In the 1960s, there was an airfield within 10 miles of where we lived. It was called Flying S Ranch.
Twice, the famous Blue Angels Flight Squadron of the U.S. Navy came to this tiny airfield to perform. And twice Daddy took the family to see this spectacular show of military strength and talent.
These are indelible memories, and to this day, I love to relive them.
Daddy’s most passionate desire for himself was to be a pilot. He finally reached a point where he decided he was going to “do or die..” He signed up for flying lessons at Flying S to become a pilot.
On separate occasions, my sister, Debbie, my brother, David, and I were allowed to “go up” during one of his lessons. It was the first time I had ever flown, and it was amazing! To this day, I vividly remember the feeling in my body as we left the ground. It felt like my skin was being pulled to the ground, but I was sitting still. Weird!
It was probably the best science lesson about gravity I ever had.
It was during that flight that I made up my mind I was going to be a skydiver. But life happened, and I never did because of the fear I acquired when Paulding County had a jet airliner crash in the New Hope community in 1977 when I was 21. To this day I am a chicken flyer. I will do it to get to where I want to go, but I’m mostly terrified the entire time.
But I digress.
On the day Daddy took his final exam which was having to fly solo, our whole family was there to witness his milestone success and cheer him on. I will never, EVER forget looking up and seeing his plane above our heads. I was feeling so proud and happy for him I could have burst! (I actually think I almost did!)
Everything was going great, but he had one final hurdle: He needed his doctor to give him a health clearance. Because Dr. Braly knew Daddy’s history of problems with alcohol, he refused to sign.
It’s my feeling that Daddy “died” a little that day. His dreams disintegrated in a moment, his heart was crushed, and I believe his spirit was broken.
He never mentioned flying again.
Daddy continued a path of self-destruction for many years. Finally, he got his wings when he took his life on January 31, 1993.
