I have been reading the thread for years and feel like I know most of you.
To 377: What an absolute pleasure to meet you and your wife. Your presentation on Cooper's choice of chutes, and jumping off the aft stairs of a 727 was phenomenally informative. I can't get the video out of my head. On page 44 of the FBI 302's, Mucklow "commented that he appeared to be completely familiar with the parachutes which had been furnished to him." - a very, very noteworthy and incredibly significant statement from Mucklow, brought to our attention during your presentation. Never having seen a parachute before (except the reserve chute and container in the Cooper archive), I knew I could put the NB8 on correctly, but only after having examined detailed drawings of Major Dan Cooper wearing a military chute in the Cooper comic for 3 years. That, and researching parachutes for my own Cooper presentation. Thanks for letting me try on the NB8. What a thrill!
To Hangdiver and "raspberrymoon": Thanks for allowing me to eat my big bowl of chili with you guys at the bar during the Ariel Tavern after-party. You're super cool, and it was great to get a former flight attendant and a couple of skydiver's perspectives on the Cooper hijacking.
To Jerry Thomas: ALWAYS nice to see you! You and I can disagree on small details of the case and it just doesn't matter. It actually makes it more fun. It was terrific to finally get to meet Shelley in person after all of these years and reminisce about our 2009 Cooper trip.
To Farflung: Your poem rocked! I was disappointed, however, that you weren't present. I would have loved talking to you, and listening to you read your poem yourself.
To Brian Ingram: It was great meeting Trixie and your new daughter, Rebecca. You are such a terrific person and always fun to be around. I enjoyed our conversations about the Cooper comic. Thanks for letting me get a closer look at your Tintin edition from 1971 containing the first 8 pages of "Crash Dans Le 135."
To Snowman: I miss reading your posts on the forum and was incredibly disappointed you were not present at the Cooper Symposium (at least as far as I know. Hmmm...now that I think of it, you and 377 could have cooked up some plan for him to not approach you, while you moved about the symposium undetected.) 377 mentioned to me that you had also focused on the Dan Cooper comic stories as being relevant to the Cooper hijacking, especially "L'Affaire Minos" from 1970. Unfortunately, anyone who hasn't read over the 1,000+ pages of the comic published prior to the hijack, is unable to present an informed comment. I was glad to know I was in good company. I would love to discuss and compare the minute details of the comics and the events of the hijacking with you sometime.
To Brucie: You are a superb showman and most entertaining! I thought I was being incredibly over-the-top-obvious during my talk, to the point of beating a dead horse. I'm sorry you didn't get it.
To Geoff Gray: Thank you for organizing such an exciting and professional first Cooper symposium. Your time, energy, and effort were appreciated in making the meeting such a complete success.
