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Kevin Lowe: Have you ever had a dream so big it honestly kind of scared you?
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Kevin Lowe: If so, amazing. If not, well then let today's episode, today's interview, inspire you to start.
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Kevin Lowe: Donald Osborne, he was only 14 years old when his imagination took flight at
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Kevin Lowe: the sight of his neighbor's airplane.
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Kevin Lowe: That wild imagination, just a kid's dream, it would take flight in a very big,
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Kevin Lowe: exciting, and sometimes thrilling way.
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Kevin Lowe: Inside of today's monumental 400th episode, you're going to be witness to how
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Kevin Lowe: that dusty Nebraska dream of just a child, how it took flight.
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Kevin Lowe: From flying over fields to flying across the world, Donald Osborne is proof
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Kevin Lowe: that a dream, even so big that it scares you, can indeed come true.
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Kevin Lowe: You might consider today's episode a celebration for the podcast, the 400th episode.
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Kevin Lowe: We're just over five years running and baby, what a journey it's been.
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Kevin Lowe: But honestly, it's bigger than that.
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Kevin Lowe: It's bigger than just an interview because today is a reminder that no matter
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Kevin Lowe: how big your dreams are, no matter how big and scary they may be,
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Kevin Lowe: my friend, if you have the dream, it's for a reason.
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Kevin Lowe: And I believe it's a reason for you to make it come true. And the biggest thing,
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Kevin Lowe: the most important thing that I want you to remember, is it's never about where
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Kevin Lowe: you start, but rather where you land.
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Kevin Lowe: My friend, I'm your host, Kevin Lowe. And it is my honor, my pleasure to welcome
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Kevin Lowe: you to our 400th episode of Grit, Grace, and Inspiration.
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Kevin Lowe: Yeah, I got grit, grace, and inspiration on my mind.
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<v Music>
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Kevin Lowe: What's going on and welcome back to Grit, Grace and Inspiration.
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Kevin Lowe: Today, I have the pleasure of being in the studio with none other than Don Osborne.
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Kevin Lowe: Don, man, a pleasure to have you here. Welcome to the show.
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Donald Osborn: Yeah, I sure appreciate it. I love the invite and it's great talking to you again, Kevin.
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Kevin Lowe: Yeah, man. Well, Don, I'm excited to get to explore your story.
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Kevin Lowe: Obviously, a big part of our story today is really going to be kind of following
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Kevin Lowe: a lot of, of your book that you have that we're going to get to talk all about today.
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Kevin Lowe: My hope is to kind of get to explore the book kind of firsthand from you and, and, and,
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Kevin Lowe: Obviously, I guess the most logical place for us to start today is to me ask,
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Kevin Lowe: where did the love for flying or maybe even before it turned into a love, the excitement,
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Kevin Lowe: the enthusiasm about flying, where did that even start at in your life?
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Donald Osborn: I think some of it is one of my first memories. And I remember watching an airplane go over.
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Donald Osborn: And so it probably was deep-seated, you know, from a very early age.
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Donald Osborn: I grew up in a very small town in western Nebraska, Shadron, Nebraska.
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Donald Osborn: And the idea of getting out of there was a tremendous goal, you know,
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Donald Osborn: because it's like anything. You don't realize what you have until you're gone.
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Donald Osborn: I wanted to see the rest of the world. I wanted to see what was over the hill.
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Donald Osborn: And it seemed like flying airplanes was the way to do that.
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Donald Osborn: And the more I got to know about airplanes, it just became my passion.
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Donald Osborn: I suppose basically, first of all, I wanted to be a rock and roll star,
00:03:28.014 --> 00:03:29.934
Donald Osborn: but the talent thing kind of got in the way.
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Donald Osborn: So I could work to be a pilot. I'll never be a better guitar player,
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Donald Osborn: singer, no matter how hard I work.
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Kevin Lowe: I hear you. I hear you. I love it. I love it. Now, are you from Nebraska?
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Kevin Lowe: Is that where you were born and raised?
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Donald Osborn: Yes, I was born in Shadder, Nebraska. It's right on the Wyoming,
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Donald Osborn: South Dakota, Nebraska border. Okay.
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Donald Osborn: About 100 miles from anywhere.
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Kevin Lowe: Yeah. Now, that part of Nebraska, am I imagining, right, I'm imagining a lot of just farmland?
00:04:03.594 --> 00:04:06.534
Donald Osborn: Farmland. And one interesting thing about that part of Nebraska,
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Donald Osborn: it is a lot hilly, almost forest-like. Most people that just fly over or drive
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Donald Osborn: through the interstate, they don't see that part of Nebraska.
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Donald Osborn: But there's areas I could take you up there and you would think you're in Colorado
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Donald Osborn: if you didn't know better.
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Kevin Lowe: Oh, wow. Okay. Okay. Amazing. So in terms of flying goes, when did you really
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Kevin Lowe: kind of really start exploring it?
00:04:33.264 --> 00:04:37.124
Kevin Lowe: Because I mean, I think of flying as something that you really can't start doing
00:04:37.124 --> 00:04:42.384
Kevin Lowe: until you're an adult, but it started for you earlier in your teenage years, correct?
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Donald Osborn: Yeah. When you read the book, you'll
00:04:44.264 --> 00:04:48.164
Donald Osborn: find out there was a guy that had an airplane out at the edge of town.
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Donald Osborn: And I used to watch that thing fly in. Well, as soon as I see that thing,
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Donald Osborn: I would try to follow and see where he lands.
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Donald Osborn: And so after a few attempts, I saw where he was landing. I saw the hangar that he's pushing it into.
00:05:01.324 --> 00:05:06.624
Donald Osborn: I knew somehow I had to get in there and see that airplane, see it up close.
00:05:06.884 --> 00:05:11.284
Donald Osborn: Being at that age and not very mature, I didn't think just to knock on his door
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Donald Osborn: and say, hey, I'm interested in airplanes.
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Donald Osborn: Would you show me your airplane, which probably would have been the way to do it with hindsight.
00:05:18.564 --> 00:05:24.024
Donald Osborn: So I broke into his hangar, basically. I snuck in off the side to a little hole
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Donald Osborn: that I pulled siding loose, and I would hang in,
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Donald Osborn: hang around in that hangar, just looking at the airplane, imagining what it
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Donald Osborn: must do and wondering what all these things inside did.
00:05:34.684 --> 00:05:36.524
Donald Osborn: The love of the mechanics of it,
00:05:36.644 --> 00:05:41.244
Donald Osborn: the airplane, the idea of flying was just ingrained in me pretty deeply.
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Kevin Lowe: Yeah. Now, what what kind of airplane was this?
00:05:45.144 --> 00:05:48.184
Kevin Lowe: Or I mean, more importantly, for us who don't know anything about airplanes,
00:05:48.444 --> 00:05:52.184
Kevin Lowe: like what did it look like as as you as a kid looking at this airplane?
00:05:52.184 --> 00:05:56.604
Donald Osborn: It was a small, yellow, high-wing airplane, which was a tail dragger.
00:05:56.724 --> 00:06:00.564
Donald Osborn: For me, looking at it as a kid, it was the biggest, most powerful,
00:06:00.704 --> 00:06:02.884
Donald Osborn: exciting machine I'd ever seen in my life.
00:06:03.364 --> 00:06:08.084
Donald Osborn: I'd been around tractors and old cars and that type of thing to that point,
00:06:08.084 --> 00:06:13.904
Donald Osborn: but the fact that this thing had wings and a propeller on it was just horribly exciting to me.
00:06:14.144 --> 00:06:18.244
Donald Osborn: I thought, there's got to be a way somehow I can get this thing into the sky.
00:06:18.844 --> 00:06:19.984
Kevin Lowe: Absolutely. Now...
00:06:20.852 --> 00:06:25.652
Kevin Lowe: Would you ever get to the point where you actually would go as far as climbing
00:06:25.652 --> 00:06:27.592
Kevin Lowe: up inside of it and sitting in the plane?
00:06:27.852 --> 00:06:32.032
Donald Osborn: I hate to admit it because I'm sure the statute of limitations are over,
00:06:32.052 --> 00:06:35.352
Donald Osborn: but I figured out how to get the door open and climb into it.
00:06:35.412 --> 00:06:38.812
Donald Osborn: And I would move the, it had a stick in the center of it.
00:06:38.892 --> 00:06:42.572
Donald Osborn: And I'd move that around, imagining, I wonder what this thing does.
00:06:42.792 --> 00:06:47.672
Donald Osborn: And it was a very simple airplane, but I'd look at these four gauges that were
00:06:47.672 --> 00:06:51.952
Donald Osborn: in there and the throttle was off to the side. And I would just wonder,
00:06:52.112 --> 00:06:53.992
Donald Osborn: I wonder what all this stuff does.
00:06:54.592 --> 00:07:01.492
Kevin Lowe: Yeah, amazing. So I have to ask, at some point, because every story has a climax,
00:07:01.732 --> 00:07:04.072
Kevin Lowe: I'm going to imagine at some point you got caught.
00:07:05.092 --> 00:07:11.412
Donald Osborn: I got caught. The guy came walking in the hangar and I was engrossed and I was in the airplane.
00:07:11.632 --> 00:07:15.152
Donald Osborn: And I saw, well, I heard somebody coming in.
00:07:15.272 --> 00:07:19.792
Donald Osborn: I felt the door, could see the door opening. So I was out of that airplane through
00:07:19.792 --> 00:07:25.012
Donald Osborn: my little trap door that I had built and jumped on my buzz bike and pedaled
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Donald Osborn: away as fast as I could. And he kind of ran me down.
00:07:28.832 --> 00:07:33.232
Donald Osborn: And he said, so you're that little SOB that's been breaking into my hangar.
00:07:34.952 --> 00:07:38.232
Donald Osborn: And I like to say that was the start of my career.
00:07:39.252 --> 00:07:39.772
Kevin Lowe: Wow.
00:07:40.452 --> 00:07:45.432
Donald Osborn: He turned out to be a very nice gentleman and kind of took me under his wing,
00:07:45.752 --> 00:07:51.292
Donald Osborn: no pun intended, a little bit, and gave me my first seven or eight airplane
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Donald Osborn: lessons and actually sold with me.
00:07:53.732 --> 00:07:59.732
Kevin Lowe: Wow. So you have this man who catches this little SOB who's been breaking in
00:07:59.732 --> 00:08:02.412
Kevin Lowe: his barn, but he doesn't tell you
00:08:02.412 --> 00:08:06.072
Kevin Lowe: to just get lost, but he then literally starts to teach you how to fly.
00:08:06.552 --> 00:08:12.072
Donald Osborn: Exactly right. And then I can remember it was $12 an hour, and that included
00:08:12.072 --> 00:08:14.172
Donald Osborn: him, the airplane, the fuel, everything.
00:08:14.392 --> 00:08:18.572
Donald Osborn: And back then, $12 was a lot of money to come up with.
00:08:18.732 --> 00:08:24.712
Donald Osborn: So if you look in my old logbook, you could see about every 7 to 10 days I had a flight lesson.
00:08:25.512 --> 00:08:29.592
Donald Osborn: Because of that, it took me about 7 to 10 days to come up with that $12.
00:08:30.592 --> 00:08:31.012
Kevin Lowe: Yeah.
00:08:31.012 --> 00:08:36.912
Donald Osborn: And one funny little story is a common question that you get asked over and
00:08:36.912 --> 00:08:42.332
Donald Osborn: over and over in this business is, what's the scariest thing that's ever happened to you in flying?
00:08:42.512 --> 00:08:48.052
Donald Osborn: And I like to say it was showing up for a flight lesson with Frank without $12.
00:08:52.692 --> 00:08:56.192
Kevin Lowe: If you showed up without your $12, did you get to fly or no fly?
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Donald Osborn: The first couple of times he let me slide, but after he made it clear from now
00:09:00.552 --> 00:09:02.392
Donald Osborn: on, you come up with that money. So.
00:09:03.505 --> 00:09:09.845
Kevin Lowe: Wow. Now, how at that age, this time, how would you come up with that money?
00:09:09.965 --> 00:09:10.985
Kevin Lowe: What would you do for work?
00:09:11.085 --> 00:09:17.125
Donald Osborn: Well, I had a job in my uncle's gas station, and I still remember that paid 50 cents an hour.
00:09:18.785 --> 00:09:23.565
Donald Osborn: And I would mow lawns, shovel snow, collect pot bottles, you name it.
00:09:23.705 --> 00:09:26.945
Donald Osborn: You know, back then, pot bottles were two cents a piece, and the grocery store
00:09:26.945 --> 00:09:29.045
Donald Osborn: would pay you cash when you brought them in.
00:09:29.365 --> 00:09:33.105
Donald Osborn: Lots of odd jobs, you know, kind of anything for a buck.
00:09:33.505 --> 00:09:39.505
Kevin Lowe: Yeah, that's amazing. Now, I'm kind of curious about once you actually got to
00:09:39.505 --> 00:09:41.245
Kevin Lowe: go up in this plane with Frank.
00:09:41.545 --> 00:09:45.985
Kevin Lowe: I mean, it's one thing to have this idea of what it must be like.
00:09:46.325 --> 00:09:49.025
Kevin Lowe: But when you actually went up that first time, do you remember,
00:09:49.185 --> 00:09:52.705
Kevin Lowe: like, did it meet those expectations? Was it scary?
00:09:53.125 --> 00:09:57.065
Kevin Lowe: Did it just get you even more hyped about it? I'm kind of curious how that went.
00:09:57.365 --> 00:10:01.265
Donald Osborn: Actually, I still remember it was a surprise because in my mind,
00:10:01.425 --> 00:10:06.625
Donald Osborn: I had imagined that flying an airplane, It'd be like muscles, erratic movements,
00:10:07.265 --> 00:10:09.825
Donald Osborn: like, you know, flying that thing like I stole it, you know,
00:10:09.905 --> 00:10:16.165
Donald Osborn: just, you know, stop to stop, hardcore, you know, just like there's a machine gun shooting out of it.
00:10:16.245 --> 00:10:22.045
Donald Osborn: And as it turns out, you get up there and he teaches me right off the bat. It's very light touch.
00:10:22.185 --> 00:10:25.525
Donald Osborn: You know, you apply pressure to this thing. You don't turn it.
00:10:25.585 --> 00:10:29.705
Donald Osborn: You don't push it. You don't steer it like a car. And I can remember thinking,
00:10:29.905 --> 00:10:32.965
Donald Osborn: huh, that's not anything like I imagined it would be.
00:10:33.425 --> 00:10:38.425
Donald Osborn: It's habits over 50 years. When I drive a car, a lot of people look over at
00:10:38.425 --> 00:10:43.885
Donald Osborn: me because I've, you fly a jet with two fingers usually when you're in most cases.
00:10:44.165 --> 00:10:47.765
Donald Osborn: So when I'm driving the car, I'll have those two fingers on the steering wheel
00:10:47.765 --> 00:10:51.665
Donald Osborn: down resting on my knee and just force a habit, you know.
