Its that time of year again. The day I like to remember the bitter sweet day in 2018 when Richard Russell swiped a plane from a Seattle airport and lived the free life he longed for a short while. He died that day after he had his fun and became immortal.

SkyKing didn’t hurt anyone with his last act of defiance against this absurd modern clown world. Well, except some bank and some insurance company’s bottom dollar. He did leave us a lasting impression of the modern condition.

Russell was only 29 years old. It’s a shame the world broke him. I feel sorry for him but I got to admit I’m jealous. I don’t think I have ever lived life as much as he lived in those minutes he spent flying and doing barrel rolls while teasing the air traffic controller and making a few comments on the reality of being a average white guy in modern America.

“He was dead on the ground, the second he left it he was alive.”