Page 20 - Never Fly Solo

INTRODUCTION

The journey toward earning my wings in life began long
before I earned my Air Force wings. The youngest of four
children, I was raised on Long Island, New York, in a very
competitive middle-class family of overachievers, led by the
first “general” I ever served with: my overprotective mother.
Sylvia (or “Silly,” as we lovingly called her) had my conserva-
tive, workaholic dad, Lenny, as her wingman. They both grew
up dirt poor in Brooklyn, with no real opportunity to go to
college. My dad served eight years in the Navy before he
became an airplane mechanic. My mom stayed home and
raised the kids.
Together they taught my sister, two brothers, and me the
value of hard work, education, integrity, compassion, and,
most of all, family. These were the greatest gifts any parents
could give their children. And while I didn’t know it then,
they were the first wingmen who had a major impact on my
life. My “wing mom” and “wing dad” were my first instruc-
tor pilots, and I love them dearly.
The other very special wingman in my life is my identical
twin brother, Dave. While we are different in many respects
and each march to our own drummer, Dave and I give each
other something irreplaceable: mutual support. We seldom
experienced an obstacle, adversity, or victory alone. With
Dave on my wing, I’ve never had to fly solo, and to this day
there is no one I trust more.

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