00:10:52.487 --> 00:10:55.467
Kevin Lowe: Yeah, no, that that is absolutely amazing.
00:10:56.067 --> 00:11:01.007
Kevin Lowe: It's obviously a much more gentle type thing than you would expect.
00:11:01.547 --> 00:11:04.787
Donald Osborn: Exactly. It's it's the idea of one as an instructor.
00:11:05.047 --> 00:11:08.807
Donald Osborn: I used to tell new students a lot. I said, fly this thing like your grandmother's
00:11:08.807 --> 00:11:11.467
Donald Osborn: in the backseat there and she's terrified of flying.
00:11:11.707 --> 00:11:14.547
Donald Osborn: So you don't want to do anything that's going to scare her.
00:11:15.207 --> 00:11:20.827
Kevin Lowe: Yeah. Oh, my goodness. That's that's awesome. Now, talk to me a little bit about
00:11:20.827 --> 00:11:23.467
Kevin Lowe: your experience flying.
00:11:23.667 --> 00:11:26.627
Kevin Lowe: I mean, you were at this point, you were only 14, correct?
00:11:27.507 --> 00:11:32.607
Donald Osborn: Yeah, I think I was very close to 15 when he actually let me fly it by myself,
00:11:32.827 --> 00:11:34.087
Donald Osborn: which, again, was illegal.
00:11:34.347 --> 00:11:39.447
Donald Osborn: You technically need to be 16, especially nowadays. You have to almost be in
00:11:39.447 --> 00:11:41.807
Donald Osborn: an approved school and meet lots of requirements.
00:11:42.107 --> 00:11:46.067
Donald Osborn: Back then, it was a little more lax, but it still had the 16-year rule.
00:11:46.867 --> 00:11:53.187
Kevin Lowe: Yeah. How was that? I mean, one thing going from flying with somebody,
00:11:53.367 --> 00:11:57.987
Kevin Lowe: but you didn't fly it by yourself after not that long.
00:11:58.487 --> 00:12:00.987
Kevin Lowe: That has to be somewhat terrifying.
00:12:01.587 --> 00:12:05.747
Donald Osborn: You know, I don't know that I don't know that terrifying is the word.
00:12:05.987 --> 00:12:10.287
Donald Osborn: You're so engrossed in what you're supposed to do and how you're going to do
00:12:10.287 --> 00:12:12.987
Donald Osborn: it. Your mind's pretty busy, even as a young kid.
00:12:13.647 --> 00:12:17.887
Donald Osborn: And I always like to think and I tell students is the second time you solo might
00:12:17.887 --> 00:12:21.607
Donald Osborn: be a little more scary than the first time because you kind of know what to expect.
00:12:21.967 --> 00:12:26.907
Donald Osborn: But again, as an instructor, most of my life, I can look at these students and
00:12:26.907 --> 00:12:28.647
Donald Osborn: see, you know, some of them are nervous.
00:12:28.827 --> 00:12:31.287
Donald Osborn: Some of them can't wait to get me out of the airplane.
00:12:31.547 --> 00:12:33.527
Donald Osborn: You know, others are halfway between.
00:12:33.847 --> 00:12:37.787
Donald Osborn: So I think it's a matter of preparation. You're ready to do this thing.
00:12:37.907 --> 00:12:38.947
Donald Osborn: You know, you're ready to go.
00:12:39.427 --> 00:12:46.567
Kevin Lowe: Yeah. Now, I read one thing in the book that I would love to have you tell the story about was,
00:12:47.347 --> 00:12:51.327
Kevin Lowe: I don't think it was real long, maybe after you started flying solo,
00:12:51.587 --> 00:12:53.827
Kevin Lowe: that you snuck a buddy on board.
00:12:54.187 --> 00:13:00.987
Donald Osborn: Yeah, I'm glad that I'm at the stage of my career now. The SA really can't come after me.
00:13:03.727 --> 00:13:08.087
Donald Osborn: I got to add also, it's fun being interviewed by somebody who's actually read the book.
00:13:08.267 --> 00:13:12.907
Donald Osborn: A lot of times they're just ad libbing it. But yeah, the second time I ever
00:13:12.907 --> 00:13:18.147
Donald Osborn: soloed an airplane, nobody really told me not to do this. So I had a feeling maybe it wasn't.
00:13:18.707 --> 00:13:24.787
Donald Osborn: And I put a friend of mine in that airplane you flew from the back seat.
00:13:25.207 --> 00:13:30.607
Donald Osborn: And it was a tandem thing. So I put him in the back seat. And for the first
00:13:30.607 --> 00:13:33.047
Donald Osborn: time, I flew from the front just not knowing.
00:13:33.407 --> 00:13:39.187
Donald Osborn: So that was kind of a different feeling. But, yeah, I took him up in the airplane,
00:13:39.327 --> 00:13:40.467
Donald Osborn: took him for a little ride.
00:13:41.287 --> 00:13:45.027
Donald Osborn: I was kind of messing around up there just, again, out of sheer ignorance.
00:13:45.027 --> 00:13:48.787
Donald Osborn: It wasn't it wasn't cockiness. It wasn't arrogant.
00:13:49.027 --> 00:13:52.447
Donald Osborn: It was just ignorant. I simply didn't know any better.
00:13:53.207 --> 00:13:53.467
Kevin Lowe: Yeah.
00:13:54.147 --> 00:13:57.847
Donald Osborn: And again, to fly a passenger, you have to have a private license,
00:13:57.987 --> 00:14:00.907
Donald Osborn: be 17 years old and have nowadays.
00:14:01.167 --> 00:14:06.047
Donald Osborn: Nowadays, a private pilot can take up to 100 hours to actually get his license.
00:14:06.487 --> 00:14:08.227
Donald Osborn: The requirement is 40 hours.
00:14:08.862 --> 00:14:13.362
Kevin Lowe: Yeah. Now, what was kind of like the time era when at this point in your life,
00:14:13.702 --> 00:14:16.362
Kevin Lowe: like what kind of year were we looking at back then?
00:14:16.842 --> 00:14:23.982
Donald Osborn: Well, let's see. That would have been in the mid 70s. I graduated high school from in 75.
00:14:24.542 --> 00:14:26.722
Donald Osborn: So, yeah, this would have been 73.
00:14:27.122 --> 00:14:27.462
Kevin Lowe: OK.
00:14:27.862 --> 00:14:28.902
Donald Osborn: 72, 73.
00:14:29.522 --> 00:14:33.522
Kevin Lowe: Yeah, I guess because I'm sitting here, I'm like the things we could get away
00:14:33.522 --> 00:14:38.382
Kevin Lowe: with out in the middle of nowhere back in the 70s that just probably wouldn't happen today.
00:14:39.462 --> 00:14:43.142
Donald Osborn: Yeah, I think about that a lot and all kinds of stuff, you know,
00:14:43.242 --> 00:14:48.482
Donald Osborn: I mean, I mean, now the parents are so close hovering over their kids.
00:14:48.682 --> 00:14:51.162
Donald Osborn: You know, when we were kids, we'd head out into the woods and,
00:14:51.342 --> 00:14:56.062
Donald Osborn: you know, my mom knew that I'd be back for by dinnertime or at least right before it's dark.
00:14:56.082 --> 00:15:02.082
Donald Osborn: And we would put our 22 rifles on our buzz bikes, go down to the local Western
00:15:02.082 --> 00:15:07.182
Donald Osborn: Auto, buy a box of shells, 22 shells. and the guy would hand them to us and
00:15:07.182 --> 00:15:09.442
Donald Osborn: say, going out to shoot rats at the dump?
