* * * * * It was the day before Halloween, 30 th October 1970, my favorite time of the year, right before the spooks and hobgoblins appear with their infamous battle cry: “Trick or treat!” One of the towns we patrolled was Half Moon Bay, the pumpkin capitol of the US, which did a bang-up Halloween! As I recall it must have been nearly 4:30 in the afternoon, when the low sun deepens colors to a breathtaking status, causing the incredible sight spread out before me to inspire a sort of religious awe. At that moment it hit me how privileged I was to be a helicopter pilot; the average Joe or Jill never being allowed to observe what I was currently witnessing. I was riding in the right seat of a San ...