[Jeff Higgins]

This is a great conversation, guys. I love hearing all of the widely varying perspectives on all that happened. Of course us legacy Boeing guys blame MD, MD guys blame Boeing, legacy Douglass guys blamed McDonnell. Loyalties are great, aren't they? None of us will ever have a clear perspective. All of this happened way, way above our pay grades, and much of it was hidden by a lot of guys motivated to hide it.

I think what is most clear, to all of us, is that none of the companies for whom we worked (or still work) are what they once were. They have all lost something over the course of the last couple of decades. The truly pioneering spirit, the real "gee wiz" nature that attracted guys like me is a thing of the past. What a shame...

Alas, there is hope. My oldest son followed me into the profession. He is working for a very small engineering house in Seattle (almost entirely Boeing expats). They are getting contracts from Blue Origin, NASA, Space X, and others. He is working with, for, and around people who are seriously talking about going back to the moon. And he gets to help them do it. There are still dreamers out there, real pioneers, guys willing to risk their fortunes gained elsewhere - the aviation pioneers of old. You just won't find them at Boeing anymore, nor any other corporate conglomerate. My son was lucky enough to find them. I'm happy for him.