Heavens to Murgatroyd !

I had decided to give this story a pass -- the constant bad news about the FAA is depressing -- but I decided I couldn’t pass on the title.

” Tricia and Joe Murgatroyd are packing up and moving out. the couple is heading to the east coast for new jobs.

They've been working as trainees at the Oakland Air Route Traffic Control Center in Fremont, but after nearly a year the Murgatroyds have had it.”

"”It's pretty sad when people you don't know come up to you and congratulate you for quitting. You should never be congratulated on quitting," said former FAA employee Tricia Murgatroyd.”

Yes, it is pretty sad, Tricia. I hope you won’t think poorly of the controllers congratulating you or of me, for using your good name to promote a sad story.

For those (like me) that don’t know , Murgatroyd is an old English name (like 1371 AD old) from Yorkshire.

Good luck Tricia and Joe. You deserve better from your government. Of course, so do the other controllers at Oakland Center and the taxpayers. Here’s hoping for a better day, someday.

Don Brown
September 13, 2007