00:15:09.722 --> 00:15:13.802
Donald Osborn: Yep, that's where we're going. We'd ride our bikes right down Main Street with
00:15:13.802 --> 00:15:19.142
Donald Osborn: the .22s, you know, strapped to the back, and nobody even so much is looked up.
00:15:19.622 --> 00:15:21.282
Kevin Lowe: That is just awesome.
00:15:21.642 --> 00:15:25.142
Donald Osborn: Imagine that today. I mean, there would be SWAT teams.
00:15:27.462 --> 00:15:30.682
Kevin Lowe: There would. There would. Yeah, sadly enough. Yes.
00:15:30.942 --> 00:15:33.562
Donald Osborn: Exactly. That's exactly right. Sadly enough.
00:15:33.562 --> 00:15:42.342
Kevin Lowe: Now, speaking of family, did your parents, siblings, did they know about this
00:15:42.342 --> 00:15:44.222
Kevin Lowe: whole flying endeavor that you were doing?
00:15:44.422 --> 00:15:47.922
Donald Osborn: I was raised by a single parent. My mom raised four of us.
00:15:48.542 --> 00:15:51.862
Donald Osborn: And we were pretty much a poverty type situation.
00:15:51.862 --> 00:15:56.462
Donald Osborn: So, you know, we never went hungry, thanks to my mom would work several jobs,
00:15:56.462 --> 00:15:59.262
Donald Osborn: but we didn't have much extra money at all.
00:15:59.262 --> 00:16:04.222
Donald Osborn: And so I didn't really want my mom to know that I was, you know,
00:16:04.362 --> 00:16:07.322
Donald Osborn: she, she asked several times, what do you do with all that money you're making?
00:16:07.502 --> 00:16:12.042
Donald Osborn: Cause she knew I was working hard and I just say, I'm saving it. I'm saving it up.
00:16:13.103 --> 00:16:16.223
Donald Osborn: So she found out, you know, obviously, oh,
00:16:16.403 --> 00:16:21.123
Donald Osborn: probably after I had my private license that I was flying and she was pretty
00:16:21.123 --> 00:16:26.223
Donald Osborn: much a homebody, would have been a perfect farm lady and didn't really have
00:16:26.223 --> 00:16:29.743
Donald Osborn: much interest in anything like that. So her idea was work.
00:16:29.923 --> 00:16:33.743
Donald Osborn: You know, what was important to her is how much work you were doing right now today.
00:16:34.043 --> 00:16:38.303
Donald Osborn: You know, how much work you did yesterday or what you might do tomorrow didn't matter to us.
00:16:38.483 --> 00:16:42.843
Donald Osborn: How hard are you working right now? You know, gardening, shoveling,
00:16:43.003 --> 00:16:46.183
Donald Osborn: building, that was all acceptable pastimes in her mind.
00:16:46.663 --> 00:16:51.643
Kevin Lowe: Yeah. So I guess would you say that you get your worth ethic from your mom?
00:16:52.043 --> 00:16:56.983
Donald Osborn: Definitely, yeah. That was her life. My mom worked and she solved most of her
00:16:56.983 --> 00:16:59.723
Donald Osborn: issues by working harder than she did the day before.
00:17:00.923 --> 00:17:08.463
Kevin Lowe: Wow. Wow. That's amazing. So to flying, I mean, you're a teenage boy.
00:17:08.463 --> 00:17:15.123
Kevin Lowe: Did you think that this would ever turn into a career path?
00:17:15.323 --> 00:17:18.783
Donald Osborn: I never, never really wanted to do anything else.
00:17:19.023 --> 00:17:24.083
Donald Osborn: And so I didn't know how it was going to happen and I didn't really have any guidance.
00:17:24.283 --> 00:17:28.683
Donald Osborn: But yeah, I always imagined I'd be in a big airplane flying across the ocean someday.
00:17:28.903 --> 00:17:31.243
Donald Osborn: And, you know, that came to happen.
00:17:31.503 --> 00:17:36.943
Kevin Lowe: So, wow. Now, so I guess I would love to hear what is the story?
00:17:36.943 --> 00:17:44.623
Kevin Lowe: How do you go from this this teenage boy flying the neighbor's plane to actually
00:17:44.623 --> 00:17:46.803
Kevin Lowe: becoming a commercial pilot?
00:17:47.723 --> 00:17:51.323
Donald Osborn: Back then, a lot of it was luck. A lot of it was on your own.
00:17:51.483 --> 00:17:53.483
Donald Osborn: You you have to get licenses.
00:17:54.261 --> 00:17:58.921
Donald Osborn: I was lucky enough to get my flight instructor's license right before I started college.
00:17:59.261 --> 00:18:02.681
Donald Osborn: So through college, I was able to flight instruct quite a bit,
00:18:02.781 --> 00:18:05.901
Donald Osborn: build some hours, and actually fly some charter.
00:18:06.441 --> 00:18:11.381
Donald Osborn: And so by the time I was out of college, I had enough hours that a flight school
00:18:11.381 --> 00:18:14.361
Donald Osborn: in Phoenix looked at me seriously enough to hire me.
00:18:14.761 --> 00:18:19.181
Donald Osborn: And then from there, it was very turbulent times in the airlines.
00:18:19.341 --> 00:18:20.721
Donald Osborn: Airlines were going out of business.
00:18:21.021 --> 00:18:26.481
Donald Osborn: Corporations were going out of business. So a lot of my career was just trying to keep a job.
00:18:27.061 --> 00:18:32.221
Donald Osborn: Now, contrast that today. I mean, there's a huge pilot shortage and somebody
00:18:32.221 --> 00:18:33.761
Donald Osborn: wanting to be a pilot today.
00:18:34.001 --> 00:18:39.461
Donald Osborn: There are thousands of programs and universities, airlines willing to take them
00:18:39.461 --> 00:18:45.381
Donald Osborn: in as a student or a possible just they're willing to invest in people nowadays
00:18:45.381 --> 00:18:51.221
Donald Osborn: to get them into that cockpit and make a pilot out of them, which is wonderful for all those people.
00:18:51.221 --> 00:18:55.881
Donald Osborn: I sometimes have some envy or jealousy. I wish something like that was back when I was a kid.
00:18:56.041 --> 00:19:00.201
Donald Osborn: But Purdue University was the only college in the United States that had an
00:19:00.201 --> 00:19:03.461
Donald Osborn: aviation program, and it was incredibly expensive.
00:19:03.801 --> 00:19:08.281
Donald Osborn: As compared to today, I don't know that you could walk into a community college
00:19:08.281 --> 00:19:12.041
Donald Osborn: anywhere and not see some type of an aviation program available.
00:19:12.481 --> 00:19:19.141
Kevin Lowe: Yeah. Yeah. Wow. Now, during that time, what was going on in the world that
00:19:19.141 --> 00:19:23.081
Kevin Lowe: made the airline industry? Like, it's so difficult.
00:19:23.381 --> 00:19:27.741
Donald Osborn: Well, it was the 80s. So, you know, I guess the oil business would be a good
00:19:27.741 --> 00:19:29.961
Donald Osborn: example. You know, they strike oil somewhere.
00:19:30.381 --> 00:19:32.481
Donald Osborn: Everybody's multi-millionaires overnight.
00:19:33.061 --> 00:19:38.201
Donald Osborn: And the next thing, they're out buying jets. And, you know, two days later, it all collapses.
00:19:38.441 --> 00:19:42.101
Donald Osborn: And after a few days, these executives, they would think, hey,
00:19:42.481 --> 00:19:44.241
Donald Osborn: I know we could sell those airplanes.
