in the air...

 in the air...

                                                      

  My wife's Jazzercise group is often entertained by someone identified with a particular day or holiday.  Such was the case last August 16th when the franchise owner brought in a tribute artist to commemorate the death of the King of Rock and Roll.  

  Retired UPS pilot, Captain Gary Katz, 64, played the role of the man from Memphis.    

  This interview was conducted several weeks prior to the fatal UPS crash at Louisville's airport earlier this month.

  Gary, my wife said you did a great job.

  Thanks.  We had a good time.

  Tell me about yourself.  Do you have a significant other?

  I do, he said.  My wife and I will have been married 40 years next year.  We have two kids, a boy and a girl and each of them have given us a grandchild.

  You have retired, but, before that, you saw some sights as a pilot  .

  Yes, he agreed.  I flew for UPS for 32 years.  At the beginning of my career, I flew more international, but, for the most part, I flew domestic which is what I like to do.

  Where is someplace you thought was extraordinary?

  Valencia, Spain, he answered.  It has a beautiful beach and the climate is great.  It is just a beautiful city..

  How about here in our country?

  I had some weekend layovers in Boise, Idaho and that one is a surprise, he claimed.   A modern downtown and in fact, it has one of the best downtown areas I've seen.  Boston is great too.  But, a lot of it has to do with where UPS puts our hotels.  If it is out in the suburbs, we never really see the downtown area.  

  How did it come about that you are a tribute artist?  

  That's a kind title, he joked.  I consider myself a hack who puts on an Elvis costume.  I've been doing it for a while, mostly for family and friends.

  Did you just all of a sudden decide you wanted to be an entertainer?

  Not really.  When my kids were small, we were living in Cincinnati and we would commute to Louisville to be around my parents, he told me.  When you have kids in diapers, you look for things to do.  We found a flea market called the Turtle Creek Flea Market and they had karaoke there.  My wife bought me a cheap little machine and it had a sample CD.  One of the songs was an Elvis tune and I started singing that song. 

  So, it just took off from there.

  It did, he confirmed.  Later on, my wife bought me an Elvis costume and I performed at a friend's wedding and started doing stuff for the family.  Over the years, I've bought costumes on eBay. 

  You also play the guitar?  

   Yes, I took up the guitar in '97 and that got me to singing. 

  My wife said you are a decent singer.

  Oh, well, be kind to your wife, he laughed. 

  Do you have a favorite song that gets you going when you take the stage?

  I would say my staple is Blue Suede Shoes, he offered.

  How about other hobbies?  What do you enjoy doing?

   Pickleball is my hobby right now and I am active with a few aviation organizations at Bowman Field (Louisville's urban airport that was the city's original airport and is now used for private aircraft only).

   Are you a competitive player?

  I am okay, he guessed.  A friend at the airport was about to retire and she was looking for things to do.  She heard about these pickleball lessons at the indoor racket club, so, my wife and I signed up .  We fell in love with it and we've been playing for seven years now,

  How do you keep busy during the day?

  I am not an overly ambitious guy in my retirement. he grinned.  If I've got one thing to do during the day, I am happy.

  Do you still fly?

  I do, he said.  I fly small planes.  Most of the time, I fly to airports within 30 minutes of here.  We will have lunch or just mess around.  I used to fly to Florida or Rhode Island, but, you get burned a couple times like delays or bad weather and you change.  

  I call those unwanted interruptions, aggravations.  

  Yes, they are, and, I don't need them, Gary professed. 

  How about a wish list.  Anything special?

  I would like to see people become more compassionate to our immigrants, he said thoughtfully.  They have become scapegoats.  I feel lucky that I have been able to do the things I do, so, I am good.  I want to see my grandkids grow up, that sort of thing.

  What about someplace you would like to go.

  I know my wife would like to go to Hawaii.  I've been there, but, she has two dogs she doesn't want to be away from for a long period of time.  

  Captain Gary Katz, thank you for your time.  

  I enjoyed it.  Thanks.

  Coming up:  an interview with a race horse owner; another job$ somebody's gotta do; a POS (People Over Sixty), and; another oddities, observation's and ?'s.   

  And, finally.  A tip of the hat to... pop star Taylor Swift.  She walked into Joe Dimaggio Children's Hospital in Hollywood, Florida and talked with patients and gave them a hug.  She greeted staff and offered words of encouragement to the kids she visited.   

  I love stories about acts of kindness.

  HUH?  What's  up with that?