GIFT - Being Thankful

I'm always thankful for the invitiations I recieve to 'tag along' with fellow aviators..I love anything about planes and my close buds know this........it's citing and evident in all I do...I could talk about and delve into all day long...call it passion, call it strange.....for only a few of my buds...it's just plain normal...can't splain too well...but, I feel it so deeply.....and if you look into my eyes you will see it too...straight up.
There are moments in life that call out or scream to us with a vengenance...I have most times taken to them and relished them.....I recommend you run to what screams out at you no matter what others think.
While the generosity of pilots towards fellow aviators is a valued treasure I realish..hardly ever if never does it surprise me...I always feel most comfortable around my fellow aviators...common interests and excitement of anything brings people together don't you think?  I do.....
Fast forward to Joe and Ann Fischera of Kentmore MD....two amazing aviators that have had a love of aviation for years as told by Ann...married mucho years - Joe is 92 years young and his bride is 82 and to this day Ann says that Joe works on his planes each and every day...stories are shared by her and there are so many similiarities to me and Barry......comforting as we're not SO strange...maybe, just maybe we get it??
My buddy Gene wanted me to tag along and see Joe's 1929 bi-plane called a BYRD that he refurbished, once owed by Anne Morow Lindbergh - yep the wife of Charles Lindbergh..
Anne was a noted author and pilot who had a passion for flying and was constantly searching for her place in life as during the 1930s - 1940s women often had no outside interests other than family...and Anne struggled with this.
Her most telling mark was to believe "if you surrender completely to the moments as they pass, you live more richly in those moments"...I strive to surrender to what are important moments to me...sometimes at the cost of others.......is that SO selfish?...be honest do you ever do for YOU? listen "I " like you have a one way ticket to the last stop of the train of life - do you really give up your dreams for others...shame on you...yes, I say shame on you.
As is usually for me and my buds, we each depart BVA solo to head down to Kentmore, MD to see the BYRD - you see we want to fly our own planes and just BE above this magnificent earth...it doesn't mean we don't chat and ask a few questions "what's your airspeed", "how far out are you", "what alititude are you"...it's the way we communicate...with many quiet moments of solitude which I for one enjoy immensely...just knowing we are together yet alone at the same time...quiet peace...
When we crest the bay heading toward Kentmore Island, on the far shore the rich green and blue colors abound in all directions...our world never ceases to amaze me...what we as aviators see above the world.....I can only hope you have seen..if not stop by and I will show you what I see..gladly...I love to share our love of flight with others.
We land and head down to Joe's house which happens to be located on the airport..lucky Joe & Ann -they have the perfect set up larger hangar space with a smaller size home...I'm SO digging this....Cessna 140, Tri-Champ and finally THE 1929 BYRD sitting in the end hanger - once owned by ANNE LYNDBERGH!!!....please tell me you are in awe of this piece of history...even if you're not, I am... it is pristine, magnificent, and just beautiful...Joe is very proud of this plane that has taken him about 10 years to bring back to spendor if not better than it might have been in 1929.  What's intriquing is he's not focused on that this is a rare 1929 BYRD but that it's just a plane - regardless of who owned it... to Joe it's all about flying planes....I can relate to this...I wish I could fly it, ride in it...
I'm telling Joe what an amazing work of art the BYRD is.....it really is, you would have to be there to appriecate it - I have pictures to prove its amazing beauty.....unexpectedly he says hop in there and sit where Anne once sat...silly you might say-but I'm struck by the amazing history and the stories this plane holds.  How the rudders work, the trim, just sitting in the seat and I envision myself flying her....I wish I could splain what I really feel...trust me - it's probably one of the most special days for me.....dunno - sentimental perhaps?...just don't tell anyone...:-)
We head down to the marina for lunch, me and my buds and heading back I realize I have once again seen something that most others will not appreciate or even see.  You see I am in awe of many things, longevity of life, passions that people share, how Girly Plane flies through the sky, the beauty of anything I see from above the earth....the deepness of my soul is most satisfied while sitting above our world in quiet splendor and simply being.......I wish you could feel what I feel....or better yet, my wish is that you do feel deeply about your passion in life.
We head home and while flying over the Bay Bridge (yeah - the Bay Bridge) I'm silly and goofy at the same time..the pure blue of the water - so calming..however, soon my ride home is quite turbulent but I'm okay with that.....you see it's only the clouds I'm flying near and It's really where I feel most at peace...today it was about a special journey - what I saw - and just being with some cool people that's what it's all about...I so dig that.
We arrive home and I'm so cited to tell Barry what we did today...we take a minute to relax and then make eats as the spouses come down for dinner and it ends up being a pretty special day among friends...
I'm ready to embark on my next adventure...soon......I'll keep you posted....