00:19:44.501 --> 00:19:48.181
Donald Osborn: You know, that'll make us some money. Of course, a few days after they sell
00:19:48.181 --> 00:19:51.821
Donald Osborn: the airplanes, they think, oh, now we can fire the pilots.
00:19:52.560 --> 00:19:56.340
Donald Osborn: And, you know, airlines were going through deregulations, things were changing,
00:19:56.340 --> 00:20:00.840
Donald Osborn: and it was just some airlines were trying to get, you know, add more things
00:20:00.840 --> 00:20:02.820
Donald Osborn: and they'd forget they were in the airline business.
00:20:03.060 --> 00:20:07.480
Donald Osborn: You know, they would be rent-a-cars and hotels and touring packages,
00:20:07.480 --> 00:20:12.280
Donald Osborn: and then the airline part would kind of, you know, go by the wayside.
00:20:12.500 --> 00:20:18.740
Donald Osborn: And then I guess the nicest way to say with airlines and even corporations is mismanagement.
00:20:19.600 --> 00:20:22.540
Donald Osborn: Most people up there in the top floor they don't
00:20:22.540 --> 00:20:25.400
Donald Osborn: have a clue what an airplane is how much it costs how to
00:20:25.400 --> 00:20:30.680
Donald Osborn: operate it and they buy it uh even airlines sometimes they'll buy 100 airplanes
00:20:30.680 --> 00:20:35.520
Donald Osborn: without a whole lot of research you know oh this company gave us the best deal
00:20:35.520 --> 00:20:40.660
Donald Osborn: let's buy their airplanes we're at a stage now where technology has kind of
00:20:40.660 --> 00:20:44.840
Donald Osborn: solved that for a lot of people they can do computer setups.
00:20:45.060 --> 00:20:48.920
Donald Osborn: They can do, you know, what kind of task are you going to do with this airplane?
00:20:49.020 --> 00:20:50.220
Donald Osborn: What's your mission statement?
00:20:50.440 --> 00:20:53.800
Donald Osborn: And so, plus it's just, it's become a lot more common.
00:20:54.060 --> 00:20:57.940
Donald Osborn: I mean, when I first started flying, people showed up to the airport wearing
00:20:57.940 --> 00:21:02.140
Donald Osborn: their best Sunday clothes and, and, you know, very respectful,
00:21:02.360 --> 00:21:05.780
Donald Osborn: very happy that the idea they were going to get on an airplane,
00:21:05.880 --> 00:21:08.820
Donald Osborn: but sometimes they, they walk out of the door, cross the ramp,
00:21:09.000 --> 00:21:13.280
Donald Osborn: right on into the airplane, no security or, you know, as compared to what we see today.
00:21:13.600 --> 00:21:16.380
Donald Osborn: So it's changed. It's changed an awful lot.
00:21:16.500 --> 00:21:21.620
Donald Osborn: 9-11 had a lot to do with how people perceive flying and how they actually can
00:21:21.620 --> 00:21:23.280
Donald Osborn: get from their car to an airplane.
00:21:24.077 --> 00:21:28.777
Kevin Lowe: Yeah, very fascinating. Now, were you still a commercial pilot?
00:21:28.777 --> 00:21:31.077
Kevin Lowe: You mentioned 9-11 during that time.
00:21:31.597 --> 00:21:37.537
Donald Osborn: Yes, I was on that day. I was in Omaha getting ready to commute to work.
00:21:37.857 --> 00:21:43.277
Donald Osborn: And that month I was doing a Boston, Chicago, and our gate was next door to
00:21:43.277 --> 00:21:45.757
Donald Osborn: the American gate that took the terrorists out.
00:21:46.837 --> 00:21:46.917
Kevin Lowe: Wow.
00:21:47.457 --> 00:21:51.497
Donald Osborn: That's, you know, there's a lot. Aviation is a very small community.
00:21:51.497 --> 00:21:56.037
Donald Osborn: I personally don't know anybody that was, you know, died in 9-11,
00:21:56.037 --> 00:21:58.697
Donald Osborn: but I know a lot of people who know a lot of people.
00:21:58.897 --> 00:22:03.097
Donald Osborn: So it's just a very small community. So it's funny when you hear the rumors,
00:22:03.257 --> 00:22:07.557
Donald Osborn: you know, it's like, well, I know that's not true because I would know about it.
00:22:07.757 --> 00:22:10.437
Donald Osborn: You know, it's too small a community to hide something.
00:22:11.117 --> 00:22:17.397
Kevin Lowe: Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. So I guess I'm kind of curious through your career.
00:22:17.777 --> 00:22:22.397
Kevin Lowe: I mean, what are the different maybe airlines you worked with,
00:22:22.577 --> 00:22:24.457
Kevin Lowe: airplanes that you've flown?
00:22:24.857 --> 00:22:28.417
Kevin Lowe: I mean, because obviously you have an extensive career and I would love to kind
00:22:28.417 --> 00:22:31.477
Kevin Lowe: of hear what all your career evolved.
00:22:31.557 --> 00:22:35.737
Donald Osborn: In a way, that's an easy answer and maybe it's a hard answer too.
00:22:36.337 --> 00:22:41.417
Donald Osborn: If you want to do some research and find out what 25 airlines went out of business
00:22:41.417 --> 00:22:43.537
Donald Osborn: during the 80s and early 90s,
00:22:43.537 --> 00:22:49.157
Donald Osborn: there's a good chance i flew for a lot of them i uh i flew for a lot of airlines
00:22:49.157 --> 00:22:53.157
Donald Osborn: that went out of business at corporations and when an airline goes out of business
00:22:53.157 --> 00:22:57.857
Donald Osborn: you try to find a corporate job so the same thing that the corporations come
00:22:57.857 --> 00:22:59.537
Donald Osborn: and go with their aviation departments
00:22:59.977 --> 00:23:06.177
Donald Osborn: it was very unstable compared to what it is today i started out flying for braniff
00:23:06.177 --> 00:23:09.697
Donald Osborn: and you have to be fairly old even remember braniff but
00:23:10.421 --> 00:23:13.981
Donald Osborn: But at the time I went to work for Brandt, it was like winning the lottery.
00:23:14.241 --> 00:23:17.401
Donald Osborn: I mean, it was one of the best airlines you could work for, the highest paid.
00:23:17.841 --> 00:23:20.981
Donald Osborn: I remember the chief pilot came in and said something, in fact,
00:23:21.101 --> 00:23:23.741
Donald Osborn: to the first day, congratulations, you're all millionaires.
00:23:24.041 --> 00:23:28.101
Donald Osborn: And seven months later, I'm on the street looking for another job.
00:23:28.921 --> 00:23:30.461
Kevin Lowe: Wow. Wow.
00:23:30.901 --> 00:23:35.661
Donald Osborn: I tell people, I did not have a stellar career, but I had one of the most interesting
00:23:35.661 --> 00:23:37.341
Donald Osborn: careers of anybody I know about.
00:23:37.741 --> 00:23:41.881
Kevin Lowe: Yeah. Well, talk to me about some of the highlights of your career.
00:23:42.141 --> 00:23:45.641
Donald Osborn: I talk about in the book of what it felt like to be in full uniform,
00:23:45.641 --> 00:23:50.321
Donald Osborn: walking through that terminal, down the jetway and into my seat in the airline.
00:23:50.481 --> 00:23:53.501
Donald Osborn: You know, it's like I'd worked my entire life to get there.
00:23:53.621 --> 00:23:59.141
Donald Osborn: And here I am in a brand new airline uniform, walking down the jetway to get
00:23:59.141 --> 00:24:00.541
Donald Osborn: into that co-pilot seat.
