The Crow....keeper of the gate.

 

From Tales Unleashed (2019 Bookstand Publishing), accompany the crow high above

the landscape as two intruders enter his domain....

a quiet place entered by few on an infrequent basis. The Crow, keeper of the gate is 

is shared below, I hope you enjoy it. 

                                                                The Crow, Keeper of the Gate

Each morning as the new day would break, the single crow, high in his nest, would be the first to emerge from his overnight lodging of sticks and leaves to survey the land below him. Sitting on the nest’s edge and preening his feathers as he stretched, he would jerk his neck side to side, listening and looking for anything new that might appear below. It was not quite daylight, but the long shadows below him were already losing their hold on the tombstones that lay beneath. Nothing had changed overnight. The solitude of the morning was punctuated only by the crow’s call and a similar one coming from afar. He was the king of his castle. His nest towered over the fifty or so headstones that had been here for well over eighty years.

What a serene and pleasant place to nest, in the forest, high above the mossy grasses and wild flowers that spawned their yearly gifts of fragrance and color. Today would be just another day for the crow . . . he would fly and call and search the vicinity, always with one eye, keeping track of what transpired in or near his home base. But few people came here. The last two men in a van with shovels spent almost a day here, opening a hole in the ground below his nest and tucking a long wood box into the ground, then covering it before speeding away right as night fall started to makes its entrance.

These grounds were quiet indeed; except for the occasional chipmunk or squirrel moving through the maze of stones, little happened here. One particular day the crow watched as a young buck came into his ground, laid down, and gently went to sleep. Flying down to examine the deer, the crow saw the wooden shaft protruding through its side, a fatal insertion he concluded as the young deer was destined to move no more. Oh my, it was hunting season again.

But today seemed different, the crow felt uneasy as he overlooked his domain. Was something about to change today? As he strained his neck to the east he saw a vehicle approach the cemetery gate, enter, and make its way to the bottom of his tree. The truck disembarked two men, each smoking those profane-smelling things that the crow hated so much.

The crow watched intently as the two men opened the back of the vehicle and started to remove some kind machine he had not seen before. Removing his hat and wiping his brow, one of the men uttered, “This tree should have been taken down years ago Henry. It has fouled about twenty yards of the cemetery with droppings, broken limbs and sticky sap . . . it’ll be good to get it down.”

With that, the furious noise of the chainsaw began. The crow, still sitting on his nest edge, felt the buzz and vibration as the teeth of the saw found its mark. Within a minute or so…the nest started to move, the crow taking to flight before he could be pulled downward by the whirl of the falling tree. As the crow circled over head, the two men congratulated themselves as they surveyed the project just completed. His home was now gone, a change in the tapestry of the forest that he could hardly comprehend. The crow settled onto the top of one of the largest monuments watching as the men put their equipment away and drove off.

The crow wasn’t beaten though. He took to flight and found another tree, not as big as his original home, but ample nesting for his future days and nights. Sitting on his new perch the crow nodded to himself, in a positive attitude, not one of defeat. As he watched the vehicle go down the hill, the crow thought to himself, you win today, but I will be in my new tree when someone someday brings you back, and places you in that long box in the ground. I will always be here, it is what I live for. Until then you two, enjoy what time you have left before you return to my eternal place.  The crow launched himself into the air, to celebrate his air, his home, his total domain. The crow, above this orchard of marble and granite, will be there, now, tomorrow, and always . . . waiting for the next arrival at the gate, because he is the keeper.

Another get together...

 

Looking forward to Monday the 20th at 11 when I meet my old broadcast 

buddy Mike Baldwin at the Texas Hot in Wellsville. I had the privilege of 

being Mike's morning guy when WJQZ went on the air in 1986....and 

we dominated the ratings in western New York....what fun times we had!

So we'll get together at the Hot.....have some laughs....have some great 

food and hopefully we'll run into some people we know!

Thanks Alexandra...

     

    A shout out to Alexandra Mosca for including my book Undertakings in one

   of her recent F. Book posts.....it's nice to see people enjoying the read!  

   

The Buddy Holly crash, part 5

 

This is part five, and the last installment on that horrific crash on Feb.
3rd, 1959. If you missed any of the parts in this series, you can simply
scroll down to view them.  I hope you enjoyed the read....the events
are part of rock and roll history....and each year they continue to fade
into the fabric of time itself.

conclusions on the crash…

Before the NTSB, there was the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB).  They were the official

agency in charge of investigating the who, what and why of the Holly plane crash.

The post crash investigation at the scene came to no immediate conclusions. The

instrumentation all appeared normal with gauges and readings in their acceptable

parameters.  The engine gave no clues to mechanical failure or loss of power, the

propeller hub upon inspection proved the engine was performing normally at the

point of impact.

