US Hawks Hang Gliding Association

Don't be a Moss. The Shadowed Archive on why making friends is both impossible and essential.

The first thing you need to know is that friendship is not natural. If you were natural you would be a moss. Moss doesn’t have friends. Moss just spreads, cold and damp and indifferent, and sometimes another moss spreads nearby, and together they make a bog, and then the bog swallows a horse. But you, unfortunately, are not a moss. You are a person, and people are creatures that rot if they are alone. To be human is to be an animal that needs witnesses. Someone has to see you eating cereal. Someone has to be there when you tell a bad joke. Otherwise you start twitching in public, you start growling in the supermarket. You start developing hobbies. This is the horror we call solitude.

But making friends—have you tried it? Horrible stuff. It’s like applying for a job, except the application process is permanent and the job doesn’t exist. “So what do you do?” you ask. “What music do you like?” you say. All this hideous bureaucracy of the self, filling in forms with little fragments of personality so you can be filed correctly in someone else’s head. And half the time they reject the application. They ghost you. They say “we should hang out sometime,” which, in the language of friendship, means “I hope you die.”

The philosophers didn’t make it easier.

Aristotle: friends are either useful, pleasant, or virtuous. What he didn’t say is that every friend eventually becomes useless, boring, and morally compromised.

Montaigne: “Because it was he, because it was I.” Which is sweet, but also tautological. It means “my friend is my friend because they are my friend,” which is the sort of logic you expect from a dog.

Nietzsche: friends should be arrows you fire into the future, meant to wound you, to test you, to make you stronger. Lovely. Except most of us are just happy if someone answers our texts.

Meanwhile, every self-help book tells you to “just be yourself.” But if you were yourself you wouldn’t need friends. “Yourself” is the exact person who sits alone at 2am scrolling through group photos of people who did not invite you. Yourself is unbearable. Yourself is the reason you need to invent a second self, and then a third, and send those versions out into the world, each of them a trial balloon, a mask, a ghoul, to see which one gets accepted. Friendship is basically the black market trade of masks. You offer one of yours, they offer one of theirs, and if the exchange goes well, you keep bartering until you’ve forgotten what your original face looked like.

Anyway, here is your first existential tip: friendship is impossible, and therefore it must be done. If it were possible, it wouldn’t matter. Only impossibilities have meaning. Only impossibilities are worth doing.

I have a distinct memory of a scene in the 1958 film Auntie Mame in which the young nephew is mixing a martini and says, ‘Stir never shake, bruises the gin.’ Making a martini to the preferences of a guest is an art, and in the past, ordering one usually meant you knew what you were talking about and how you liked it. It was the preferred drink of countless artists and intellectuals who were known for their convivial lives. W. Somerset Maugham, Patricia Highsmith, Ernest Hemingway and Luis Buñuel were all fans, and each had a preferred chemistry for their perfect martini. To be a staunch martini drinker is to put oneself within a lineage that was illustrious, sophisticated and, most of all, interesting. We live in a time when people are desperate for markers of taste and style, when everyone wants to cultivate an image. The martini is an easy entry point: drinking one borrows the sparkle of these glamorous characters for however long it takes them to get to the bottom of the glass. In its original form, a martini is like a Cartier watch. Simply put, it’s glamorous; just the glass recalls past eras of glitz, its shape lending an elegant gesture to even the coarsest hand that cradles it.

Why I find the latest martini craze odd is that, despite the added frills, one thing a martini will always be is strong. We are at a strange juncture when younger generations are drinking less, going out less and, I can only assume, having less fun. Alcohol companies’ growth is flatlining as demand slows. We are also living in a time when our public interactions as private citizens can easily end up online (God forbid a woman lets her hair down once in a while). But the joy of drinking a martini is never knowing exactly when it will hit you. Perhaps this is telling on my own alcohol consumption, but I just don’t think martinis are for dilettantes—they’re serious business! After drinking a couple, all social conventions are going to be thrown out the door. If you’ve ever been at Bemelmans Bar in the Carlyle in New York past a certain hour, you’ve witnessed the sheen of civility disintegrate. I should know: a man once threw up dangerously close to my Fendi heeled feet in the lobby. The concierge shook their head, having seen this before, and said, ‘One too many martinis.’

