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One of the coolest things I ever did was call him on the phone in 7th grade, and no joke, his secretary put him on the phone and I got to talk to him for a few

One of the coolest things I ever did was call him on the phone in 7th grade, and no joke, his secretary put him on the phone and I got to talk to him for a few minutes. He was nice to talk to, and humorously, had recently fallen off a horse... Again. I was obsessed with the Discovery channel x-planes series, and ended up doing a video project for a local history day competition. My project partner's dad worked for an defense company, happened to know a guy that knew a guy that had his phone number. Probably one of the coolest things that's ever happened to me.

KumaKumaKuma 6y ago
I'm surprised by this. He lived in the town I grew up in, and we were told repeatedly to not visit/call/attempt to interview him. One of my friends tried anyway, and the interview was mostly grumbles about reading his book instead of asking stupid questions. He was known to be a sourpuss and to not hesitate hitting people with his cane.
- spike021 6y ago
  Maybe he changed along the way, maybe not. But I found his Twitter feed pretty fascinating since he (or maybe his wife or somebody else) would answer questions tweeted at him. Seemed pretty open to me for someone of his age and importance.
  - Cthulhu_ 6y ago
    To be fair, twitter is a lot less invasive and disruptive than phone calls.
    - spike021 6y ago
      Eh, I'd say it's relative. In my experience it isn't so different for the older generation, since they aren't as used to being so available/visible. It's difficult to know how he would've felt about it, though.
      - zapzupnz 6y ago
        You can take or leave a Twitter question. It sits there waiting to be answered. It isn't in a rush. You either ignore a ringing phone or tersely tell the person who called that you're busy. Not quite the same dynamic.
      - throw999666 6y ago
        He really liked Twitter. It let him sit up on his high horse, while everyone else flitted around. That's where he was comfortable. Being above. Face to face or phone calls with strangers made him "equal" which he didn't see himself as. Not judging, just pointing out it's interesting you can have this very likeable and well-loved and appreciated guy who internally sees himself (in this vocation of piloting) as the best of the best, which places him above everyone else in his estimation, which is a point of view that people who see as negative, and yet he was well-loved and he made it work. Only piloting tho, other things he didn't see himself as better than others, but better than was where he was comfortable so he associated most with his piloting. Slightly premonitive that I had a dream last night about astronauts and test pilots, and very clearly the phrase "the right stuff" was repeated a few times, and in the dream I related it to (I think there was) that movie in the late 80s or 90s about "the right stuff" pilots with a few big names in it. Nothing in the dream about Yeager but I consider that a definite hit tho. I don't think I often get preinfo in dreams tho, so that's interesting.
        SEJeff 6y ago
        I hate to be the guy that responds to the obvious throwaway, but have you broken the speed of sound in an airplane? Have you been a 2 time WWII fighter ace? He was the best of the best, and an inspiration for a generation.
        User23 6y ago
        Hero has become a joke word used to describe anyone that goes to their job in the morning, but General Yeager was a bona fide hero whose achievements would be viewed by the vast majority of humanity past and present as bordering on godlike. He's what the ancient Greeks meant when they talked about heroes.
  - MisterTea 6y ago
    >Maybe he changed along the way... > He was nice to talk to, and humorously, had recently fallen off a horse... Again. Maybe it was the meds?
- GuardianCaveman 6y ago
  A friend of mine met him and said he was a sour puss as well but still amazing man. Can’t blame him really.
- inspector-g 6y ago
  Are you referring to Grass Valley, or elsewhere? Just curious FYI, spent much of my life there.
- andi999 6y ago
  Maybe the questions were stupid?

KumaKumaKuma 6y ago

I'm surprised by this. He lived in the town I grew up in, and we were told repeatedly to not visit/call/attempt to interview him. One of my friends tried anyway, and the interview was mostly grumbles about reading his book instead of asking stupid questions. He was known to be a sourpuss and to not hesitate hitting people with his cane.

spike021 6y ago
Maybe he changed along the way, maybe not. But I found his Twitter feed pretty fascinating since he (or maybe his wife or somebody else) would answer questions tweeted at him. Seemed pretty open to me for someone of his age and importance.
- Cthulhu_ 6y ago
  To be fair, twitter is a lot less invasive and disruptive than phone calls.
  - spike021 6y ago
    Eh, I'd say it's relative. In my experience it isn't so different for the older generation, since they aren't as used to being so available/visible. It's difficult to know how he would've felt about it, though.
    - zapzupnz 6y ago
      You can take or leave a Twitter question. It sits there waiting to be answered. It isn't in a rush. You either ignore a ringing phone or tersely tell the person who called that you're busy. Not quite the same dynamic.
    - throw999666 6y ago
      He really liked Twitter. It let him sit up on his high horse, while everyone else flitted around. That's where he was comfortable. Being above. Face to face or phone calls with strangers made him "equal" which he didn't see himself as. Not judging, just pointing out it's interesting you can have this very likeable and well-loved and appreciated guy who internally sees himself (in this vocation of piloting) as the best of the best, which places him above everyone else in his estimation, which is a point of view that people who see as negative, and yet he was well-loved and he made it work. Only piloting tho, other things he didn't see himself as better than others, but better than was where he was comfortable so he associated most with his piloting. Slightly premonitive that I had a dream last night about astronauts and test pilots, and very clearly the phrase "the right stuff" was repeated a few times, and in the dream I related it to (I think there was) that movie in the late 80s or 90s about "the right stuff" pilots with a few big names in it. Nothing in the dream about Yeager but I consider that a definite hit tho. I don't think I often get preinfo in dreams tho, so that's interesting.
      - SEJeff 6y ago
        I hate to be the guy that responds to the obvious throwaway, but have you broken the speed of sound in an airplane? Have you been a 2 time WWII fighter ace? He was the best of the best, and an inspiration for a generation.
        User23 6y ago
        Hero has become a joke word used to describe anyone that goes to their job in the morning, but General Yeager was a bona fide hero whose achievements would be viewed by the vast majority of humanity past and present as bordering on godlike. He's what the ancient Greeks meant when they talked about heroes.
- MisterTea 6y ago
  >Maybe he changed along the way... > He was nice to talk to, and humorously, had recently fallen off a horse... Again. Maybe it was the meds?
GuardianCaveman 6y ago
A friend of mine met him and said he was a sour puss as well but still amazing man. Can’t blame him really.
inspector-g 6y ago
Are you referring to Grass Valley, or elsewhere? Just curious FYI, spent much of my life there.
andi999 6y ago
Maybe the questions were stupid?