The White Falcon - 30.10.1970, Blaðsíða 4

Page 4
THE WHITE FALCON
October 30, 1970
Tale Feathers
But eventually they began
and destroyed themselves."
to distrust each othi
‘By the seat of your pants’
by J02 Alan Markow
You don't meet many World War I flyers in Ice-
land. In fact, Ed Urband may be the only open
cockpit fighter pilot on the entire island.
Ed's not up here with the 57th PIS, though.
He's here with his wife Alice — and she's here
with the dependent's
school, where she holds
down the noble job of
School Nurse.
Ed is an octagenerian —
a clear-headed, lively,
well-spoken gentleman who
uses his 80 years to the
utmostt for a better per-
spective of the world.
His opinions cure grounded
in facts. His words are
carefully chosen to meet
the exact needs of the
conversation.
He is a retired career
soldier, who, two years
after receiving his mas-
ter's degree in architec-
ture from Cornell Univer-
sity, learned to fly for
the United States. That
was in 1917.
"We called it flying by
the seat of your pants,"
and he meant it literally.
The pilot's seat was just
a flat board in those days,
and the way his bottom
slid along the seat was
his only way of judging
the plane's movement rela-
tive to the horizon — up,
down or straight ahead.
No one thought of keepinc
a parachute on his back.
Today's flyers may have
more instruments, Ed says,
but they do a much tougher
job. He admires them, and the planes they jockey
so much higher and faster than he ever dreamed of
going.
When Ed left the service in 1944 as a Lieutenant
Colonel, he took up his original occupation — as
an architect. It was the era of new ideas when
the name Frank Lloyd Wright was uttered with deep
reverence by those in the profession.
But, according to Ed's thinking, "Frank Lloyd
Wright was lucky. He built a hotel that was awful
to look at, but it withstood an earthquake."
History is one of Ed Urband's favorite pastimes
these days. He believes in the lessons of history
— and thinks today's radical militants might take
hint from the terrorists of yesterday.
"Hundreds of years ago, Vikings pillaged and
plundered western Europe," he told me. "They ter-
rorized the entire area, and took what they wanted.
The lesson was clear enough, but Ed brought
up to date by adding that repression is usually
the end result of a violent society, and repres-
sion denies freedom.
Col. Urband's readings are not all from history ’
books, nor are they all in English. He's also a
student of Japanese. He corresponds regularly
with a frined in Japan whom he met while visiting •
that country a number of years ago.
Japanese is a complex language which is diffi-
cult to learn because it
is different from English.
It is a symbolic language,
in which the look ofa word
is more important than its
sound.
As Ed explained it, the
sound of a word must be
memorized. There are no
pronouncable letters.
Words are pictures of
sorts, and similar words
are similar pictures with
alterations. For example,
"assemble" and "disas-
semble" may look the same
except for an extra line
or two.
Writing out the words,
therefore, is an are whicl^^
each Japanese must le^^^A
well. There can be lit^^^V
variance in "handwritings
as the words are so easily
altered.
When Ed and his friend
in Japan communicate, they
write in both languages.
Each line in Japanese is
repeated in English. This
solves the problem of words
that don't translate well.
Ed's friend once sent
a lengthy poem only in
Japanese. It was in
praise of man's first
journey to the moon, and,
according to Ed, it was a
very moving work.
Ed told me that the Japanese man is also an art
Instructor and painter. "But," he confided, "I'm
better."
I haven't seen the Japanese artist's works, but
Ed's were indeed, excellent. The picture accom-
panying this article is a reproduction of a recent
self portrait. The likeness is remarkable.
And it reminds me again of the remarkable vi-
tality of Ed Urband, World War I pilot, architect
student and teacher. At 80, he is still able to
absorb new ideas and appreciate new places.
In fact, when his wife hesitantly applied
the Department of Defense for a job in the
teaching program, it was Ed who urged
take the position. He already had her letter
acceptance typed before she even knew she'd been
hired.