Rob Bach - Self Portrait
Though our friend Rob Bach needs no introduction really, my wife Dharma and I felt compelled to write a few words; he is one of those larger than life characters, one of those people you consider yourself lucky to count as a friend. And why wouldn’t he be? if you consider his lineage, he is the son of acclaimed writer Richard Bach and his mother is the amazing editor and author Bette Fineman Bach. So as you might imagine, the material coming from such a luminous constellation is nothing short of rivetting. We enjoy Rob’s work in so many levels. One of the most profound ways in which his words inspire us is the level of humanity with which he writes. Though they capture the adventure in a rich way, they are real, they transcend the mere adventure and reach into the core of the human soul. They really touch the heart and leave you not just entertained, but a changed person. He is a permanent member of our Board of Advisors and it is an honor to have him be our first contributing writer. I hope you all enjoy his work as much as we do. Without further ado, here is Rob Bach:
ON SPACE & TIME, by Rob Bach
So, a moment ago, there was a happily empty space here. It was perfect in its nothingness, calm, cold, content. This absence of things was absolute and expected nothing other than to go merrily along devoid of chaos.
Introduce TIME and entropy started immediately. The Big Bang was like that: once TIME BECAME it screwed up all that perfect peace with STUFF BECOMING at a remarkable (and suddenly measurable) rate.
There, then, was the first trade-off of Perfection for Possibility…and so it is here with the seed of an idea Nik (our kind host) had to make a ripple in your experience.
You.
Just you and nobody else.
I’ve never thought that a story I’d care to write would be read by anyone except Mom (who delights in anything I create today as she did when I was in the first grade). Faced with this new opportunity to write once in a while I’ve decided I’ll write just for You. One person (and Mom).
What You get to read from me will be thoughts on flying airplanes, old and new, working as a pilot for a living, building planes for the heck of it, and capturing it all in words and pictures as artfully as I’m able.
Creation is a wonderful thing even though it destroys what came before. Witnessing that life cycle of ideas made manifest is just as amazing as the creation itself. Even though you may not fly or write or craft imagery you can still be a Watcher.
I’ll never pole vault over a bar set six meters over a giant sponge, but I love to watch dedicated people try to do it. Being the audience for excellence is as important as the achievement itself…and so here You are.
Besides flying, I try to photograph airplanes as art. They are a subject worthy of a lifetime effort…my six meter bar. Capturing the essence of a machine that was built by the hands of a hundred people isn’t easy. Most photographers approach the subject like any other machine and take some very pretty pictures in the process. I’d rather make an image that peels away that first impression of the thing and lets You get a sense of the airplane as something other than You thought it was.
Once in a great while, I’ll get pretty close. And now that I know You are here, I’ll try a little harder to understand what I’m doing.
My next entry might be something about the life of the airline pilot or working with dope and fabric or trying to shoot air-to-air in crummy weather. I have no idea. What do You want?
For now then there is just This and so, as in the Beginning when Something came from Nothing, let there be Light:
