Today, a pop quiz. If you know someone who is a pilot and flies their own airplane, raise your hand. If you know someone who’s a pilot and owns a private invest-igation company, raise your hand. If you know a pilot who owns an investigation company and recently purchased a wine bar in downtown Morgan Hill, raise your hand.
Still have a hand up? If you’re lucky enough to know David Dindak, you do.
David is the proverbial poster child for diversification because he does all the above and then some. More importantly, he knows the secret of lighting the candle at both ends without sustaining third degree burns.
David doesn’t shy away from volunteer work either. He’s belonged to city groups such as Morgan Hill’s Bike and Trails Advisory Committee. He helped vet contractors and developers in the expansion of the city’s downtown area when he worked on the Downtown Advisory Committee. Presently, David is president of a large homeowners association in Morgan Hill, which serves more than 500 homes.
Recently I met David at the hangar at the San Martin Airport where he houses his spiffy green and white single-engine Piper Cherokee. He had rolled it out for me to see and had even gassed it up and offered to take me for a spin. Never having flown in a small plane, I probably turned a little paler than I already am.
I requested a rain check because the way I see it, getting me up in a small plane would be a column in itself.
But I digress.
Clearly, David has learned to juggle his varied professional life, and I’d deduce a big part of that ability comes from his affable personality. Funny and bright, David has the uncanny ability to take a situation that in less-skilled hands could be a monumental challenge.
I got to know David while serving on a committee with him. We were vetting contractors for a large neighborhood project and I was going in circles looking for information about one potential contractor. Finally, I set out to locate the company’s physical headquarters, which took me to a remote area of East San Jose. At the company’s address stood a rickety house with a goat nonchalantly grazing in the front yard.
In near crisis mode, I immediately fired out my findings to the other members. Immediately, I heard from David who inquired smoothly, “Was the goat wearing a hard hat?” That ability to keep it light is what makes David such a gem.
David’s life isn’t all about light-hearted ventures, however. He’s been handling fraud investigations for 30 years, doing work for the government and insurance companies. The precursor to this career was a stint in administering polygraph exams for a national investigation company.
The pilot’s license and airplane are an offshoot of his investigative work. Having to cover so many miles, an airplane cut travel time substantially. Plus he loves to fly. He’s taken numerous people on tours, flying out low over the coast, and allowing people vistas of our beautiful Bay Area they’d never before had the privilege of seeing.
He’s even fulfilled wishes for people suffering from difficult diseases because flying in a small plane was on their bucket list.
Working the investigation business by day, David likes the juxtaposition he feels each evening with his duties at Bubbles, the wine bar he and wife Kerry acquired in January. He loves the happy people who come to Bubbles, saying, “It’s like seeing friends every night.”
Talking about who has been his greatest influence, David answered without hesitation that it’s his dad.
“He’s a saint and he has a God-like heart,” David said. His dad demonstrated an excellent work ethic, holding two to three jobs so the family could have a good life.
There’s so much else to tell you about David, yet space limitations don’t allow me to share more. But if you’d like to chat with the man himself, pop into Bubbles some evening or weekend and meet him in person. He’ll be there, working alongside his beautiful wife.
Do it and I guarantee this: you’ll feel like you’ve known the guy forever.
Gale Hammond is a writer and freelance photographer who has lived in Morgan Hill since 1983. Reach her at ga***************@ya***.com.
