A Birthday Request from Captain Flanagan
May 4, 2009 | 9:40 am
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A Birthday Request from Captain Flanagan
I recieved this note last night from Captain Flanagan and obtained his persmission to post it on flyertalk.
Originally Posted by Captain Denny
Dear, Family, Friends, Workmates and Customers who I have flown through the Friendly Skies,
I'm aproaching 58 years on Earth and I ask myself what have I done to make this planet a better place to live. On birthdays you generally receive material gifts, which you can't take with you, so this year I am reaching out to you for a special favor.
A few years ago I had the honor and privilege of spending some quality one-on-one time with Astronaut Jim Lovell. (Tom Hanks played him in Apollo 13). During our conversation I asked Jim what was his most memorable flight. With out skipping a beat Jim looked at me and said; "Denny, when I die, the last thing I will see before I close my eyes is the view of our planet I witnessed from Apollo 8 in 1968" At this time Jim made a fist, half stretched out his arm with his thumb sticking straight up simulating his famous pose of blocking out Mother Earth from his seat 225,000 miles away. Jim next said; "I am one astronaut in this capsule but you represent 6 billion astronauts on that ball (Earth) before me and you are ruining It". He continued to speak which sounded like a lecture blaming me for all the pollution, greed, anger, disease, poverty etc...At the same time the hair on my arm is sticking straight up between rows upon rows of goose bumps. It was a powerful moment for me and one that will last forever. Before we continued on to another topic which I didn't want to leave Jim said; "If our world leaders could just view our planet from my seat in Apollo 8 they would change the way they are running things. This is the only place we have to live, it is so fragile and needs tender care".
I am reaching out to each of you to help me make a difference and to spread Jim's message to save our planet. We can help do this by just being NICE. My wife Terri and I always comment that there are not enough NICE stories in the paper. My birthday is June 5th and I am asking when you do a nice deed for someone you don't know that you send me the story. Send me your story when it happens or on my birthday. Multiple stories are also acceptable.
If you are so inclined you can pass this email along or make the same request to your friends for your birthday. If you elect to do this I would like your ten best stories.
Thank you for your help and for crossing the path I have taken over the last 58 years,
Capt. Denny Flanagan
United Airlines
I'm aproaching 58 years on Earth and I ask myself what have I done to make this planet a better place to live. On birthdays you generally receive material gifts, which you can't take with you, so this year I am reaching out to you for a special favor.
A few years ago I had the honor and privilege of spending some quality one-on-one time with Astronaut Jim Lovell. (Tom Hanks played him in Apollo 13). During our conversation I asked Jim what was his most memorable flight. With out skipping a beat Jim looked at me and said; "Denny, when I die, the last thing I will see before I close my eyes is the view of our planet I witnessed from Apollo 8 in 1968" At this time Jim made a fist, half stretched out his arm with his thumb sticking straight up simulating his famous pose of blocking out Mother Earth from his seat 225,000 miles away. Jim next said; "I am one astronaut in this capsule but you represent 6 billion astronauts on that ball (Earth) before me and you are ruining It". He continued to speak which sounded like a lecture blaming me for all the pollution, greed, anger, disease, poverty etc...At the same time the hair on my arm is sticking straight up between rows upon rows of goose bumps. It was a powerful moment for me and one that will last forever. Before we continued on to another topic which I didn't want to leave Jim said; "If our world leaders could just view our planet from my seat in Apollo 8 they would change the way they are running things. This is the only place we have to live, it is so fragile and needs tender care".
I am reaching out to each of you to help me make a difference and to spread Jim's message to save our planet. We can help do this by just being NICE. My wife Terri and I always comment that there are not enough NICE stories in the paper. My birthday is June 5th and I am asking when you do a nice deed for someone you don't know that you send me the story. Send me your story when it happens or on my birthday. Multiple stories are also acceptable.
If you are so inclined you can pass this email along or make the same request to your friends for your birthday. If you elect to do this I would like your ten best stories.
Thank you for your help and for crossing the path I have taken over the last 58 years,
Capt. Denny Flanagan
United Airlines
May 4, 2009 | 9:58 am
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For those who are unfamiliar with Captain Flanagan, this thread will be helpful to read:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...-flanagan.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...-flanagan.html
May 4, 2009 | 10:15 am
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Wirelessly posted (FlyerTalk.com/wap is fun : BlackBerry9530/4.7.0.141 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105)
Thanks for passing along the message and birthday greetings to the Captain. I wanted to share a story here, but they are only meaningful to me and the person on the other side of my interactions. Instead, I want to echo the Captain's invitation to be nice. If you are not volunteering, start. There is much work that can be done to repair the world. Volunteering with teens and young adults, my reward is watching these young people grow into fine adults.
Thanks for passing along the message and birthday greetings to the Captain. I wanted to share a story here, but they are only meaningful to me and the person on the other side of my interactions. Instead, I want to echo the Captain's invitation to be nice. If you are not volunteering, start. There is much work that can be done to repair the world. Volunteering with teens and young adults, my reward is watching these young people grow into fine adults.
May 4, 2009 | 3:10 pm
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What I remember most about Jim Lovell is that he made a PSA in favor of the Boy Scouts of America at the height of their controversial fight to discriminate against gay and lesbian Americans. He picked a side to support in a historical struggle for civil rights and sadly, in my view, it was the wrong one. And I think history will eventually prove it. As a child of the 70's, astronauts were all childhood heroes of mine, and he let me and millions of others down in a big way.
I have the utmost respect for Capt. Flanagan, and for Mother Earth. But for Jim Lovell, not so much anymore.
I'm just putting it out there.
I have the utmost respect for Capt. Flanagan, and for Mother Earth. But for Jim Lovell, not so much anymore.
I'm just putting it out there.
May 4, 2009 | 4:06 pm
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If our world leaders could just view our planet from my seat in Apollo 8 they would change the way they are running things
May 4, 2009 | 4:07 pm
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Jonathan IT: I understand where you are coming from, but let's try to keep this thread from being sent to OMNI.
Sam: just enjoy your birthday please...
Sam: just enjoy your birthday please...
May 5, 2009 | 1:06 am
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In honor of the good Captain's wishes, I'll try really hard to think of something nice to say about the company he works for 
Happy Birthday Captain Flanagan!
Happy Birthday Captain Flanagan!
May 5, 2009 | 1:30 am
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May 5, 2009 | 2:13 am
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Thanks for posting this. I too received Denny's email and was thinking of posting it here. I think it's important to abstract the politics, etc. from the request and simply look at it as "paying it forward" and that's the way Capt. Flanagan would appreciate his b-day gift/wish be manifested.