One, big sh*t-eating grin...!

My son's first flight lesson came off as planned today, despite nasty
weather all around. Amazingly, as if by magic, the skies cleared and
the winds calmed, right at the appointed time.

Joe walked over to the airport from the hotel, after working several
hours on the pool and in our future "Flying Tigers Suite". It's
certainly handy, working just 400 yards from the airport...

Almost three hours later, his flight instructor dropped him off in the
lobby, and there was my 16-year-old son, logbook tucked under his arm,
walking through the door as if his feet were still not touching the
ground.

What a grin! You could see that his face was starting to hurt, from
stretching so far and for so long, but still that gigantic, self-
satisfied grin remained firmly in place. His hands moved like moths
flitting around a flame, and he simply could not sit down, as he
excitedly told us that "Gary let me land the plane!" -- and he had
"greased it on"!

He went on and on, while Mary and I just laughed and laughed,
remembering that giddy, wonderful, almost-scared-but-way-excited
feeling when we first took those initial steps into the sky.

Tomorrow he starts ground-reference maneuvers. What fun!

;-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"