Generation y Quote by Tom Wolfe
““Well … things are beginning to stack up a little,” said Gordo. It was the same old sod-hut drawl. He sounded like the airline pilot who, having just slipped two seemingly certain mid-air collisions and finding himself in the midst of a radar fuse-out and control-tower dysarthria, says over the intercom: “Well, ladies and gentlemen, we’ll be busy up here in the cockpit making our final approach into Pittsburgh, and so we want to take this opportunity to thank you for flying American and we hope we’ll see you again real soon.” It was second-generation Yeager, now coming from earth orbit. Cooper was having a good time. He knew everybody was in a sweat down below. But this was what he and the boys had wanted all along, wasn’t it?””
About This Quote
A satirical scene where a pilot, after narrowly avoiding disaster, delivers a calm, rehearsed announcement, highlighting absurdity of bravado amid chaos.
In simple terms: Satire of heroic bravado
Key Takeaway
Ego masks danger
Themes
satire
heroism
absurdity
communication
risk
humor
Mood
ironic
wry
critical
Type
satirical
narrative
dialogue
When to use this quote
- airline announcement after near‑miss
- space mission debrief
- military briefing under pressure
- public relations after crisis
Key Concepts
pilot persona
flight safety
public perception
stress management
Practical Applications
- parody writing
- training on crisis communication
Questions to Reflect On
- How does humor reveal truth in high‑stakes settings?
- What does the pilot’s calm reveal about leadership?
![“I've had a chance to meet some of my civil rights heroes and, more recently, members of the young generation around [Barack] Obama, people in their teens and twenties who were determined to make history and who were too idealistic to think that what they were trying to do might be impossible. They…” quote by Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d7a/van-jones-984_america_i-ve-had-a-chance-to-meet-some-of-my-civ_727277.jpg)
