Somebody please shut Chuck Yeager up.

Fearless Tower said:
You looking in a mirror?

'cuz I have no clue how you can make that connection just because you don't agree with the OP's point of view on the subject.
Click to expand...

Nice try, but I am not and have never been on FB. Your level of cluelessness also isn't my problem.
 
docmirror said:
Your level of cluelessness also isn't my problem.
Click to expand...
It obviously is because it has you so spun up that you have lumped multiple posters on this thread into one continuous rant, which is alot more than the OP has done.

As far as clueless goes, you seem to be describing yourself since you are criticizing the OP for how they handle an online medium that you yourself have admitted that you have never participated in.
 
Last edited:
Average people do average things. People who do exceptional things are exceptional people. CY is exceptional.
 
Some famous folks are jerks. Some have been that way even before they were famous. Some famous folks are great. I've met Harrison Ford and he was very nice. John Travolta and Jimmy Buffett too.

Frank Zappa was nice to me, and I saw him be quite rude to someone who was rude to him first.

I don't see much sense in getting upset about other people's behavior until it affects me personally.
 
TMetzinger said:
Frank Zappa was nice to me, and I saw him be quite rude to someone who was rude to him first.
Click to expand...

My one and only Frank Zappa story. I was in a Beverly Hills pizzeria with a lady friend and her kid. He walked in with not-as-pretty-as-I-would-have-thought girlfriend in tow. My ladyfriend asked me for an on the spot Origami so her kid could get an autograph.

I came up with something, don't recall what. The son dutifully carried it over, asked for the autograph saying "my mother's friend made this for you". Zappa autographed a napkin, crumpled it up and said "and I made this for you". Pretty clever actually.
 
Fearless Tower said:
As I said earlier, it isn't about being a phony friend. That is just the FB terminology.
Click to expand...

I understand and will confess to total FB ignorance because although I did sign up one time it wasn't long before I was saying WTF, how do I get out of this thing?

To be honest, I'm not certain I did, it latches onto you like a grappling hook.:eek:
 
I do not care if he married a 20 something. It changes not what his accomplishments were. It is no business of his children. They do not have to call her Mom. If Chuck is happy, good for him. It is his money and he is welcomed to spend it any way he wishes.
.
As to FACEBOOK (or any other "social media") I do not get it. Why would anyone not talking to me directly over coffee, drinks, or dinner, really care what I did or did not do today.
.
But in case you are interested, my three dogs and I had a nice quiet day surfing the internet, reading, and sleeping. Oh? And I spent a bunch of MY money. Anything left when I am gone is just because I did not have enough time to spend it.
 
Anyone can be a jackass on any given day. OK.
When you are a racer of the female gender...a first (say NHRA) and you blow up at half track and lose in the quarter finals you have two options:
Get ****ed off and say: screw it. I came here to race, not sign autographs.
-OR-
Be classy, be pretty and be the person 100's of people came to see and cheer for. Do the rope line. Sigh the hats, programs, etc.
Simple. Take care of the fans and they will always remember you. Or blow 'em off and they will always remember you.

In the late 1970's thru the early 1990's I worked as a bartender at a wonderful place in Shreveport Louisiana named the Kon Tiki. I was the lounge manager and bartender as well as manager of catered bartending.
During the late 70's the Shreveport Independence Bowl Football games started. At each game was the recipient of the Omar Bradley Spirit of Independence Award. Due to the owner of Kon Tiki's being well known by the I-bowl crowd all the per- and post- dinners/functions were held at the restaurant. So it came to pass that:
In 1978 John Wayne walked into my bar. This caused a stir because we all knew he was coming but the reality was different! JOHN WAYNE was here!
He waded through the group and bellied up to the bar, looked around and bellowed " Drinks for the Bar" (just like in McLintock). I was busy pouring for a while and when I got to HIM I asked (in my best John Wayne voice) "what'll it be for you partner?" and he laughed. (boss frowned).
Later that night in the restaurant when he had finished his meal his waiter asked if he would sign 8 bar napkins for the cooks and other kitchen staff.
Mr.Wayne asked if it would be OK if he went to the kitchen to sign and hand the napkins out himself! And he did! Alberta (the fry cook) hit her knees like she just saw God!
In 1987 General Yeager walked into my bar. A few people I knew came to see him because (they like me) were history and/or airplane nuts. The bar was full. He came to the bar, ordered a drink and turned to walk away. I called out: General Yeager would you sign your book (Yeager) for me? He turned around (in front of all my regular bar customers who knew how I had been looking forward to this for weeks) and said "That's not what I'm here for" and walked away.

Same venue. Same reason to be there. Class was shown by one person. Not so much by Gen. Yeager.


