Speaking of judges. How many found themselves under the eye of Jim Parsons? Jim was one of the toughest and most fair judges I ever flew in front of. Talk about a guy that really didn't care WHO was at the handle. He judged what he saw. Period! When he handed in a score, you know you worked for every point. Great guy and very knowledgeable. He passed several years ago, but I still remember his scowl when judging and great smile when shooting the bull in the pits.
Jim Parsons was another great judge and human being...GONE ALL TOO SOON! As you know...he lived up on the south west slope overlooking the Kent Aerospace on a home waaaay up on the hill.
He used his telescope everyday too keep a eye peeled to see if anyone was down there flying. He would throw his planes in the car....and in about 5 minutes....here would come Jimbo' to cut a few holes in the sky with us.
Before I got married in 1970....he would often invite me up to that beautiful deck with the most awesome view of the valley for suppa' Especially as the sun began to set...all those windows on the East side of the valley looked like they were all on fire, due to the reflection off their picture windows. Then the twinklin' sparkle of all the lights etc as the sky turned shades of lavender, purple and then a dark Navy.
Those mountains in the background were the last thing to disappear before that big orange moon would come up out of the East.
Looks like both he and I really loved that place...and I always begged him to sell it to me...if he ever planned on moving. Jim would laugh...and said HEY! THIS IS MY HEAVEN ON EARTH.
Also he had a model shop in the basement to die for...
Both Gary Letsinger and I....being single....Hummm? Hey Gary if you are lurking?
We always knew if we planned our flying sessions just right at AeroSpace...we could always glean a meal that his dear wife would always offer without a second thought on the way home up that steep hill.
GADS I MISS THAT STUNT GRUNTER GUY!!!
The only time I ever saw HIM SHOOK UP AND SPOOKED AT A CONTEST. Was the first time I flew that custom BRAND NEW Chipmunk...with the ST-46.
As he walked up to do his appearence judging, just seconds before my first round flight...
HE LEANED OVER MY MODEL...BENT WAAAY over at the waist...and
"KAAATOWINK!" Next, All we heard was the sound of one of his ball point pens that was in his shirt pocket...that suddenly feel out of that pocket, like a dagger and stuck completely through both the inside and outboard wing panel's silkspan covered brand new shiney wing panel...
I JUMPED BACK AND SCREAMED! OUCH! JIM!!! WHAAAA? He was more upset than I was...which made me feel sooo bad that I yelled but as luck would have it...
Bob Emmett had a piece of duck tape in the car...We both tried to console Jim...but he was just broken! "DON...PLEASE, LET ME FIX IT? (IT WAS PURE AND SIMPLE AN ACCIDENT and I felt reeeeeally shabby, because he always GAVE ALL OF US, SO MUCH MORE...AND I WOULD HAVE GIVEN HIM THAT MODEL...for freebeee if he had asked for it, plus I kept thinking of all those FREE MEALS THAT HE AND HIS WIFE HAD ALWAYS PROVIDED FOR ME....plus he could spot mistakes and was always there to show me how I could improve something.
BOTTOM LINE:
I was ever so thankful and soooo fortunate to have a friend like JIM PARSONS!
Right on Randy.We miss that JIMBO SOOOO MUCH! (by the way...that was the first 40 appearence that I had ever received in all those years of competiton. Hummm? I think Parson;s was reaaaaally easy because of his lawn-dart ball point pen.
HEY! RANDY...ANYONE? I DON'T HAVE EVEN ONE PHOTO OF JIM PARSONS!!! SOMEBODY GOTTA POST ONE!
Both Jim Parsons and Charley Huff...judge and ruled our world. How great is that?