There was no part or parts of the wing, or moveable control surfaces

 found far away from the aircraft that might indicate an early departure from the fuselage  before the crash. Upon reviewing the autopsy report of pilot Roger Peterson, nothing remarkable was found that would indicate a medical emergency that would affect his flying senses or motor functions.

His injuries as the other victims were of mass trauma including the head and brain.

The young pilot Peterson was certified to operate under visual flight rules; i.e.

you need to be able to SEE where you are going. On that particular night, the lack of

a good horizon, low clouds, minimal amount of ground lights in the little populated area

would all make for poor visual flying.  To my knowledge the CAB never attempted

 to calculate the final weight of the aircraft with its’ passengers,

fuel and luggage.. if the aircraft was overloaded and the center of gravity was

compromised the plane would be severely challenged to fly correctly.

The CAB in Sept. of 1959 said the following about the crash, quote:

‘At night, with an overcast sky, snow falling, no definite horizon and a proposed

flight over a sparsely settled area with an absence of ground lights, a requirement

for control of the aircraft solely by reference to flight instruments can be

predicted with virtual certainty. The board concludes that Pilot Peterson was

confronted with this situation. Because of fluctuation of the rate instruments

caused by gusty winds he would have been forced to concentrate and rely

greatly on the attitude gyro, an instrument with which he was not completely

familiar. The pitch display of this instrument is the reverse of the instrument

he was accustomed to; therefore, he could have been confused and thought

that he was making a climbing turn when in reality he was making a

descending turn. The weather briefing supplied to the pilot was seriously

inadequate in that it failed to even mention adverse flying conditions which

should have been highlighted.’

 In 2015, the NTSB, who succeeded the CAB had considered re-opening the crash investigation. That was proposed by a pilot L.J. Coon, who felt the first conclusions were not correct.

He thought a possible right rudder failure, fuel readings and that improper weight

distribution as mentioned above could be involved. Coon also thought that Peterson

may have tried to land the aircraft, a distinct possibility, and that his efforts should

be noted in the official record. The NTSB in 2016 considered re-opening the

investigation into the crash, but it never happened. And there you have it.

 There are rumors the plane still exists…..and that the Dwyer family has at

least part of it hidden away.

Within the past two years I tried to contact Mrs. Dwyer to ask about the location of

the remains of the airplane, but I never received any answer from her or

her family. (Jerry and Barb Dwyer, were the owners of the airplane.)

Jerry Dwyer passed away in Clear Lake in January 2016. He was writing a book

about the whole affair…his wife has stated she will continue and eventually

finish the book in his memory and honor.

February 3^rd, 1959, a date forever etched in rock and roll history.

The Buddy Holly crash, part 4

 

 By all accounts the Big Bopper was fully recognizable with his familiar 1959 crew-cut.

 The embalming had been superb, and the restorative art to his features also done well.

Dr. Bass and his assistants removed the body, performed an extensive examination and

multiple groupings of x-rays. Dr. Bass concluded and reported to Jay that there was

no foul play in the death of his father and that he had died from massive trauma, and

that he died instantly. (Dr. Bass noted that Richardson had more than 60 bone

fractures resulting from the accident.)  Batesville Casket Co. provided a new casket in

which J.P. was placed and a small procession drove him to his new resting place. The rumors

were nixed, Jay had seen his father for the first and only time, and had laid his father

back to rest. Sadly, Jay himself passed away in August of 2013.   

So the rumor that the pistol was somehow involved in the crash was finally

dismissed.  Jay Richardson finally got to see his father for the first time….it

must have been a  very bittersweet day for him, for sure.  

So what really happened that terrible morning?

I’m not an investigator by any means, but I actually think that within minutes

of taking off… Holly in the front seat…finding themselves in swirling, blinding

snow urged, or more forcefully, told Peterson the pilot to turn around and get

back to the airport a few short miles away. At the time of the crash, the

landing gear was not deployed, so the chance of him trying to land the aircraft

is quite remote. The engine was at normal cruise speed at the time of the

crash. Peterson may have been trying to gain altitude in an effort

to get above the weather he was confronting, but in actuality was making a

descending move not an ascending one.  I think Peterson, not instrument

rated, was very confused, spatially  disorientated, and lost control.

February 3^rd of 1959 is talked and written about a lot…even 63 years later.

The lack of sophisticated weather tracking, communications and equipment

were most likely also factors in that terrible day. Accidents similar to this are

rare today. The four lost that day will not be forgotten. Their memories will

be perpetuated as time marches on…and that’s the way it should be.

Next up and lastly; the conclusions about the crash

(You can scroll down for the first three parts of this story)

the Buddy Holly crash....part 3

 

It's February 3rd, 1959, within a few minutes of 1:00 a.m. Young pilot Peterson takes off

from the Mason City Airport in very wintry conditions, with a new weather front coming 

his way from the Northwest.....