Maybe he was having a bad day but if your going to receive the accolades from the public shouldn't you be prepared to show the fans a bit of care?

Other Celebs who I met and passed muster:
Paul Harvey in 1980 A wonderful man with a booming voice in person!
Art Linkletter in 1982
Danny Thomas in 1983 ( although he was crocked when he got there!)



Chris (who respects Chuck Yeager for what he did. Nothing else).
 
Last edited:
You want to live in the peasants glow, you gotta stand in the mud with them and offer platitudes once in awhile.
 
Do you attend autograph events? Do you know how the collection of funds is handled? What brand of cigar boxes are you alleging that they use?

N801BH said:
Hmmm.

I NEVER said he didn't pay his taxes..:no: :nonod:....

Given the potential of famous people to sit at a card table and sign a couple of hundred autographs and accept nothing but cash is ripe for abuse and countless ball players, and other sports people having made 5,000 -10,000 $$$ or more a day in cash is well known...... And you can bet they did NOT report all the income during though autograph sessions..:no:..

Once again, to clear up my stance... Chuck is more then free to charge for his signature, and I would hope during a five grand, one day cash windfall, he would give the guv their 1,800 bucks share of the event.....

Time will tell........:rolleyes:
Click to expand...
 
Hiperbiper said:
Anyone can be a jackass on any given day. OK.
When you are a racer of the female gender...a first (say NHRA) and you blow up at half track and lose in the quarter finals you have two options:
Get ****ed off and say: screw it. I came here to race, not sign autographs.
-OR-
Be classy, be pretty and be the person 100's of people came to see and cheer for. Do the rope line. Sigh the hats, programs, etc.
Simple. Take care of the fans and they will always remember you. Or blow 'em off and they will always remember you.

In the late 1970's thru the early 1990's I worked as a bartender at a wonderful place in Shreveport Louisiana named the Kon Tiki. I was the lounge manager and bartender as well as manager of catered bartending.
During the late 70's the Shreveport Independence Bowl Football games started. At each game was the recipient of the Omar Bradley Spirit of Independence Award. Due to the owner of Kon Tiki's being well known by the I-bowl crowd all the per- and post- dinners/functions were held at the restaurant. So it came to pass that:
In 1978 John Wayne walked into my bar. This caused a stir because we all knew he was coming but the reality was different! JOHN WAYNE was here!
He waded through the group and bellied up to the bar, looked around and bellowed " Drinks for the Bar" (just like in McLintock). I was busy pouring for a while and when I got to HIM I asked (in my best John Wayne voice) "what'll it be for you partner?" and he laughed. (boss frowned).
Later that night in the restaurant when he had finished his meal his waiter asked if he would sign 8 bar napkins for the cooks and other kitchen staff.
Mr.Wayne asked if it would be OK if he went to the kitchen to sign and hand the napkins out himself! And he did! Alberta (the fry cook) hit her knees like she just saw God!
In 1987 General Yeager walked into my bar. A few people I knew came to see him because (they like me) were history and/or airplane nuts. The bar was full. He came to the bar, ordered a drink and turned to walk away. I called out: General Yeager would you sign your book (Yeager) for me? He turned around (in front of all my regular bar customers who knew how I had been looking forward to this for weeks) and said "That's not what I'm here for" and walked away.

Same venue. Same reason to be there. Class was shown by one person. Not so much by Gen. Yeager.


Maybe he was having a bad day but if your going to receive the accolades from the public shouldn't you be prepared to show the fans a bit of care?

Other Celebs who I met and passed muster:
Paul Harvey in 1980 A wonderful man with a booming voice in person!
Art Linkletter in 1982
Danny Thomas in 1983 ( although he was crocked when he got there!)



Chris (who respects Chuck Yeager for what he did. Nothing else).
Click to expand...

The big difference is that John Wayne was known for his acting where making fans is a big part of what he does. General Yeager was known for flying planes and quite frankly it does not matter to him if you're a fan or not.
 
docmirror said:
Wow - what a greedy, selfish, heartless bastard:

Over the years, Yeager says, he has given his children more than $5 million, most of it funneled through Yeager Inc. The corporation was set up for the children by his first wife, after fame and dollars started pouring in when Sam Shepard played him in the 1983 film "The Right Stuff."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment...e-of-his-kids-doubt-2821681.php#ixzz2UhNlxxu6

Now, he wants to enjoy his elder years with someone who is younger than him, and I guess that's a problem too. He wants to keep the money he earned and that's a problem as well.

Amazing what one man can do for his country, family, and society as a whole - then get a bunch of shyte tossed at him from a pouty social media maven who didn't get enough nipple as a tot.
Click to expand...

