There will never be anything that can compare to the friends and adventures I had then. Hang gliding in Hawaii during the 70’s was a magical time. I loved being with him–he knew how to have fun! Gladieux Food Servies in Toledo, leave a message with his secretary your looking for info. I image it may be where we grew up in LaSalle, or Monroe, or Toledo, Ohio which is close. Tim was good too, and I was fair.Ĭari Ahlquist posted she “is trying to locate where Tom was burried in Michigan on April 28, 19763. I think his sister Marilyn is still alive. He was the best water skier of the Lake Erie Rough Rider Ski Club. Tim flew back to Michigan for his funeral. His mother called us back shortly and told us Tom had had a fatal gliding accident. We called the night before and couldn’t reach him, so we called the hotel where he worked and were asked how to get in touch with his family–they would not tell us what happened. He was planning on moving to Northern California we were to pick him up at the air port. Tim Gladieux and I helped launch him from “the box”. I was there the week before his accident. I‘m sad today to think about loosing him and it’s been so many years. Checking out “Bing”today at first I thought San Diego then I noticed the memorial and knew it was Ohau, and immediately I thought of Tom Rohen. He flew tandem off Grandfather with Burke Ewing a summer or two later … and he flew solo at Kitty Hawk under the tutelage of John Harris.Īnyway, a very memorable vacation and I hope you find the rest of the negatives. This was his first flight in a hang glider but, of course, not his only flight. We were very concerned that we were going to miss our plane because we could not get them to land. When I heard the words, “is it safe enough for me,” I started taking off the harness and helmet and handed them over to him.ĭaddy flew for about an hour. However, Daddy did notice and starting asking lots of questions about whether it was safe, etc., etc. I was hot for hang glider pilots…not for the hang gliding itself.īut Barry and Linda could think of no greater gift to give me, and at the time they were just trying to keep my parents from figuring out what they were doing until I was already off the cliff. Now, to be honest, I don’t particularly enjoy the sensation of flight. On our last day there, about two hours before we needed to leave for the airport, Barry and Linda pulled me to the side and started suiting me up for a tandem flight off Makapu’u Point. I can not remember the name of the tandem pilot…but Barry said he was the best in the islands. We spent a good part of our trip at Makapu’u Point watching them fly (along with one memorable evening dining at their tree house in a papaya orchard tucked under the “green wall.”) Daddy had tickets for me, my brother Jim, my Mom and himself within five minutes.Ī hang glider pilot named Barry Gordon (who had competed in Grandfather Mountain’s Masters of Hang Gliding) and his lady, Linda, met us at the airport with beautiful leas they had made themselves. I was a student at Chapel Hill and told my folks what a I wanted for Christmas was a plane ticket to Hawaii. The Tar Heels played in a basketball tournament in Hawaii over Christmas 1978. Boy, sorry I did not notice this post back in December! I was there and probably took this picture.
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