Jack’s Winning Words 8/19/14
“Once you’ve tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward.”  (Leonardo da Vinci)  Today is Orville Wright’s birthday, but we should really give a nod to da Vinci who first developed the concept of flying.  Leonardo was more than the “Mona Lisa.”  My first flight was in a DC-3, and my eyes have been skyward ever since.  What kind of  “taste” for flying do you have?    ;-)  Jack 

FROM INDY GENIE:  I have a reoccurring dream that I can fly. I love the soaring and the "swooping". In my dream I'm not a bird, I'm me...flying:)====JACK:  There's a place for you in Peter Pan!

FROM TARMART REV:  My father loved to fly and had a small single-engine plane for awhile . . . after being up a few times with him, I think I prefer grounded travel.====JACK:  Maybe that's why you're a railroad chaplain instead of an air terminal chaplain....or maybe they don't yet have an airport in Willmar.

FROM RS IN TEXAS:  I never get tired of the joy of flying - even if it is in seat made for someone 5 feet tall and 100 lbs.  Always try to get the exit row for leg room and a window seat to be able to see the clouds and the ground from 33,000 feet.  Never got that high in my helicopter!====JACK:  I remember how proud your parents were when told me that you were in a program where you would be flying helicopters.  Is flying a copter like riding a bicycle...you never forget how to do it? ====RS:  I think I could still get one off the ground and back down without any serious damage. Probably wouldn't be ultra smooth, but I think I would pick it up again pretty quickly.  Of course at my age there are a lot of things I THINK I could do, but doing them might be another matter.

FROM RJP IN NAPLES:  My first flight was at Meigs field in downtown Chicago. I worked as an usher at the Field Museum on Saturday mornings, I was 13 years old. I made $ 3.50 for the day and my buddy and I walked to Meigs and took a sightseeing tour over Chicago which cost $ 5.00. My first flight and my first foray into deficit finance. Thanks for reminding me.====JACK:  As the saying goes..."We are what we were."  All of the those "growing up" experiences that we've had make us what we are today. 

FROM SBP IN FLORIDA:  My taste for flying is pretty basic: getting from here to there, being interested in the dynamics of flight, awed at the complexity of the planes, and the amazing revelations of the view beneath us. In addition, there's the tale of Icarus, And I absolutely mentally soar when I read and reread High Flight (An Airman's Ecstacy)."Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth...And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings....The delight and awe expressed in this poem encompass me.====JACK:  I'm always impressed by how you can come up with the poetry and the "ancient" history illustrations which relate to the thought for the day.  It's something like a child's coloring book...the lines are there to show the picture...you take some crayons and fill it in.

FROM THE FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR:  My first flight was in a DC-4 - Capitol Airlines - Detroit to Washington D.C. - from then the rest is history and now I teach flying.  My father flew B-25's in WW2.  It is wonderful to look down from the air at God's creation. ====JACK:  I think that Capital also flew the Lockheed Constellation.  That was a beautiful plane because of its unusual design.  I likked the looks of the B-25, too.  Speaking of looking down on God's creation....The first pictures of earth from the moon were outstanding.

FROM CK IN MICHIGAN:  in my opinion there is still no sound to match the rumble of the old radial engines! Cool! ====JACK:  I like the startup sound, too, when the motor "catches."  Speaking of sounds, how about the Harley-Davidson motorcycle?

FROM DP IN MINNESOTA:  I love keeping my feet on solid ground !====JACK:  Does that mean you never fly?  The worst experience I ever had was when I was in the front seat of a glider when the pilot decided to nose into a dive  and then suddenly pulled up. At that time I reached for "the bag" just in case.====DP: Oh no, I have flown many, many times, but now I like staying put. But my grand daughter wil be married next May in Turkey, so if I am still able, I hope to attend ! ? ====JACK:  Talk about a destination wedding...

 FROM TAMPA SHIRL:  I* love flying. My job with Eastern Airlines after being home with the family for20 years wss like a dreamjob.  Now we have a grandson and great grandson who live in  Kill Devil Hills NC where the Wrights flew their first flight.  It is very interesting and very windy there.  A granddaughter and I have just returned from Hawaii and that was one long trip.  Did you ever see the da Vinci exhibit that has traveled the world?  I first saw it in the 40s or 50s at the Arsenal.  It was just here in Tampa at MOSI, and it is amazing ====JACK:  I always envied those people who had a job with the "perk" of flying anywhere, even if on standby.  I've never ridden 1st Class, either....although I'd like to experience it, just once.

FROM BLAZING OAKS:  LEONARDO DAVINCI WAS SUCH BRILLIANT MIND! IT IS ASTOUNDING TO SEE SO MANY OF HIS INVENTIONS, AND  WORK THAT IMPACTED THE FUTURE!!  FLIGHT HAS MADE THE WORLD SO SMALL, AND IS SUCH AN AMAZING "WAY TO GO", EVEN THO IT CAN BE A CHALLENGE AT TIMES!
I RECENTLY READ THAT THE WRIGHT BROTHERS' FATHER DID NOT BELIEVE THAN MAN COULD EVERY FLY....WHOOPS!  MY FIRST FLIGHT WAS IN A PIPER CUB PLANE OF A FRIEND, IN MOLINE...NOTHING LIKE THE GIANT PASSENGER PLANES OF TODAY, BUT PRETTY THRILLING AT THE TIME TO LOOK DOWN ON THE ROCK AND MISSISSIPPIE RIVERS, AND FLY OVER MY HOME ON 13TH STREET, ETC. I WONDER THAT I HAD THE COURAGE TO GET INTO THAT PLANE, NOW! ====JACK:  A former confirmation student built his own airplane.  He took me for a ride and landed in the front yard of his sister's farm home.   Now, that was a little bit scary.

FROM HCC CHUCK:  Back in the late 50's the DC3 carried me for many many miles and one of them carried me home from Seattle when I returned from Korea.====JACK:  That was a good old plane, and I wouldn't mind riding in one of them again.

FROM PLAIN FOLKS CHESTER:  Da Vinci was a true visionary. I used his inventions in an ad campaign once that was aimed at engineers. It was only a half page but they won readership scores every time they ran. The client was ecstatic. I fly only when I am in a hurry. You miss too much. ====JACK:  You'd probably like to go back to horse and buggy days, too.

FROM FACEBOOK LIZ:  have not flown since i saw challenger blow up on live tv. i had just returned from phoenix.====JACK:  Taking off in a space ship might give me sweaty palms.