I should have mattered to him as he is getting rich off the general public..:yes:
 
"Class" has several definitions, depending on your POV.

I prefer to think of it as what you do when nobody can see you and/or you have nothing to gain from your actions or behavior, or the way you treat people who can't yell back at you.

Bill Battle, the former UTenn football coach defined it differently by saying that "Class is the ability that, when being run out of town, you can make it appear that you're leading the parade."
 
wabower said:
"Class" has several definitions, depending on your POV.

I prefer to think of it as what you do when nobody can see you and/or you have nothing to gain from your actions or behavior, or the way you treat people who can't yell back at you.

Bill Battle, the former UTenn football coach defined it differently by saying that "Class is the ability that, when being run out of town, you can make it appear that you're leading the parade."
Click to expand...

First guy I thought of when I read your quote of Bill Battle: Rod Blago...

He certainly acted like he felt as though he was "leading a parade"...
 
They say that a quick count of the pitch-forks is a good indicator of the sentiments.

jhausch said:
First guy I thought of when I read your quote of Bill Battle: Rod Blago...

He certainly acted like he felt as though he was "leading a parade"...
Click to expand...
 
Who the hell are we to tell someone what he may or may not do with his friggin' autograph? Or judge them on that? As for his pension, what does that have to do with his sideline business?
 
alfadog said:
Who the hell are we to tell someone what he may or may not do with his friggin' autograph? Or judge them on that? As for his pension, what does that have to do with his sideline business?
Click to expand...

Exactly!
 
Last edited:
Listen, do a search for Chuck Yeager you'll see what people who have met him or interviewed him have said. The reports don't paint a pretty picture as to Yeager's warm personality. As I said above, anyone who attended the 2007 Gathering of Mustangs and Legends knows he was a no show. It's pretty sad when all the other WWII greats like Bob Hoover and Bud Anderson had no problems with signing free autographs but Yeager did. Sure, it's his right to request money for his autograph or to deny an autograph but there's a difference between selling posters and attending a public event. People traveled from all over the world to see these guys for personal reasons, not to make money off an autograph.
 
Chuck Yeager's daughter, who managed the 83-year-old test pilot's assets after the death of his first wife, has been ordered to pay her father nearly $1 million for violating her duties as his trustee in her zeal to protect his wealth from his second wife.

After nearly two years of deliberations, a Nevada County Superior Court referee determined that Susan Yeager improperly profited when she had her father's trust buy her out of property the two co-owned in Northern California near Nevada City...
Click to expand...

http://articles.latimes.com/2006/apr/21/local/me-yeager21

An appeals court reduced the judgment:

The judgment is modified to reduce Yeagers recovery from Susan from $850,599 to $359,561 for her profit on the PV Property transaction, plus prejudgment interest on that amount. The award of $64,419.68 for other damages remains unchanged. In all other respects, the judgment is affirmed.
Click to expand...

http://www.fearnotlaw.com/articles/article22023.html
 
Looks like in summary, that it's ok for everyone else to get fat off of Yeager, but it's bad for Yeager himself to expect to gnosh at the money table.

Hey, that's what flies in today's progressive society. What's his is yours, and everyone else's and what yours is yours.

That's only fair - right?
 
Yeah, everyone knows that greed was invented by progressives. :rolleyes:
 
Palmpilot said:
Yeah, everyone knows that greed was invented by progressives. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Progressive greed is greed for money other people earned.:) Chuck is free to monetize himself, the market is free to say he is a douchenozzle I don't like the way he has monetized himself.
 
Velocity173 said:
...As I said above, anyone who attended the 2007 Gathering of Mustangs and Legends knows he was a no show. It's pretty sad when all the other WWII greats like Bob Hoover and Bud Anderson had no problems with signing free autographs but Yeager did...
Click to expand...

Neil Armstrong didn't do autographs or interviews or documentaries. Maybe for different reasons but if the public wants to foist fame on a person he has the right to do with it whatever he wants. If you've ever read any of the Lindbergh biographies it's a poignant example of how someone can become jaded to or even disdainful of public fame. There's only so much you can take.
 
Silvaire said:
Neil Armstrong didn't do autographs or interviews or documentaries. Maybe for different reasons but if the public wants to foist fame on a person he has the right to do with it whatever he wants. If you've ever read any of the Lindbergh biographies it's a poignant example of how someone can become jaded to or even disdainful of public fame. There's only so much you can take.
Click to expand...

Yeah that's two completely different reasons for not signing autographs. Armstrong didn't sign them because he was shy of the limelight and he found that people were profiting from his signature and not keeping it for themselves. Yeager is definitely not shy of the limelight and he doesn't sign free autographs because he wants to profit from his own signature. Yeager's signature is no Armstrong either. It's not nearly as valuable.

