This is one of my favorite photographs, taken on one of my funnest trips and at the time it was taken little did I know it would become the catalyst for one of my life’s most illuminating experiences.
From this photograph I learned what it feels like to be on the receiving end of the hatred and hideousness that is racism. Continue reading
One helluva great guy has Gone West today. To think I got to sit beside and listen to someone who visited the Spirit of St. Louis at Roosevelt Field before Lindbergh’s famous flight, who flew B-17s in WW2, who was present at the Nuremberg Trials. Because of my friend I not only got to touch history, but I got to know what it is to have my heart forever touched by a truly splendid gentleman.
Blue Skies, my friend.
H.S. 1915 – 2013
“I don’t know what it is about pre-flighting a plane in the early hours of morning. It’s not like jumping in your car, turning the ignition, and backing out of the driveway. I think it has to do with the fact that you’re leaving the earth, which most people can’t do, and the preparation for such a feat is almost as exciting as the event itself.” Jimmy Buffett
I first read this quote in EAA’s Reach for the Sky magazine when I was a student pilot. A Buffett fan since 1978, I was sold. I HAD to get my pilot’s license now, I thought.
Well, several months later, in June 2008, I did, and in the years since I have pre-flighted an airplane in the early hours of morning many times, and never once has the excitement of doing so been lost on me.
Here is one of those magical moments. My good flying buddy wiping the early morning dew off the airplane just as the sun is rising. Soon we would be airborne.
I am not sure there is anything better in the world than having a dream and making it come true. I dreamed of flying airplanes, and now I do. The fun, the friends, like William above, and the memories made from doing so, have truly been one of my life’s high points. 
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One of the great things about being a pilot is having the opportunity to get into my friend’s airplane and take off for the day – literally. A favorite destination is flying to the beach for lunch and a few hours of sitting under an umbrella and staring at the sea. What a wonderful way to spend a sunny Saturday.
What do you do to just get away from it all?
Original artwork by A Quiet Week in the House.
Hi Tyoma!
There is almost nothing I love more than being inspired by someone, and your mom’s post about your love for swimming pools and measuring their depths, coupled with your interest in airplanes and numbers, well, it got my brain all excited and filled with lots and lots of thoughts.
And all those thoughts started bouncing around my head in this “let me out, let me out” sort of way.
I bet you know that feeling.
It is a happy feeling, isn’t it.
It makes me jump up and down and use all the energy my body has.
Well, guess what I did with all that energy your love of pools and airplane and numbers created…
I got into my airplane and flew way up in the sky, and all the while, as I got higher and higher, I took photographs of pools for you! Continue reading
