I’ve walked away from not one but two plane crashes although I was the pilot in only one. The crashes come back like a bad dream every time I drive past Jefferson County International Airport.

The first botched landing came soon after I got my pilot’s license. It had taken months of studying, flying and considerable expense to earn my pilot “ticket.” 

My passenger that day was a well-known San Francisco radio personality, Alex Bennett.  

The airport, just north of San Francisco, was notorious for its crosswinds. That’s when the winds come from the side rather than in front of you, making landings tricky … and risky. 

My mind wasn’t in the proverbial ditch that day, but my plane was — after spinning off the runway during a tricky crosswind/wind shear landing. I hadn’t had enough training in crosswind landings, obviously. 

We were belted in, but afterwards, my celeb passenger and I felt like we’d been belted, all right  — with a baseball bat. My back ached for weeks. 

As if the crash weren’t bad enough, for the next few months, I had to hear DJ/comedian Bennett on the radio “joking” that “Bill Mann tried to kill me.” Hardy har har.

It was even more embarrassing that the guy who owned the plane, a Cessna-172, was also the owner of my flight school. He flew down to get this recent graduate and survey the damage to his aircraft. The embarrassing return trip back with him was like an angry father coming to retrieve a child after crashing his car. 

Then, not long after, in Salem, Oregon, a family acquaintance took me out for a spin to celebrate his getting his instrument (advanced) pilot rating. He showed me a few instrument landings, but on the final one in his Piper Aero, he neglected one small detail —  the landing gear. He failed to put it down, leading to a loud crash, then a prolonged metallic scraping of our wheels-up plane on the runway that sounded like a strip-mine accident.

Plus, I then had to yell at the forgetful pilot to let me out of the plane in case it caught fire, which, fortunately, it didn’t. 

My pilot’s license then landed correctly —  in a desk drawer. Where it’s remained ever since. Piloting an aircraft, it is now painfully obvious, is not for everyone. 

•••

Not only am I one of those White Dudes for Harris, but the energetic Veep/apparent Democratic Presidential candidate has been following in my footsteps, so to speak.

Harris graduated from Westmount High School, which is in an English suburb of Montreal, in 1981. My book publisher, May Cutler, was then the mayor of Westmount.

Then, a few years later, I was a columnist at the Oakland Tribune. A few blocks away, at the Alameda County Courthouse, Harris, an Oakland native, was a prosecutor.  (She later headed across the Bay to become San Francisco’s chief prosecutor.) 

I didn’t meet her in Oakland. But I did meet her political mentor, Willie Brown, whom she then dated, at media events in San Francisco. He was the Speaker of California’s House and later, San Francisco mayor, charming and quite funny. I’m sure this ultra-savvy political operator provided Harris with a big part of her political education.

•••

A big thanks to Steve King and Michael Todd in the PT Public Works department for getting our pool up and running again after weeks of closure following a water-main burst. Many of us here in PT rely heavily on the Mountain View Pool for our cardio workouts. The repairs were costly and expensive.

We also must thank city manager John Mauro for helping coordinate and finance the pool re-opening.  “The team were real heroes — they are top-notch professionals that truly care about this place and our community,” said Mauro. “Michael and his facilities team really deserve a shout out, as does the YMCA for being great partners and the community for their support and patience.” 

One lifeguard tells me, “We’re operating with a skeleton crew. We need more guards.” That’s because some lifeguards had to seek employment elsewhere during our long pool closure. We swimmers need you to join our stalwart crew of guards. Please contact Juliet DiPietro, manager of YMCA operations, for more info. Her email is Juliet@OlympicPeninsula YMCA. org.

•••

Want a Harris political sign for your yard? Do what many others here are doing: Just cut Biden’s name off the top of the one you got a few weeks ago.

(You can reach humorist and voluntarily grounded pilot Bill Mann at Newsmann9@gmail.com)