00:24:00.721 --> 00:24:05.061
Donald Osborn: You know, that was definitely a highlight. I guess it would go all the way then
00:24:05.061 --> 00:24:10.281
Donald Osborn: to highlight now is I'm getting very close to retiring. I fly a private jet for a guy now.
00:24:10.521 --> 00:24:15.141
Donald Osborn: It's just his personal jet and I fly it for him. And I'm getting to the point
00:24:15.141 --> 00:24:18.381
Donald Osborn: where, you know, I'm going to have a lot of spare time.
00:24:18.541 --> 00:24:24.641
Donald Osborn: I'm going to have time to spend with my grandkids and pursue other hobbies, do other things.
00:24:24.801 --> 00:24:29.681
Donald Osborn: And so in a way, that's a highlight that I've made it through this maze and here I am.
00:24:30.221 --> 00:24:37.101
Kevin Lowe: Yeah, I love it. Now, you've spoken a lot about kind of the ups and downs of
00:24:37.101 --> 00:24:40.881
Kevin Lowe: the airline industry as far as when you're working, when you're not,
00:24:41.061 --> 00:24:43.061
Kevin Lowe: picking up other odd jobs and such.
00:24:43.201 --> 00:24:47.161
Kevin Lowe: And there was one little story in your book that I would love for you to share
00:24:47.161 --> 00:24:49.581
Kevin Lowe: because I thought it was absolutely hysterical.
00:24:50.501 --> 00:24:54.701
Kevin Lowe: Was when one of your tree trimming customers recognized you at the airport.
00:24:55.221 --> 00:25:00.321
Donald Osborn: Yeah, I had a tree business for many years, and it was to supplement the airline
00:25:00.321 --> 00:25:03.541
Donald Osborn: world because, you know, when an airline goes out of business,
00:25:03.581 --> 00:25:05.841
Donald Osborn: you just see the panic in people's eyes.
00:25:06.141 --> 00:25:11.081
Donald Osborn: I thought, you know, I needed to find something that when I am thrown out on
00:25:11.081 --> 00:25:13.761
Donald Osborn: the street, I have something to do that next morning because,
00:25:14.101 --> 00:25:16.701
Donald Osborn: in fact, that's some advice I give people now.
00:25:16.841 --> 00:25:20.661
Donald Osborn: I tell them, you know, when you find yourself unemployed, go out and get another
00:25:20.661 --> 00:25:24.021
Donald Osborn: job, you know, and then worry about your career. Don't just,
00:25:24.061 --> 00:25:25.441
Donald Osborn: you know, sit around and mope.
00:25:25.981 --> 00:25:29.401
Donald Osborn: And really, in life, general, anything that happens, you know,
00:25:29.861 --> 00:25:33.781
Donald Osborn: go out and find something to make you feel decent about yourself.
00:25:34.481 --> 00:25:39.961
Donald Osborn: So I had a tree business. I worked in the tree world in high school and college
00:25:39.961 --> 00:25:42.481
Donald Osborn: with a good friend of mine out in Shadner, Nebraska.
00:25:42.521 --> 00:25:45.161
Donald Osborn: So I had a general idea of what the business was like.
00:25:45.361 --> 00:25:51.121
Donald Osborn: It took off pretty well. So I had a good customer, and he owed about a three-week
00:25:51.121 --> 00:25:56.001
Donald Osborn: job. And so I'd work for a few days and go out and do my flying, come back, work,
00:25:57.008 --> 00:26:01.628
Donald Osborn: Just like just an employee-customer type relationship, I'd talk to him a little bit.
00:26:01.948 --> 00:26:05.868
Donald Osborn: We just got to where we kind of knew each other, and we'd talk a few minutes
00:26:05.868 --> 00:26:07.688
Donald Osborn: before the job or after the job.
00:26:07.828 --> 00:26:12.808
Donald Osborn: Well, one day I'm in full uniform getting ready to fly in Chicago,
00:26:12.828 --> 00:26:15.968
Donald Osborn: and I could see this guy staring at me.
00:26:16.388 --> 00:26:19.208
Donald Osborn: And I realized who he was right off the bat.
00:26:19.688 --> 00:26:24.228
Donald Osborn: So he finally came up and said, Excuse me, Captain, do I know you?
00:26:24.788 --> 00:26:27.068
Donald Osborn: And I said, yes, you do. I'm your tree man.
00:26:28.808 --> 00:26:32.488
Donald Osborn: I still remember his words. He said, by God, you are, aren't you?
00:26:37.368 --> 00:26:41.828
Donald Osborn: So, of course, he says, explain this. Why are you here dressed that way?
00:26:41.928 --> 00:26:45.548
Donald Osborn: And I told him that, I said, well, to keep the tree business going,
00:26:45.548 --> 00:26:48.168
Donald Osborn: I have to find odd jobs to do in the meantime.
00:26:52.408 --> 00:26:52.948
Donald Osborn: I
00:26:52.948 --> 00:26:55.528
Kevin Lowe: Supplement the tree business with with being there.
00:26:55.528 --> 00:26:58.968
Donald Osborn: Oh my
00:26:58.968 --> 00:27:00.608
Kevin Lowe: Goodness that is hysterical.
00:27:00.608 --> 00:27:04.828
Donald Osborn: And then i finished up his work and everything and he always it's it's funny
00:27:04.828 --> 00:27:10.868
Donald Osborn: he he treated me like like he treated me much higher up the chain than he would
00:27:10.868 --> 00:27:14.768
Donald Osborn: have just known i was a tree man you know so wow
00:27:14.768 --> 00:27:18.828
Kevin Lowe: That that yeah i thought that was a hysterical story in the book.
00:27:19.048 --> 00:27:23.968
Kevin Lowe: And I guess that's where kind of segueing in, we keep talking about the book.
00:27:24.028 --> 00:27:26.708
Kevin Lowe: So let's actually talk about the book.
00:27:26.888 --> 00:27:31.128
Kevin Lowe: How did the book even come about? And I guess in that end with that question
00:27:31.128 --> 00:27:36.328
Kevin Lowe: is what made you decide that you wanted to write this book?
00:27:36.548 --> 00:27:42.208
Donald Osborn: I have always considered myself a writer, whether it was lyrics or books or
00:27:42.208 --> 00:27:46.588
Donald Osborn: and and so it's always been kind of a side hobby.
00:27:47.268 --> 00:27:53.148
Donald Osborn: And so I started out, I was writing an expose on the airline industry and I
00:27:53.148 --> 00:27:57.348
Donald Osborn: was fairly deep into the book and I called my sister and I said,
00:27:57.408 --> 00:27:59.748
Donald Osborn: I'm going to need help with this book I'm writing.
00:28:00.088 --> 00:28:06.228
Donald Osborn: Would you help me? Of course, she was busy with her life and her kids and she
00:28:06.228 --> 00:28:12.548
Donald Osborn: was homeschooling and being a wife and mother and just as busy as she could be.
00:28:12.668 --> 00:28:16.308
Donald Osborn: And she almost thought, oh my God, do you realize how busy I am?
00:28:16.768 --> 00:28:20.348
Donald Osborn: I said, yeah, but what do you think about doing this? So she said,
00:28:20.428 --> 00:28:21.628
Donald Osborn: well, send me what you have.
00:28:21.868 --> 00:28:26.548
Donald Osborn: And so I sent her the first few chapters and she read it and came back and said,
00:28:26.628 --> 00:28:30.508
Donald Osborn: you know, I don't think people are interested in hearing about this.
