The Missing Man Formation

IN MEMORY OF PHOTOGRAPHER JEFF MILLER 1955-2008

Today I said farewell to a friend. He died at the age of 53, which at one time would have seemed old to me, but no longer does. There are many great lessons in life, and we all learn them along the way. It's important to work hard and play hard, and to use the talents God gives you.
A good life lesson, once paraphrased by Bill Gates, is "life's not fair. Get used to it." Jeff's greatest love in life was flying. He was a commercial pilot with 7000 hours flight time, when a trip to the flight surgeon pulled the plug on his career overnight. He had been diagnosed with diabetes.
Re-starting his life, he did some entrepreneurial things to make a new career for himself. He got involved in volunteering, and found himself hanging out of helicopter doors in a harness, holding a camera instead of a stick and throttle. He helped organize the Heroes Airshow, and shot photos for the fire service, including the LA City and LA County Fire Departments. The diabetes eventually took one of his legs. When Jeff went to the County Fire Department to renew his fire line credentials, there was a new fire department official at the desk who was skeptical as to why a disabled man in a wheelchair would need a departmental ID. Today, that same official spoke with pride of how Jeff didn't quit. One of the photos on display showed Jeff in the door of a helicopter, flying over a scene with his camera. One leg was against the helicopter's skid bracing his position, the other leg was still freshly bandaged from his then recent leg amputation.
Life is finite. As you come to terms with that reality, you learn to worry less and pray more. I liked Jeff's approach toward life. He had passion, and he was organized. He never spent a moment of his life drunk or on drugs. When he died, he wasn't rich, and he wasn't famous, and he had little in the way of material possessions. His most treasured earthly possessions were simply a flight harness and his camera, but he lived his life to the fullest and he made the most of the talents God gave him.
When helicopters come in for a landing, the ground controller will raise both arms vertically to signal the pilot that he's on the right heading. At the memorial service, I took this picture as three LAFD Huey's flew the missing man formation over us. As they came in, Jeff's sister, doubtlessly raised on a diet of aviaion, instinctively raised her arms overhead vertically, giving the same signal I've seen Jeff give time and time again on the airfield. I took the picture you see here.

Jeff, you're on the right heading.

Amen.