That’s why I’m so opposed to the contemporary rise of the mini martini. A martini cannot be microdosed; it goes against the original promise of what a martini does. Ordering one is making a pact with it and yourself. You are entrusting your destiny to a three-ounce glass. It’s a drink for when you’re about to embark on something—you need to make allowances for whatever loose debauchery may consequently unfold.

By Dr. Robert Malone.

Time to stop the dirty politician's cash cow contract
TIME TO STOP Todd Gloria and Joe Lacava's illegal commercialization of Torrey Pines Gliderport, a historically protected free flight park.

Time to drop our differences and fight for our freedom, because our freedom has been stolen by a dirty shorty lease contract to a corrupted POLICE crime family, using their color of snack shop flight director to illegally turn our freedom into a privilege for licenses and a fee.


TORREY PINES GLIDERPORT ACCESS PASS AND WAIVER IS COMPLETELY ILLEGAL AND UNACCEPTABLE UNDER ANY TERMS
THIS IS A BLATANT ATTACK ON OUR RECREATIONAL FREEDOM


We need every Hang Glider and Paraglider pilot to show up at La Jolla Shore Association Wen October 15th, to stand up for your freedom, because it has been stolen behind the closed doors of City Council Corruption, and implement the SD REC WAIVER as a working solution TPGP to end the dispute.


Please see the LJSA link below, and please sign my petition, and leave a comment as to why our parks should remain free to the public.

Click this link for the meeting agenda: https://mcusercontent.com/ce335232d25b9 ... QhKK7KdiCg


We hope to see ya at the meeting. If you are not able to attend in person, please join the meeting online via Zoom. Use this link to register in advance: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/registe ... gistration

Perfectly good post Ernie!!   

eagle wrote:Time to stop the dirty politician's cash cow contract
TIME TO STOP Todd Gloria and Joe Lacava's illegal commercialization of Torrey Pines Gliderport, a historically protected free flight park.

Time to drop our differences and fight for our freedom, because our freedom has been stolen by a dirty shorty lease contract to a corrupted POLICE crime family, using their color of snack shop flight director to illegally turn our freedom into a privilege for licenses and a fee.


TORREY PINES GLIDERPORT ACCESS PASS AND WAIVER IS COMPLETELY ILLEGAL AND UNACCEPTABLE UNDER ANY TERMS
THIS IS A BLATANT ATTACK ON OUR RECREATIONAL FREEDOM


We need every Hang Glider and Paraglider pilot to show up at La Jolla Shore Association Wen October 15th, to stand up for your freedom, because it has been stolen behind the closed doors of City Council Corruption, and implement the SD REC WAIVER as a working solution TPGP to end the dispute.


Please see the LJSA link below, and please sign my petition, and leave a comment as to why our parks should remain free to the public.

Click this link for the meeting agenda: https://mcusercontent.com/ce335232d25b9 ... QhKK7KdiCg


We hope to see ya at the meeting. If you are not able to attend in person, please join the meeting online via Zoom. Use this link to register in advance: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/registe ... gistration

Welcome Back!!

Also here's the text from the La Jolla Shores Association agenda from Ernie's link (see full PDF below).

LA JOLLA SHORES ASSOCIATION – Agenda
Wednesday, October 15, 2025 — 6:00 - 8:00 pm

Scripps Institution of Oceanography, T-29 Martin Johnson House

We encourage you to attend the meeting in person. If you are not able to, please use this link to register to attend virtually: LJSA OCT 15th ZOOM REGISTRATION LINK

