It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Claude...

Today we completed Christmas 2010...

For Christmas I gave Claude a one hour flying lesson in a Cessna airplane. He called and scheduled his lesson for this morning at 10am.

We were up and out the door by 8am. The lesson was at Bowman Field in Louisville, Kentucky. After a quick drive-thru breakfast purchase a McDonalds, we were headed down the Interstate.  As we got further along, I realized I left my camera at home. This would not be a Kodak moment...it would be a Blackberry cell phone camera moment.

We arrived at Bowman Field and couldn't find where to get in the hanger. The address was right but the doors were locked. Hmmm...  Claude gave me the phone number and I called. James told us to go through the gate marked "No Authorized Entrance" and walk around the hanger. Okay...

Claude and I thought there would be some time for class study or orientation or something. We also thought there would be waivers or insurance things to sign. Nada!!!  They had him give them his phone number and eMail.

I pulled out my crocheting thinking there would be a few minutes before Claude was outside. Wrong. I heard Claude call my name across the room as he and James left the building. I quickly put my crocheting back in my craft bag and headed for what I thought was the door. Wrong...again. It was the glass wall I was supposed to walk around to get to the door. In my rush to catch up with Claude and James, you guessed, I walked right into the glass wall. Geez already!!! I could only laugh at how silly I must have looked. But I gathered my composure and walked around the wall, out the door and hurriedly caught up with Claude and James.

The fun thing was watching my not-so-petite hubby get into the plane. Once in he was quite comfortable but there is an art form to getting a big guy in and out of these little things.

It kind of reminded me of when I wanted this tiny sporty red car in Maryland. It was time to replace mine car and I was to get any car I wanted this time. Kids were gone and I could get something just for me. I found the perfect Honda CV something or other. It had a removable roof you could store in the trunk. The roof was hardtop and we didn't have a garage so it would be perfect for meeting my need to have something with an open top and very sporty. Claude took me to the dealer, I sat in it and fell in love. Then I turned to Claude and in a very hopeful and cheerful voice said, "You try it." After a bit of a workout, Claude was inside that little car. I said, "Would you really be comfortable driving this thing?" Claude, putting his best face forward and in a voice something like the little guy in Fantasy Island said, "Sure, it is fine." I knew right then it wasn't fine but he would go along if that was what I really wanted. We didn't buy that car. I became and 'Old Buick Lady' instead. But I digress from today's real story...

If you could only have seen Claude's face, it was some kinda wonderful. That grin went from ear to ear, even under his beard and mustache.

James spent some time walking around the plane checking things out, even on the top of the plane mind you. He appeared to be quite thorough. Claude sat in the pilot seat and grinned.

I expected this to take some time. Wrong. Just a few words, put the head phones on, tweek some switches inside, propeller twirls and they were taxiing away from the hanger.

James had Claude stop in an outer parking area to test the engine some. Then they went to the runway and they were off.

Claude's plane in right over the tail of the parked plane.

There was a covered patio area with table and chairs. I plopped myself down there and pulled out my crocheting again. A man pulled into the parking area in his own plane. He stopped and we talked for a bit. He asked if I was going to fly. I told him Claude was taking his lesson. He assured me we had just created a monster. We had a lovely conversation about his flying and purchase of his plane.

While Claude was still in the air another family came out to the patio. There was a mom, a daughter, a teenage son, a son about 4 or 5 years old, the gramma and the grampa. The teenage son was the one taking the lesson. Mom called the grandparents and asked if they wanted to come and watch. When they got to Bowman Field, they were told someone could fly with the son on his lesson. Grampa drew the lucky straw. I'm telling you, that Grampa was more excited than the teenage son.

Somewhere during all of this interchange with people, I missed the fact that Claude did one touch-and-go landing. I had the number on the side of his plane in my head but there was another plane that same color.

With all this company for me to visit with, it didn't seem long before Claude landed.

This is James the Trainer and Claude is on the right after their flying lesson.

Claude was very happy with his Christmas gift. We'll have to get him up again some time.

We headed to Chuy's for some lunch and he shared all the things he experienced and learned. It was great fun the enjoy his joy. There was even talk of taking the land that Doug Smith has not developed in Eagle Bend and turning it into a landing strip for the Sadieville Airport.

It was a great day to learn about flying.

We did a little shopping on the way home. And stopped at Papa's and set up his Lifeline alert system. We left him with his alert button hanging around his neck. I feel a measure of peace in that, in and of itself.

Now for a quiet evening at home. Needlework or edit computer files...hmmmm...