85 years and appreciative

Last weekend, I went up to Connecticut to celebrate my grandfather's 85th birthday. My mother threw him a party and had a relative make a video which had pictures of his life. Here is a guy who is in the twilight of his life and I looked at his face while he was watching this video...and all I saw was gratitude and appreciation for his life. It was so beautiful to see. Life hasn't been easy, nor has it been too difficult for him...but that reality didn't seem to matter in what made up the smile on his face. The powerful emotion that showed in the way he smiled, teared and took over his breathing was pure love. It wasn't the love a man feels for a woman or his children....it was the love that man has for life itself.

I just hope that I too can have that emotion at his age. I've got it at 30 and appreciate all that I have and all that I've done....I just hope I don't make the mistake of taking it for granted over time.

I've been flying again lately. After my dream come true flight last month with my grandfather, I decided to fly a much nicer aircraft. Life is short and I want to be able to comfortably and confidently make cross countries up to Connecticut so that I may continue to share my passion with my grandfather. Life is short...I might as well make the most of it while I can. So...I've stepped away from the old but graceful N4601D and stepped into the 21st century by taking the controls of N5331G. I had no idea how much I would love flying a Cessna 172SP...until I got the chance to fly it. It's like a totally different aircraft. Everything from the leather seats to the avionics makes this plane just an absolute joy to fly. Today, I flew Sheri down to Summit, Delaware for a Touch n Go....and I enjoyed every second of being at the controls. I just can't stress enough how great the SP is!

Speaking of Sheri, she is no longer in car sales. I'm very proud of her. She tried it, sold 5 cars in under 3 full weeks in a universe that she was unfamiliar with and left because she the hours totally sucked....not because she couldn't do the job. She just accepted a position as a Massage Therapist (pending a background check) and will be working at something she trained hard for years ago. God bless....you have to respect the ability to walk away from what brings you down and walk towards your dreams.

Even better....she's currently en route to Richmond Int'l Airport in Virginia. She'll be staying overnight tonight to work 2 flights for me in the morning. Not only is it helpful to Elite Operations, but it's a great opportunity to keep doing what she hasn't done in life. And I....have an all grey cat laying on my arm as I type.

Back to work for me tonight. 2300L arrival from RMS and 0100L ferry back to JFK. My schedule is a nightmare in November. This is not me complaining...I love the work! I'm simply just stating the fact that the schedule is insane. So...I'm out for now....duty calls.