NOTE - All times are approximate

6:00	Welcome: Introductions & Establish Quorum – John Pierce Approval of Agenda Approval of Minutes - Approval of September Minutes
6:05	Reports: President’s Report – Updates and announcements Treasurer’s Report - Balance and finances Secretary’s Report - Board attendance Public Comment: Non-agenda items (2-minute limit)
6:15	Representatives’ Reports (3-minute limit) SD Lifeguards - Lt. John Maher SDPD - Northern Div - Lt. Bryan Brecht Mayor’s Office - Fatima Maciel (Gloria) Council District 1 - Joaquin Quintero (LaCava) 3rd County District - Spencer Katz (Lawson-Remer) 77th CA Assembly District - Andres Geurts-Barretto (Boehner) 38th CA Senate District - Aurora Livingston (Blakespeare)
6:35	ACTION ITEMS Torrey Pines Gliderport Letter - Bob Kuczewski          - Requesting letter of support Walter Munk Day - Mary Munk          - Review and approve date for next year Election Committee - John Pierce         - Appoint members Committee to select date and theme for 2026 event - John Pierce         - Appoint members
7:00	UPDATES AND PRESENTATIONS Undergrounding/Street Light update - John Pierce
7:30	Committee and Community Reports (3-minute limit): Azure Maintenance Committee - Dick Dahlberg Beach Fire Committee - Tracey Andreae Coastal Coalition - Janie Emerson Coastal Resilience Master Plan - Mary Munk Marketing and Membership Committee - Ed Mackey LJ Shores Parking Committee - Janie Emerson LJ Shores Business District - Terry Kraszewski Traffic & Transportation - Mike McCormack Land Use: LJSPDAB, LJSPRC & LJCPA - John Pierce
	CLOSED SESSION - Legal Matters & Contracts (Immediately follows end of Regular Agenda if needed)
8:00	Adjourn to next meeting: Wednesday, September 17th, 2025 at 6:00 pm at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, T-29 Martin Johnson House

Website: http://www.lajollashoresassociation.org          E-mail: ljsa.org@gmail.com

Thanks Ernie.         

LJTC & LJSA Agenda Speech – Torrey Pines Gliderport

Hello La Jolla, San Diego

My name is Ernie Casco, a senior pilot, and former Assistant Flight Director of Torrey Pines Gliderport, a protégé of Howard Mitchel, Top Gun instructor, and Bill Benit; in the Hall of Fame for historical waterski flight over the Statue of Liberty. I am also a former member of the La Jolla Town Council’s Board of Trustees. that also served on the Torrey Pines Gliderport Subcommittee in 2021 My background includes service as an Observer with the USCG Auxiliary, Navy Amphib Base and MCRD Base, Boathouse Instructor, trained HAZMAT team, I took all this experience to Hilton Resort as Dock Manager for their best year recorded. I have a few accomplishments with a family business, Club Diego's, in the 80s. I have successfully worked as a Contractor/Estimator for Myself, Home Depot, and others. I also support local anonymous recovery outreach programs within our community.

My aviation seed was planted by my father, who at the age of 14, was the youngest sailplane pilot in Argentina A brilliant Oceanographer at Scripps, and an engineer/designer who worked on the Apollo Mission. Mom is still with us at 95, a former UCSD director with incredible achievements. Both sisters have successful careers in the medical field here in La Jolla.

I'm currently retired, with a few medical issues. Successful heart transplant, currently in cancer remission. It's a Miracle I'm here.... I have been flying for nearly 40 years. I have the 1980 OUT and Return record flight at Lake Elsinore, climbing to 13,000 ft, then flying from Hemet to Los Angeles and back. An incredible 6-hour flight, with no motor, out flying everyone with a Cessna or Piper Cub.

I’m here to address critical issues impacting the Gliderport and propose SD Recreational Waiver as a solution that prioritizes public safety, preserves recreational rights, and ensures accountability. I bring my experiences forward today to advocate for safety, fairness, and transparency from our City leaders

My Background, I was a LJ Town Council Trustee on the Gliderport Subcommittee.

The Torrey Pines Oversite Advisory Group
Back in March 2021, LJTC had issued a unanimous letter of support request to permanently reinstate the Torrey Pines Gliderport Oversight Advisory Board, isolating commercial interests from recreational use of park and lands, ensuring all user groups are represented fairly.
City leaseholder "Air California Adventure" dissolved the oversight board watching over them, destroyed the Hang Gliding Club, and is currently blocking pilot access, demanding payment, forcing pilots into an unfair Access Pass and Waiver contract to use our public park.

