. i was guaranteed 6 games. in the end, i only got 3 games, the prize was only 7thousand, and we did not get t-shirts. and we only played on Saturday and Sunday. i lost all my games. i played singles first in the morning. i had a very sick stomach, due to not eating right. in doubles which i played at 8pm, i only got to play one game, the others we won by default. the one we played we lost, but it was close, and a very good game. over all, i learned a lot about what to eat, and what no to eat, and about traveling for competition. it is very different playing when you are staying at a hotel, and eating all kinds of weird food that you don't normally eat. i have traveled to tournaments before, but always we stay at a place we know, and eat somewhat normal things, or at least things that i eat before.
Kaleb did very well, he only played singles because his partner could not come. he played four games, and won three of his four, in the end he lost because the boy who beat him won four games. but he played very well.


here are some pictures of different forms of transport they use here. i only got pictures of a few, but i will see if i can get some of the others.






a homemade bicycle with side cart. very common.

an upgrade on the last, this ones has an engine in it, and a larger cab. i have seen 10 people in one almost like this, with a whole set of furniture on top. also completely homemade.


here is a jeepney. they have routes, and you just hop on and go as far as you want. they also use them to haul stuff. i wish i had a picture of one fully loaded. there are sacks piled as high as it is tall on top, the cab full, and things hanging off the sides. unbelievable. also homemade.



well i better go now. have a great day!
Kevin

it has been a long time

it has been way too long since i have posted. life just got a little busy.

the tournament is starts tomorrow. i am getting very exited. the draws were meant to posted today, but they are still not there. i really want to know, mostly because there will be games at two or three different courts around the city, so i am just hoping my games are all in one place. and i am wondering if our whole family will play at the same place, or if we will all be in different courts. that would be very hard.

i guess i should mention that i cut the bottom of my big toe on my left foot. i had three stitches. i wont say much about it, because it was not all that interesting.

i still dont have any pictures on my computer. it is really too bad, because i think my mom got some cool ones. if you want to see them you could always check out her blog. there is a link on the side.


i have finished my novel. well i cant say that it is totally finished. it still needs a lot of work. but for now it is done. i think i will post it up here chapter by chapter but i am not sure. i am going to ask my mom how best to do it.



i need to go eat lunch, but i will post more later i hope. have a good day!

A Full Scholarship? sure.

so about a 6 months ago, i met the scout for the best school in the country. he asked me if i wanted to play for the high school team, and that he could probably get me a scholarship. i said i did not really want to move up to manila just yet, maybe in college. so this last time we were up in manila he watched me play, and said that the college team could wait a few years, and that when i was ready, i was on the team. i asked him what kind of scholarship he was offering. a full scholarship, including room and board, and $100 spending money every month. that was pretty neat.

we have not had internet for a long time. so i have not blogged.

oh i guess i should say that we are home. and that there is a tournament the end of next month. i will play singles, age category, doubles leveled, level B. and maybe mixed doubles leveled. i am training hard, and maybe i can get the 40,000 peso prize. :) if i win that, i can up grade my rackets the Yonex arcsaber 10. just kidding.


i still have not gotten the pictures from the camera, so i will post them next time.

my garden was full of weeds, and the whole yard looked like a jungle. but we got it almost looking normal again.


hmmm any other news? yea, i went to a sports doctor, cause my knee was clicking and stuff, and i got x-rays. the doctor said that two different parts of my bone, one soft, and one hard, are trying to fuse together, cause i just grew a whole lot, and that because my legs are not as strong on all sides, it is pulling my knee apart, and that there is a crack in the soft, and hard parts of the bone, close to my knee. so i have to wear a brace for a while. ok i know that was confusing, sorry.

kevin

Training With Kennevic Asuncion

yup, i got to train under Kennevic Asuncion!!! he coached me and Kaleb for an hour and a half. don't know who he is? he is the best player in all of the Philippines. he has won many big international tournaments. he is amazing. i learned a lot, like a ton. there are very few players who get to be coached by him. what a big smile from God. i need to go get my gear ready, cause i am playing this evening again, so i have to go. i just thought i would say that i got to train with him!!! i will maybe do a big long post on every thing i learned from him later.

Kevin