I respect what Yeager's done in aviation just like I respect what Tiger Woods does as a golfer. Now as role models, not so much.
 
ClimbnSink said:
Progressive greed is greed for money other people earned.:) Chuck is free to monetize himself, the market is free to say he is a douchenozzle I don't like the way he has monetized himself.
Click to expand...

Winner-winner, chicken dinner(for progressives of course). I don't have a bad opinion of Yeager just cause he's a cranky old fart who wants to make money, but it's kind of douchey to say he's a goniff and a schmuck just cause he wants is share. :D
 
I've run into a few celebrities over the years, but nobody that big.

One night we went out to dinner. At the table right next to ours was a local major league baseball player, and very popular in this town. He was eating dinner with his family. He'd been out of the game for a couple of years, but was still well known. I glanced over, saw him, and immediately knew who he was. He just happened to look up and see me at the same time. I guess the look on my face told him that I knew who he was. We just nodded to each other and went back to paying attention to our own families. I don't remember the timing, so I don't know if he was aware at the time that he was dying of brain cancer. It killed him not long after that night. His obit was short, and mentioned his involvement with his family, his church, his neighborhood, and various charities...not a single word about baseball.

Celebrities are still people too. Some are *****, and others are just good folk.
 
Fan is short for FANATIC of which some really are. Just look at Hollywood celebs and the BS they have to go through to get through a day without being hounded by autograph seekers or media trying to cash in on them. It's his life and he has earned the right to be a cantankerous old goat. Neither is he a douche, dirt, or S*** bag for it. You don't like it, too bad.
Would YOU want to be "ON THE CLOCK" all the time? What about your doctor? Or a cop? Everyone is entitled to set the job aside and just relax without some putz up his ass looking for a handout/freebee/time of day.
Just look at what media and fan attention has done to people lest we forget the Princess Di saga, or hounded by stalkers, or the newest craze... SWATTING.
 
Matthew said:
I've run into a few celebrities over the years, but nobody that big.

One night we went out to dinner. At the table right next to ours was a local major league baseball player, and very popular in this town. He was eating dinner with his family. He'd been out of the game for a couple of years, but was still well known. I glanced over, saw him, and immediately knew who he was. He just happened to look up and see me at the same time. I guess the look on my face told him that I knew who he was. We just nodded to each other and went back to paying attention to our own families. I don't remember the timing, so I don't know if he was aware at the time that he was dying of brain cancer. It killed him not long after that night. His obit was short, and mentioned his involvement with his family, his church, his neighborhood, and various charities...not a single word about baseball.

Celebrities are still people too. Some are *****, and others are just good folk.
Click to expand...

The actor (Charles Frank) who played Scott Carpenter in "The Right Stuff" is a member of our country club. Nice guy. He enjoys his meal, we enjoy ours. I wouldn't dream of taking a copy of the DVD and asking him to autograph the box. Good grief.

Now, I do have a couple copies of "Baa Baa Black Sheep" autographed by Pappy Boyington. But that was a deal at an airshow back in the early 1980s. Buy the book, get the autograph and move on so the next person can get his. Not enough interaction to say one thing or the other about Boyington. Guy did have a serious character flaw, however. He went to the "mistake on the lake" as we Cougars call the uw. :D
 
ClimbnSink said:
Progressive greed is greed for money other people earned.:) Chuck is free to monetize himself, the market is free to say he is a douchenozzle I don't like the way he has monetized himself.
Click to expand...

Conservative greed is better!
 
Matthew said:
I've run into a few celebrities over the years, but nobody that big.
Click to expand...

I've performed with a handful of celebrities. It turns out Tim Russ is a really good blues/rock guitarist. Just a couple of weeks ago, I shared the stage with Beck at Davies in San Francisco, as part of his Song Reader project. And got hit by a door driven by his eye-candy assistant (accident -- it was real crowded in the wings). There were a bunch of other celebrities in the wings, though I didn't perform with any of them. I even provided entertainment for a Buzz Aldrin speaking event once.

Every last one of these guys was 100% gracious. Beck gave a ton of free autographs (though I didn't ask for one -- I really don't have the heart to pester someone like that).

I have no sympathy whatsoever for someone who isn't.
 
Are the personality traits, temperament and other attributes that help produce superior fighter pilots the same as those required to score well on a Dale Carnegie profile?

Interestingly, Snead was one of the greatest golfers of his era but not the nicest guy on the tour. Yeager seems to be cut from the same cloth. IIRC, both grew up in the same part of the country.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top