There are no fees to use our free public park. USHPA-rated pilots pay for a rating card and insurance fees above and beyond what is required by law; any other fees is a racket by the City leaseholder.

It is illegal use of the color of authority (administrative Law) to override our recreational rights and freedom, robbing the public.

La Jolla Rights have been stolen with a short holdover lease agreement that doesn't get looked at. This is completely unacceptable and needs to be stopped immediately.

The Oversight Advisory Board would strengthen public safety measures, improve transparency, and keep our parks free for recreational use.
Call to Action ~ Key Issues:

Public Safety First:
Public safety and park access must always take precedence over commercial interests. The Gliderport School should operate independently, ensuring that private businesses do not restrict public park use.

Insurance Gaps:
The Gliderport operates under self-insurance after losing its original coverage due to multiple claims. With no legal insurance requirements for recreational pilots, this raises significant legal and safety concerns.

Recreational Flyers’ Rights:
As stated by LJ Town Council, recreational solo pilots should not be forced to pay arbitrary fees or insurance costs. Hang gliding and paragliding, like Surfing, are free sports; access to our public park must remain free and open.

The SD Recreational Waiver, proven to work, separates recreational flying from commercial operations, ensuring safety and preserving public access. It’s a proven legal solution, Barbra Bry said, It's an Easy Fix, that's ready to go.

The Role of the Leaseholder:
The city leaseholder may remain and operate as a club but must adhere to strict accountability standards.
The Gliderport Club may offer glider storage, repairs, tandem rides, and discounts but must not monopolize park use.
The leaseholder cannot discriminate against recreational pilots or impose unauthorized fees.
All public funds collected must be accounted for, ensuring they support park maintenance—not private gain.
The leaseholder must uphold safety standards, maintain facilities, and ensure proper insurance coverage.

Accountability for Damages: There are serious allegations of misconduct, including workplace violence, hate crimes, and mishandled police reports. Victims deserve transparency, accurate reporting, and justice. The leaseholder must be held accountable under common law and USHPA aviation rules.

Ongoing Crimes:As referred by La Jolla Town Council, reports were sent to the CPP, Commission of police Practices. The CPP then acknowledged there are crimes and that we should go directly to Police Authorities.

I respectfully urge La Jolla Shores Association (LJSA), and the La Jolla Town Council (LJTC) to both issue a letter endorsing the permanent reinstatement of the Oversight Advisory Board and the SD Recreational Waiver to end the dispute at Torrey Pines Gliderport.

The SD REC WAIVER:
Protects public safety
Safeguard recreational access
Separate commercial interests from public park use
Joe Lacava, this is a win for City Leader, police authorities, public servants, and La Jolla residents. It is an opportunity to rebuild public trust and ensure our parks remain open, safe, and free. You would certainly be loved by the flight community, showing everyone badly needed government reform.

Public Support:
I have collected over 700 signatures on Change.org and MoveOn.org. The petition, titled “Black’s Beach Recreational Scandal: Stop the Commercialization and Privatization of San Diego Parks,” is currently available for signing online.

Copies of the SD Recreational Waiver that Pilots would sign before flying, available upon request. Signed SD Rec Waivers would be kept on file, and a pilot rating card issued in return.

In Closing:
Let’s make the right choice for our community. By endorsing the SD Recreational Waiver, we can protect public safety, preserve free recreational access, and hold commercial operators accountable.

Thank you for your time and your help protecting our freedom. I’m available for questions, and can be reached at erniecasco@gmail,com, or my cell: (858) 568-1384. also listed on the petition flyer.

I've created a new topic titled "La Jolla Shores Association" in the Torrey Hawks Forum so people can find this information without going to page 93 of this topic. It's not so much of a problem now because people can just go to the end of this topic and find it. But as time moves on, it will be harder for people to remember where to find it without a dedicated topic.

