First Post From Dick Hein Himself

There I was. 3500 feet above the ground flying along without a care in the world. 100 horse power pulling me through the air at 125 mph. Then auddenly it was quiet. The engine had stopped. I wasn't concerned, airplanes fly without power all the time. They're called gliders. Bernoulli's theorem doesn't quit because the engine did.
"Fly the airplane", the mantra. I reduced speed to 70 mph to minimize the rate of descent while I selected a landing place in an open field. Just before I had noticed an abandoned ultralight field below. Trying to restart the engine got the engine turning at 1200rpm instead of the usual 2700rpm. Maybe I can nurse this baby home yet I thought.
and then it quit for good.
When I set up to land at the field I was way too high and decided to select another field off to my left. I could see a row of power lines I could easily clear. On short final I seemed to have lots of room to make the landing so I slowed to just over stall speed (47 mph). That's the last thing I remember until I was on the ground hanging upside down from my harness. I released the safety harness and crawled out from under the plane through the broken canopy. I remember standing up and leaning against the wing.
Then my savior Dick Deboer, an EMT, arrived. He had watched the entire episode and was at my side in seconds. He had me down on the ground and protected my neck in case of neck injury. In the meantime an un-named man had crawled into the cockpit to close the gas line precluding a fire. Then I recall seeing an ambulance coming across the field, being lifted onto a gurney and placing me in the ambulance.
The next thing I remember was waking up, restrained in a hospital bed in a hardware store in Claremont California being attended by two nurses in white. I was in no pain and was disturbed only because I was being held unconstitutionally against my will. All the pleading, yelling and threatening didn't get me freed. Wait for the doctors they said.
I didn't want a doctor, I was fine. I wanted a goddamed lawyer to get me out of there.
MORE TO FOLLOW...