00:28:31.868 --> 00:28:37.128
Donald Osborn: And I said, and I attribute it to sausage. You know, people love sausage,
00:28:37.288 --> 00:28:40.128
Donald Osborn: but they don't necessarily want to hear about how it's made.
00:28:41.788 --> 00:28:42.228
Kevin Lowe: True.
00:28:42.848 --> 00:28:49.108
Donald Osborn: So what she did say, she said, I see a very interesting memoir here, not an expose.
00:28:49.548 --> 00:28:53.968
Donald Osborn: I said, well, let me go back and think about that. And so I kind of changed.
00:28:54.268 --> 00:29:00.088
Donald Osborn: I left some of the stories in there, but I kind of changed it more towards me than the airline world.
00:29:00.868 --> 00:29:06.088
Donald Osborn: And so we got about, oh, probably 30,000 words maybe.
00:29:06.448 --> 00:29:09.768
Donald Osborn: And I'm thinking, gosh, this is going to be good. And she said,
00:29:09.868 --> 00:29:12.248
Donald Osborn: no, it's got to be almost twice this size.
00:29:12.648 --> 00:29:16.948
Donald Osborn: There's got to be a whole lot more if we're really going to make this thing go.
00:29:17.148 --> 00:29:22.008
Donald Osborn: And I remember telling her, God, I don't even like me well enough to come up with that much more.
00:29:25.401 --> 00:29:31.341
Donald Osborn: So, so I would write something and what her talent is, she's incredibly talented
00:29:31.341 --> 00:29:36.361
Donald Osborn: making, you know, one word flow into the next word, one sentence flow into the
00:29:36.361 --> 00:29:38.201
Donald Osborn: next sentence, the paragraphs flow.
00:29:38.381 --> 00:29:43.561
Donald Osborn: And so I would send her my version of the stories and, and she would just make
00:29:43.561 --> 00:29:46.561
Donald Osborn: it very easy to read and just enjoyable to read.
00:29:47.221 --> 00:29:51.781
Donald Osborn: Sometimes she'd call up and say, now, is this, is this a typo or is this an
00:29:51.781 --> 00:29:53.741
Donald Osborn: airplane thing? I don't know what you're saying.
00:29:56.461 --> 00:29:59.761
Donald Osborn: We've had a lot of fun doing that and uh so
00:29:59.761 --> 00:30:02.721
Donald Osborn: as it turns out it wasn't a matter of writing
00:30:02.721 --> 00:30:05.521
Donald Osborn: enough when it came ready to you know
00:30:05.521 --> 00:30:12.241
Donald Osborn: to publish or to have the final rewrite we had to take out a lot and it was
00:30:12.241 --> 00:30:15.861
Donald Osborn: you know the hard part wasn't how we're going to get enough the really difficult
00:30:15.861 --> 00:30:20.461
Donald Osborn: part was what are we going to take out of this book and in fact a good friend
00:30:20.461 --> 00:30:24.241
Donald Osborn: of mine who also ended up be an airline pilot. I lived with him in college.
00:30:24.561 --> 00:30:29.621
Donald Osborn: I had a, well, three, four paragraphs about him and, and somebody,
00:30:29.881 --> 00:30:33.701
Donald Osborn: uh, one of the editor type people said, we're going to take him out of here.
00:30:33.781 --> 00:30:35.261
Donald Osborn: He's just not interesting enough.
00:30:36.621 --> 00:30:40.701
Donald Osborn: So when I, when I saw him and talked to him about it, I had to tell him the
00:30:40.701 --> 00:30:44.081
Donald Osborn: story. The reason you're not in is because the editors thought you were boring
00:30:46.201 --> 00:30:51.421
Donald Osborn: in true form he said yeah i guess i am boring oh
00:30:51.421 --> 00:30:55.121
Donald Osborn: wow in a way it became a just a
00:30:55.121 --> 00:30:58.761
Donald Osborn: tremendous enjoyable satisfying thing
00:30:58.761 --> 00:31:04.381
Donald Osborn: to do is write this we have a brand new project i hope it's released early spring
00:31:04.381 --> 00:31:08.861
Donald Osborn: and it's a series of short stories and a lot of it's stuff that didn't fit into
00:31:08.861 --> 00:31:14.501
Donald Osborn: this book and a lot of the real funny things i think is that maybe weren't quite
00:31:14.501 --> 00:31:18.261
Donald Osborn: acceptable for this book is going to be in the next one.
00:31:19.201 --> 00:31:24.781
Kevin Lowe: Yeah, I love it. Now, the name of the memoir, what does it remind us of the name?
00:31:25.221 --> 00:31:30.021
Donald Osborn: It's Where We Land. It's Pilate's Reflection at Altitude.
00:31:30.686 --> 00:31:33.946
Kevin Lowe: Hmm. Where did you guys come up with that title? Where we land?
00:31:34.286 --> 00:31:42.066
Donald Osborn: Well, nobody liked flying sausage. So I had a lot of comments on that.
00:31:42.266 --> 00:31:48.946
Donald Osborn: And myself, Annie, my sister, and my niece who actually helped edit it,
00:31:49.446 --> 00:31:54.886
Donald Osborn: all the three of us bounced name after name around and nothing seemed to just sound right, you know?
00:31:55.046 --> 00:31:58.566
Donald Osborn: And then I can't It was probably a combination of all three of us,
00:31:58.606 --> 00:32:02.786
Donald Osborn: but somebody said, you know, the book talks about it's not really where you
00:32:02.786 --> 00:32:04.586
Donald Osborn: take off from, it's where you land.
00:32:04.746 --> 00:32:10.106
Donald Osborn: That's the whole general idea of this book is you don't have to start at a certain
00:32:10.106 --> 00:32:11.806
Donald Osborn: place, but you do have to.
00:32:12.546 --> 00:32:13.906
Donald Osborn: What's important is where you
00:32:13.906 --> 00:32:17.866
Donald Osborn: land, and then it popped in. That's the name of the book, Where We Land.
00:32:18.406 --> 00:32:23.346
Kevin Lowe: Yeah. Now, do you already have an idea for the title of the second book that you talked about?
00:32:23.346 --> 00:32:27.706
Donald Osborn: We do, and it's already been kind of released a little bit. It's going to be
00:32:27.706 --> 00:32:29.586
Donald Osborn: called the Ding Dong Alder Boy.
00:32:31.066 --> 00:32:33.106
Kevin Lowe: Okay. Very different.
00:32:33.566 --> 00:32:38.186
Donald Osborn: Yeah, in a way it's similar because it's about a bunch of rowdy kids growing
00:32:38.186 --> 00:32:42.086
Donald Osborn: up in western Nebraska and kind of the path some of us have taken,
00:32:42.086 --> 00:32:46.066
Donald Osborn: and it comes into some modern stuff that happens just recently.
00:32:46.546 --> 00:32:50.766
Donald Osborn: A lot of this book was fun for me because I recorded a lot of it,
00:32:50.766 --> 00:32:53.866
Donald Osborn: and then Annie would type it before I wrote most of it.
00:32:54.126 --> 00:32:57.726
Donald Osborn: And for some reason, we just got into this thing where I would tell her the
00:32:57.726 --> 00:32:59.446
Donald Osborn: story and then she would write it down.
00:32:59.666 --> 00:33:02.726
Donald Osborn: Then she'd send it back to me and I'd read it and actually laugh.
00:33:02.866 --> 00:33:06.986
Donald Osborn: I'd say, we got some here because you're making me laugh with my story, so.
00:33:07.739 --> 00:33:12.019
Donald Osborn: So that's when we really felt that we had something going.