Here's how that topic starts out:

Thanks to Ernie's long-term outreach with La Jolla Shores Association (LJSA), we were recently added to the October 15th, 2025 meeting agenda. The meeting starts at 6pm, and I've included the agenda below. We've been given 10 minutes for a presentation to be followed by 5 minutes of discussion. We'll be asking for a number of things including support for reactivating the Torrey Pines City Park Advisory Board and endorsement of a waiver so we can fly Torrey Pines as a park and not a business. Anyone interested in speaking should contact Ernie or myself as soon as possible. The more people who speak up, the better.

It would be good to hold the discussions in that new topic, but if anyone wants to keep posting here, I'll just copy the posts to that topic where it's more easily found. Thanks.

What to bring to the Agenda
Please bring forward any stories that could help.
And send me a copy in PDF form.

1. How many members are in in Torrey Hawks Hang Gliding Club? We can bulls*** them a little, both instructors and recreational pilots 

2. Can you show me a list of your members and their emails?. Show Fair Representation and Transparency 

3. What is Torrey Hawk's Policy on instructor and recreational free flight fees, for TPGP site use, or anywhere else?

4. How many Torrey Hawk Hang Gliding Club members have been abused by Torrey Pines glider port staff members?

5. And Still Alive, please bring forward any Torrey Hawk letters, comments, reports, or accusations to show SDPD, LJTC, and LJSA.

6. You could submit your story in an email or PDF file directly or send it to me.  

7. PLEASE Send me a PDF copy to include in my report.

8. Please do not send any personal conflict to LJSA,...

9. A copy of the Agenda Speech and a sample letter of support are already in the hands of both LJTC and LJSA

10. Thank Everyone.

I have already responded in the "La Jolla Shores Association" topic. That's the proper place for these disucssions. This is your own Blog and it's not the proper place for a shared discussion about the upcoming LJSA meeting. The Blog forum rules are incompatible with shared discussions where everyone can participate equally.

eagle wrote:
If you keep people
exhausted and distracted,
they won't organize. If you
keep them struggling and
divided, they won't resist.
The system isn't broken,
it's working as designed.

That's a great quote. But even better:

If you keep people exhausting themselves and distracting themselves and dividing themselves, then you won't have to do it for them.

It's time to focus on making the best possible presentation that represents what we all want together.

I'M LOOKING AT YOU

2B chief full bull 2.png (257.58 KiB) Viewed 47386 times

Ernie Casco has more, "Hands-On" experience and solid family ties than anyone else at the LJTC meeting evidenced by this:

My name is Ernie Casco, a senior pilot, and former Assistant Flight Director of Torrey Pines Gliderport, a protégé of Howard Mitchel, Top Gun instructor, and Bill Bennett; in the Hall of Fame for historical waterski flight over the Statue of Liberty. I am also a former member of the La Jolla Town Council’s Board of Trustees. that also served on the Torrey Pines Gliderport Subcommittee in 2021 My background includes service as an Observer with the USCG Auxiliary, Navy Amphib Base and MCRD Base, Boathouse Instructor, trained HAZMAT team, I took all this experience to Hilton Resort as Dock Manager for their best year recorded. I have a few accomplishments with a family business, Club Diego's, in the 80s. I have successfully worked as a Contractor/Estimator for Myself, Home Depot, and others. I also support local anonymous recovery outreach programs within our community.

My aviation seed was planted by my father, who at the age of 14, was the youngest sailplane pilot in Argentina A brilliant Oceanographer at Scripps, and an engineer/designer who worked on the Apollo Mission. Mom is still with us at 95, a former UCSD director with incredible achievements. Both sisters have successful careers in the medical field here in La Jolla.

And let us never forget, "Bills Bunny Hill", which could/should be brought back in the good name of Hang Gliders everywhere

Although Mr. Kuczewski has 40 years of flight experiences, and started paragliding in 1990, (when USHPA pushed into many "experts only H4" launch sites all across the US) and he lives outside La Jolla and has a "programmers" and software developer mindset and given over 60 speeches to SD City Council which were good, but little came forward from council.
I should add another piece to this about our great President and First Lady, and their world changing efforts put forward in a time of evil in our world.
Honor "Remembrance Day", Erika Kirk and TPUSA.

WE ARE CHARLIE !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PY2YRtY ... rt_radio=1