In “Volcano”, Jimmy lists a long string of places he doesn’t want to land “when the volcano blows”. One of them is Camanche Skypark (yes, apparently spelled that way), a private strip in Ione, CA. To be fair, he doesn’t want to land in San Juan Airport either, and especially not on Three Mile Island (“Don’t want to see my skin aglow”). I have no idea why he wouldn’t want to land in San Diego, though.
So what’s the deal? Did he know the owner at Camanche Skypark, for good or bad? Have a good or bad experience there? Why mention the place when there are so many others he could list?
I actually might be able to get the info you all need. My grandfather, Charles Easterling Sr, actually owns and still lives at Camanche Skypark. The story i’ve always been told as a kid was that my father used to fly with Jimmy and and they had a bad experience once flying into the airport. It is in Ione, CA and it used to be a public airport that my grandparents ran. now is is just a private strip that is rarely used. i just emailed my dad to try to get the details of the actual story. i will let you guys know when i hear back. feel free to PM me.
-Scott
please see the otehr thread where i posted the conversation i had with my dad.
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=77170&highlight=camanche+skypark
-Scott
He changes the names around in that song. Maybe he just likes the way it sounds.