RE: High Times USA

Dear Geoffrey,

  About Drones . . . You and I are old enough to remember MAD Magazine. I recall they did an article on the future when everyone would use private airplanes in the same quantity and frequency as cars.
  The cartoon showed a sky full of vehicles. I have a similar nightmare vision of drones. We have filled the roads and clogged up our cities, and now will fill the skies with these monsters. I dread it, as they are a menace and need strict controls.
  There have already been several serious incidents of drones at or near airports.
  Our skies are crowded enough without these annoying monsters.
  STOP THE DRONES BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE!

Kind regards and Best Wishes for 2016,
Peter Walter
Marketing Manager
CHAMP Cargosystems (retired)
Moraira, Spain

Hi Peter,

  I not only remember MAD—as a sub-teenager I recall rather worshiping its spokesman “Alfred E. Neuman” (pictured here) for his rather uplifting outlook on life.
  It was Neuman who coined the phrase: “What, Me Worry?” and every time me and my best friend Paul Abrams would sit down and read another monthly installment of MAD, we would roll with laughter for days.
  Recall that MAD would occasionally publish smiling pictures of Richard Nixon in each issue with the caption:
  “Why Is This Man Laughing?”
  Later, when Nixon ran against Kennedy, I campaigned door-to-door for Nixon.
  Once at LaGuardia Airport, I told the ex-President that story and he laughed, saying that he loved reading MAD as well.
  In my mind, drones stimulate young imaginations about aviation and to me that is very exciting.
  Of course, safety issues certainly need to be actively addressed.
  Thanks for your letter, which stirred some fond memories as these days we are thinking about possibilities for the year ahead.

Always,
Geoffrey