I'm so very sorry for your loss - my sincerest condolences to you and your family. I was shattered by this news when Juan called to let me know. and still can't seem to believe it. I spent quite a bit of time with Ned. At one point, I was flying with him almost every morning for a while before going to work. It was one of the things I most looked forward to. We'd meet at 6:30am to buzz around for a while sometimes just to touch and go at SQL and others to get out over Half Moon Bay and catch the morning fog. There was something very serene about flying early in the morning and hanging out with Ned just set the tone for the day. And it was a blast. His love for flying was infectious and just so much fun to be around. It got to point where I was sneaking out at every chance possible to go fly. We once did a flight over Gilroy - it was in the summer I think - and the cockpit filled with the smell of garlic. Both of us were starving so we landed and gorged ourselves on Italian food. So much so - I could barely move! Just a couple of dudes hanging out being goofy.
He just had a great way about him and we just fell into a rapport from the beginning. I'm Indian, so he'd ask me about the meaning of certain Indian words and other things about Indian culture and then I realized why - he'd met Vicki! When they were expecting, he told me why they decided on the name Shaan and I thought it was the coolest thing. Sometimes we'd go months without talking and then he'd call or I'd catch him and we'd just have a nice long chat. I always put the phone down smiling. Like last year when he called to tell me about the new gig he was looking into. I was thrilled for him. My wife and I had a baby boy last August and we talked about getting together so the boys could meet. I told him we'd head up one weekend and take the boys flying. We were out of town when he had the open house and I was bummed to have missed it. I could go on for ages.
He was six months my junior, but I would like you to know that I looked up to him a great deal. He taught me a lot during our time together and those are things that I will carry with me always. He was a great guy and a wonderful friend. I will miss him dearly.
Like Juan, please let me know what I can do to help Vicki and Shaan or anything else for that matter.
Regards,
Viresh
