High Life
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Dear PCN (of over 2600 subscribers),
Post Thanksgiving:
I trust and hope all had a good meal and sweet time with
family over this Thanksgiving and weekend.
Our annual holidays are so important to stop the madness and focus a
bit. It always helps to be around good
food as well.
The Former Wurtsmith AB, Oscoda, MI
The Holidays and “Home”
Each year,
as we approach the Christmas season, thoughts wander towards life gone by and
memories of those younger years around “home”.
Its’ natural and its’ a good thing.
We often travel in our mind’s eye but what makes the memory come alive
is to actually visit where it happened.
Combine that with the full assumption that a return to the old place
would likely never be possible. And
today, you have the formula for a very special one, all because I’m returning
to the place of a fond memory that was created over 47 years ago.
Growing up
near a SAC Air Force base allowed a young man (along with his best friend) a
lot of sky-gazing time. And we did that often, literally mesmerized by the huge Air Force B-52’s and
KC135’s that were constantly flying the area. Later, with the help of family and friends, I
started to follow a dream and flight trained at an airport a few short miles
south of Wurtsmith AB. Shortly after
soloing, I would experience a real kick.
This 16 year old student pilot would ask for and receive permission to fly a low pass down the length of the
massive 8-26 runway at this SAC base.
Since it was still an active military base, the controllers wouldn’t
allow me to land there but they repeatedly allowed me, on several occasions, to
fly my little Cessna 150 on a low pass.
During these passes, I fell victim to a bad habit passed on to me by my
dad. As he drove he would crane his neck
sideways focused on whatever caught his fancy in the passing landscape instead
of on the road ahead. Well, on my low
passes I will admit, that I didn’t look forward all that much either, as my
eyes were in awe of all the big military might that I was passing by on that gigantic
concrete ramp. I can imagine what the
controllers thought. Why this little
propeller driven Cessna will take forever to span the length of the runway and
if truth be told, it nearly did. This
was my first most memorable flying thrill, and it comes back to me like it was
yesterday.
Now, as my
flying career is waning and winding down, I have a chance for a fun thing, to actually return home and fly off this same
runway. Today, it won’t be in a little
Cessna though. Today we will pilot a
Boeing 767 from Oscoda (formerly Wurtsmith) to Seattle. As I walk around the premises and climb
aboard this beautiful silver steed, a flood of thoughts will pour through my
mind. I’ll think of what inspiration for
all my sky-gazing actually led too. I’ll
think of the hundreds of airborne memories that we’re all made in the
“inexperienced” years. I’ll think of
the career at Delta and now with Omni that I have had the privilege to do. I’ll think of the amount of time that has
passed since an under 20 hour student pilot flew low passes here. I’ll also think about how special it is to
re-touch and re-connect with memories so closely related to what once was. But my thoughts will come full circle and I
can assure you the most important thing of all will come to mind………home. There is no place like it. There is nothing to replace it in that spot
of my heart. Yes, I agree that home is now
where the heart is, but all of us had a childhood home that we found ourselves
firmly planted in while in those growing years.
Mine happens to bring about fond memories. I will further concede that flying has been
an adventurous endeavor. But in the
scheme of things this wonderful activity of flying was made possible by and
flowed out of a place called home.
Returning to my home’s stomping grounds, in this fashion, is simply
surreal. Today we will power up and
begin our takeoff roll in a place that I have always dreamed about but thought
inaccessible. Wow! Okay, I better snap out of all this
pondering and get busy…………”Aaaa… BEFORE TAKE OFF CHECKLIST please!”
And just like that we’ll liftoff.
I’ll take a few deep breaths , just to I take it all in. I’ll look out the window and focus below. And yes, as I do, I’ll look down and I’ll
see it…………….home!
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