The short flight and the crash..

The crash site….

Unfortunately the Beechcraft with Buddy Holly and three others had not gone far.

In less than five minutes and traveling under six miles, the aircraft impacted the terrain

at high speed, descending into a steep bank, hitting the right tip of the wing and leaving

a trail of debris 450 feet long, the remainder of the fuselage rolling into a ball and stopping

at a fence line. Here was an eerie scene for those who arrived the next morning. Four young men with great potential lying around a shattered airplane in a field.

There were no witnesses to the crash. Upon exam, the instruments in the plane read as follows: fuel pressure, oil temperature and pressure gauges were stuck in the green or normal range.

The attitude gyro indicator was stopped in a reading indicating a 90 degree angle.

Also, the rate of climb indicator was stopped at 3,000 feet per minute descent.

The airspeed indicator was stopped showing between 165-170 mph. (At this speed

and rate of descent from 800 feet…it would only take about 15 seconds to impact)

The seat belts had all suffered failures either in their attachment points or buckles.

The violent force of the crash itself resulted in Holly, Richardson and Valens all being

thrown from the aircraft. The bodies of Holly and Valens were within twenty feet of the

fuselage, Richardson’s body was thrown across the fence line some forty feet and onto the

property of Oscar Moffitt. The pilot Peterson’s body was trapped in the cockpit. The deceased were all covered in light snow which had accumulated overnight. The aircraft did

 not catch fire,(with 39 gallons of fuel supposedly on board, it’s kind of unusual that

there was no fire, or even mention of any fuel residue being noticed at the site during

the investigation) the landing gear was retracted at the time of the crash. The propeller hub gave evidence that the engine was under power when hitting the ground. County coroner Ralph Smiley certified that all victims died instantly, cause of death ‘gross trauma to brain’ for the

three recording artists and brain damage for pilot Peterson. The bodies were removed

from the site that morning. The only autopsy performed was that on the pilot

Peterson. Only macroscopic physical exams noting injuries to substantiate cause of death were

performed on Holly, Richardson and Valens.  

Next up part 4;  the pistol found and the years later exhumation of the Big Bopper. 

parts 1 and 2 are found below...

The Buddy Holly crash....part 2

  

The loss of Buddy Holly, part 2, the take off 

The take off and the very short flight…

At 12:55 a.m. on Tues. Feb. 3rd, pilot Roger Peterson eased the nose of the Beechcraft

Bonanza airplane out on runway 17 at the Mason City Airport. On board, Buddy Holly,

J.P. Richardson and Richie Valens. (Yes, Waylon Jennings gave up his seat to the Big

Bopper…Richardson was feeling ill with a cold or worse, so Jennings gave up his seat

to the Big Bopper. The actual famous ‘coin flip’ for one seat was between Tommy Allsup

and Richie Valens..the physical flip was made by local D.J. and M.C. Bob Hale.. and

Valens won the seat so he would be on board.) Holly was seated up front next to the

pilot Peterson, Valens and Richardson were seated directly behind them.

 The weather had down-graded a bit, but not significantly since the last weather check by Peterson and his boss Hubert Dwyer. The ceiling was now down to 3,000 feet from 6,000 feet, and a front was approaching with light snow, winds were 20 to 30 mph and visibility was 6 miles, the temperature was a frigid 18 degrees.

Unfortunately a ‘flash’ weather advisory issued a few minutes before 1:00 a.m. was

never received or passed on to the pilot.  A large mass of snow was moving in their

flight path from the Northwest, and visibility had been lowered to two miles. This would

be significant upon the post crash investigation later on. Remember, Peterson was flying VISUALLY, with no instrument ratings. The flight, only 311 miles would take about one

 and one half hours.

Hubert Dwyer watched as the airplane lifted off the runway, made an initial left turn

onto a northwesterly heading and started climbing to its’ designated flight level of 800 feet.

Dwyer watched the tail light of the aircraft as it disappeared out of view…. that was

just after 1:00 a.m. Peterson had planned to file a flight plan once in the air, and was

to radio Dwyer once settled in for the flight.  When Peterson had failed to make

contact, several attempts to communicate with the aircraft were made and all were

unsuccessful.

At daylight, Dwyer in another airplane, went to trace the route of Holly’s

plane…… and the wreckage was found less than 6 miles from the airport. It hadn’t gotten

far. Had there been a structure failure? Did Peterson quickly discover the weather was

worse than he thought and was he turning to go back? Did the plane have too much

weight with passengers and luggage? Was there an engine problem that

could have caused loss of power? All good questions which would eventually be

confronted.

Next up: the crash site 

(scroll down for part 1)