00:33:12.379 --> 00:33:14.599
Donald Osborn: Just a couple days ago, we were
00:33:14.599 --> 00:33:20.099
Donald Osborn: approached by some people about doing a children's book on where we land.
00:33:20.459 --> 00:33:21.379
Kevin Lowe: Oh, wow.
00:33:21.679 --> 00:33:26.319
Donald Osborn: And so we don't know how far where that's going to go. But I think that sounds like a blast.
00:33:26.779 --> 00:33:32.939
Kevin Lowe: Yeah, it does. Listen, and I mean, I can tell anybody intrigued about the book
00:33:32.939 --> 00:33:36.839
Kevin Lowe: that even just the first few chapters of the book,
00:33:36.979 --> 00:33:42.539
Kevin Lowe: it almost has that almost like that field of dreams type feel to it.
00:33:42.619 --> 00:33:47.239
Donald Osborn: OK, I like that. I haven't heard that exact description, but I do.
00:33:47.319 --> 00:33:49.179
Donald Osborn: I like it. Good job. It is.
00:33:49.279 --> 00:33:53.479
Kevin Lowe: I mean, it literally, you know, the movie, you know, you have Kevin Costner,
00:33:53.519 --> 00:33:59.119
Kevin Lowe: you know, sees the field and sees you. You, it was that first little plane with
00:33:59.119 --> 00:34:02.579
Kevin Lowe: Frank, and that was your own field of dreams.
00:34:02.939 --> 00:34:07.839
Kevin Lowe: I thought it's just, it's such a captivating read. It's an easy read,
00:34:07.839 --> 00:34:10.719
Kevin Lowe: and it's just, it's truly entertaining.
00:34:10.939 --> 00:34:15.519
Kevin Lowe: As I actually told your sister in an email, I said, I literally felt like a
00:34:15.519 --> 00:34:20.519
Kevin Lowe: little kid staring at the TV screen like it's his chin on his hand,
00:34:20.979 --> 00:34:23.019
Kevin Lowe: just two inches away from the TV.
00:34:23.319 --> 00:34:26.879
Kevin Lowe: So enthralled in the show. So I'm like, that's how I felt while reading.
00:34:27.259 --> 00:34:32.439
Donald Osborn: Man, what a great day. You're making me feel great. I really appreciate that
00:34:32.439 --> 00:34:34.579
Donald Osborn: because it's wonderful to get the feedback.
00:34:34.979 --> 00:34:39.799
Kevin Lowe: Of course, of course. No, I think it's amazing. Now, where is the best place
00:34:39.799 --> 00:34:42.719
Kevin Lowe: for us to send somebody who would love to read the book?
00:34:42.999 --> 00:34:48.419
Donald Osborn: The book's available on Amazon. And I found out just the other day I'm Amazonable,
00:34:48.599 --> 00:34:51.779
Donald Osborn: meaning you can type in Donald Osborne and the book comes up.
00:34:51.779 --> 00:34:57.119
Donald Osborn: But if you type up where we land in Amazon, it comes up and it's available in
00:34:57.119 --> 00:35:00.059
Donald Osborn: Barnes & Noble and it's about any bookstore.
00:35:00.299 --> 00:35:02.639
Donald Osborn: You can go in and they can order it for you.
00:35:03.459 --> 00:35:09.059
Kevin Lowe: Okay, that's amazing. Well, Don, I guess my last question I would love to kind
00:35:09.059 --> 00:35:13.799
Kevin Lowe: of ask you today is tied directly back to the book and the person listening today is,
00:35:14.579 --> 00:35:18.819
Kevin Lowe: what is the thing that you really hope that somebody who reads this book,
00:35:18.959 --> 00:35:20.959
Kevin Lowe: what do you hope that they take away from it?
00:35:20.959 --> 00:35:26.759
Donald Osborn: I really like that question. If you're a pilot, I hope you laugh and enjoy it.
00:35:27.019 --> 00:35:32.739
Donald Osborn: If you're somebody thinking about becoming a pilot, I hope that it's required reading someday.
00:35:33.882 --> 00:35:37.662
Donald Osborn: And then if you're somebody that rides on an airline now and then,
00:35:37.782 --> 00:35:42.862
Donald Osborn: and you kind of wonder what's going on behind that locked door or even underneath the terminal,
00:35:43.082 --> 00:35:46.982
Donald Osborn: I think this book will, especially nowadays where there's so much anxiety about
00:35:46.982 --> 00:35:53.782
Donald Osborn: flying and the media push on it, this might relax you a little bit and let you
00:35:53.782 --> 00:35:56.382
Donald Osborn: maybe enjoy the flight a little bit more.
00:35:56.382 --> 00:35:59.722
Donald Osborn: But the final and most thing
00:35:59.722 --> 00:36:02.722
Donald Osborn: important to me about if somebody reads this
00:36:02.722 --> 00:36:05.842
Donald Osborn: book and it makes them laugh and
00:36:05.842 --> 00:36:10.082
Donald Osborn: cry i've had that comment before and that that was really made me happy that
00:36:10.082 --> 00:36:15.162
Donald Osborn: as an author i can invoke emotions that can make somebody laugh and cry but
00:36:15.162 --> 00:36:19.202
Donald Osborn: with all that being said i would hope that somebody would read this book and
00:36:19.202 --> 00:36:22.742
Donald Osborn: think god if somebody like that can do I certainly can, too.
00:36:24.642 --> 00:36:30.122
Kevin Lowe: Yes, I love it, man. Well, Don, man, it has been an absolute pleasure getting
00:36:30.122 --> 00:36:32.342
Kevin Lowe: to meet you, to get to hear your story.
00:36:33.102 --> 00:36:39.102
Kevin Lowe: Thank you so much for being here and being willing to share a little piece of
00:36:39.102 --> 00:36:40.722
Kevin Lowe: your story with me and my listeners.
00:36:40.802 --> 00:36:43.082
Kevin Lowe: It means the world to me, so thank you.
00:36:43.342 --> 00:36:46.542
Donald Osborn: Well, I really appreciate your time. I appreciate the invite,
00:36:46.542 --> 00:36:50.642
Donald Osborn: and I hope to continue this. I'd like to meet you in person someday.
00:36:51.022 --> 00:36:55.682
Kevin Lowe: Absolutely. We will be sure that happens. And for you listening today,
00:36:55.682 --> 00:37:00.482
Kevin Lowe: oh, man, I hope you've enjoyed today's conversation as much as I have.
00:37:00.722 --> 00:37:04.482
Kevin Lowe: Hopefully, you're geared up. You're ready to go out and check out today's show
00:37:04.482 --> 00:37:08.982
Kevin Lowe: notes where I will leave a link to Don's book where you can stay in touch with
00:37:08.982 --> 00:37:11.362
Kevin Lowe: him, especially on that future book release.
00:37:11.782 --> 00:37:16.942
Kevin Lowe: And highly encourage you to go read the book yourself. It is truly one of a
00:37:16.942 --> 00:37:19.902
Kevin Lowe: kind. And I'm telling you, if you enjoyed today's interview,
00:37:20.162 --> 00:37:22.882
Kevin Lowe: well, then the book is just going to take it to the next level.
00:37:23.162 --> 00:37:26.682
Kevin Lowe: So with that, my friend, I encourage you to get out there and enjoy the day.
00:37:26.822 --> 00:37:33.082
Kevin Lowe: Go pick up a copy of Don's book. And hey, most of all, just get out there and enjoy the day.
00:37:33.302 --> 00:37:37.002
Kevin Lowe: I'm your host, Kevin Lowe, and this is Grit, Grace, and Inspiration.
00:37:37.040 --> 00:37:57.545
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