36th Anniversary
Posted by Eric Olson on December 29, 2008, 12:39 pm
Here I sit at home in Plantation, Florida on Dec. 29, 2008, the 36th anniversary of the crash of Eastern 401. Somehow it just doesn't seem as if 36 years have passed, but as philosophers have stated for years: the only constant is change. A year ago today, as the guest of the South Florida Airboat Association, I was able to attend the 35th anniversary and memorial service at the Everglades crash site. Those of us who were there remember it as a beautiful day and a moving ceremony. Unfortunately, this year we have lost Bud Marquis. His death serves, among many other things, to illustrate the march of time. Thank goodness Bud was in the 'glades back on that fateful night in 1972; many people owe their lives to his and others' efforts to save them. So I sit here remembering the crash and also remembering those heroes like Bud Marquis. It's fascinating how Eastern 401 can still bring out the emotions after 36 years. Let us shed a tear for those we remember, lest they not be forgotten. Eric Olson
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