David Freed

Blog

Mahalo

As my 40th birthday loomed, my partner proposed that we go somewhere exotic to celebrate. I suggested the notion of a quiet island somewhere with good snorkeling. Our travel agent said she knew the perfect place: Molokai. We’d vacationed in Hawaii

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THIS BEAUTIFUL PLANET

The flight was scheduled for five hours and 26 minutes, nonstop from Los Angeles to Newark. I wanted a window seat because, as they say in aviation, we pilots have enjoyed looking down on everybody else since 1903. But, alas,

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VFR DAYS

When you’re a pilot, little is more satisfying than properly executing a precision instrument approach. It’s all about focus, situational awareness, and trusting your guidance systems instead of your middle ear when you can’t see where you’re going. You’re descending

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THANK YOU, MISS VALLEY

Some writers are born. Others are made. I’m from the latter camp. Nowhere in my ambitions while growing up was there the notion that one day I might earn my keep via the printed word. I planned on becoming a

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ON BEING A PLOTTER

“Where do you get your ideas?” It’s a standard question writers are asked at conferences where readers and authors get together to celebrate the genre of mystery-thrillers. It’s also a question I never know how to answer. Inspiration is an

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MEMORIES OF LANDSCAPE

Early in my journalism career, I had the pleasure of interviewing Gregory “Pappy” Boyington, a Marine Corps fighter ace and Medal of Honor recipient whose exploits fighting the Japanese in the Pacific during World War II inspired his best-selling memoir,

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