From the Commie Archives (October 27, 1958; Volume 48, Issue 2) — Opposition in “Heights” to Pilgrim’s Progress
Editor’s Note: Nearly sixty five years ago, on Oct. 4, 1958, Thomas Fitzpatrick stole a plane and landed it in front of a Yeshiva University building. The following humorous article, which gets many details about the incident wrong, was The Commentator’s reporting on the event at the time.
A new page in the history of commuting was written this past Succot, when a New Jersey resident, sick and tired of traffic jams, crowded buses, and still more crowded trains, took matters into his own hands and made the trip across the Hudson by plane.
As is the case with all idealistic and futuristic thinkers, the opposition to the plan ran fast and furious. A man of principles, however, cannot be stopped by the opposition from an antiquarian society. The great thinker stole a plane from Teterboro Airport (the headquarters of the opposition), and made the historic flight anyways, landing at 187th St. and Amsterdam Ave. at 12:45 A.M.
High Flyer Downed
The Anti-Progress Committee of Washington Heights was not yet beaten, however, and they had this brilliant man arrested and charged with such trivial things as grand larceny, (it wasn’t even a new plane and the seats were dirty), and violation of the Civil Aeronautics Board regulations (what does a license mean when progress is at stake?).
The Commentator immediately sent out a reporter to interview this man of the future, while still at the scene of the great event. Our reporter asked the pilot, George “Flying Tiger” Wino, what he thought of his being arrested. G. “F. T.” W. answered “Urrrp!” Words of wisdom, my friends, the words of a prophet.
We at Yeshiva University should take pride in the fact that such a man as George “Flying Tiger” Wino should have chosen to land so near to our school. Bite your tongues, Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, for you see, it takes genius to recognize a real University.
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Photo Caption: The Commentator Archives
Photo Credit: The Commentator
