Flat Stacey's High-Flying Day
Flat Stacey and I have been very busy lately. That’s why
there haven’t been many updates. I am saving my trip reports so that Flat
Stacey will have a record of all the states, cities and towns we have traveled
through together. Now that I have a few minutes, I do want to tell you about
Flat Stacey’s completely awesome day last Saturday. Actually, it was completely
awesome for a lot of us!
The day was based around a friend of mine. Her name is Mary
Ellen, but I call her Wing-Girl. I gave her that nickname because when two boys
are friends and look out for each other, they sometimes call one another their
“Wing-Man.” Since she is obviously a girl, I have to call her what she is, my
Wing-Girl.
I became friends with Wing-Girl a few years ago. We have a
hangar at the airport where we keep our airplanes. Wing-Girl and her husband
occupy the hangar behind us, so they are our airport neighbors. Wing-Girl is
ALWAYS at the airport which means when I go there I am forced to see her
whether I want to or not. I never want to, but it cannot be avoided. I’ve tried
wearing disguises and everything, yet she always finds me. Oh, I should tell you something else about
her. She is a fun friend to have. We enjoy saying terrible things about each
other because we both have a great sense of humor. If we talked to strangers
the way we talk to each other, we would be slapped or possibly arrested. She
and I make fun of one another because it’s funny. That’s another thing we have
in common: We both like fun. Lots of it.
Anyway, Wing-Girl had a birthday this past Tuesday. I decided that since I had not been to the
airport in quite some time, I would pay her a visit. She had been anxious to
meet Flat Stacey. It would also be good for Flat Stacey to do something other
than ride around with me in a truck all day. Life on the road after a while can
be, well, kind of flat. A plan was
coming together, but I had to add some ingredients
.
First, I placed a call to my wife last Friday and asked her
if she could pick up a cake for me to take along. I asked her to the get the
words “Happy 75th Wing-Girl” written on it. She isn’t near that old.
It had to be done because it is funny. Luckily, my wife was out running errands
and agreed to pick it up. Below is a picture of how it turned out. (It was
quite yummy too.)
Next, when Flat Stacey and I arrived home from work, I
phoned a friend of mine named John. John
and I are bonded by an interest in photography among other things. (We also
like to make fun of each other.) I knew he had been having a rough week at
work, and I thought it might be nice to invite him along so he could enjoy the
day and refresh his spirit. After getting permission from his wife, he accepted
the invitation and John was now part of the plan.
Flat Stacey and I went to bed early Friday night. As I
tucked her into bed, she looked at me with her pretty flat eyes and asked
quietly, “Will I get my first airplane ride tomorrow?”
I sighed and answered, “I don’t think so. There probably isn’t
enough snow to fly on skis. Where there isn’t snow, it’s probably too muddy to
fly on wheels. But don’t worry- we will get you up in the air before our time
together is up."
She made me pinky swear that I would hold true to my
promise. Then she fell fast asleep.
The next morning dawned beautiful, and my friend John showed
up at 9am as planned. All three of us piled in the car and we were off! Before
we could drive to the airport, we had one stop to make at the local dollar
store. We picked up a special girl-hat for Wing-Girl to wear. It said, “Happy
Birthday” on it. We also got her a bottle of bubbles just because I knew she
would like them. We couldn’t find any “Happy Birthday” hats for the rest of the
gang at the airport. That made me sad. But we were finally off to the airport
and then I was happy again!
After driving for a little over an hour, we were finally at
the airport. There were a lot of people milling around Wing-Girl’s hangar. I
parked the car and we all walked over to say hello and chat for a bit. Everyone
was asking if we planned to fly. I told them I didn’t think so. They all agreed
that it probably was not a good idea. We chatted while waiting for my dad to
show up and make the final call on if we would fly. I didn’t have any hope.
Poor Flat Stacey would be stuck to the ground like the rest of us.
A few minutes later, my pop came rolling in. We all said our
hellos and then he walked over to take a look at the runway. “Let’s get the
airplane out!” he said. My dad has thousands of hours of flight experience. If
he thought it was is okay, I trust him. So, we opened the hangar and dragged
the airplane out. Below is a picture of me and my dad after he met Flat Stacey.
(Thank-you for the wonderful Photo John!)
I never flew on skis before, so my dad and I flew around
together first so I could get the feel for it. If anything, it almost felt sturdier
than when flying with the wheels on. I did one takeoff and landing with him,
then he got out and I flew it around once by myself so that I could say that I
did it. I was ready to park the airplane because I had to pee very badly, but
Wing-Girl came running over with her thumb out as if she were a hitchhiker.
Since it was her birthday celebration, I had no choice but to take her for a
ride. She told me I made the smoothest landing ever! I hope she took notes
because Wing-Girl is not very good at landings. They are so bumpy that she
could legally record several landings when she only meant to do one. (Remember
how I said we like to make fun of each other?)
Next, Wing-Girl wanted to take my friend John for a ride. As
they were getting ready, I asked them if they could take Flat Stacey for her
first airplane ride. They readily agreed which made her very happy. Sure, I
would have liked to have the honor of taking Flat Stacey on her maiden voyage,
but sometimes we do things for friends to make things more memorable and fun
for them. John is not always with me at
the airport. I thought having her go with John would be a
great memory for him to have, and I think he would agree. In the picture below,
John and Flat Stacey are getting into their seats while Wing-Girl asks someone
how to start the engine. She also asked if pulling the stick back makes the airplane
go up or down. (See? I’m making fun of Wing-Girl again. It is so much fun! Don’t
tell her I said this, but Wing-Girl is actually a very good pilot. I would
trust her to fly my airplane any time. There are some boys that I wouldn’t.
That’s a testament to her skill.)
Below is another shot of my friend John and Flat Stacey. I
could tell by the way that he was looking at her that he would look after her
and keep her safe during the flight.
Wing-Girl started up the engine and they taxied to the end
of the runway.
Once they were at the other end of the runway, Wing-Girl
gave the engine full power and they were off and running on the mission to take
Flat Stacey on her first flight. Here they come!
They were gone for a little while, off enjoying the sights
and letting Flat Stacey marvel at the gift of wings. John sent me this photo he
took of her when they were in the air. Doesn’t she look so happy?
They came back after about fifteen minutes. Flat Stacey
loved flying. She was very glad that Wing-Girl was the pilot on her first
flight. Judging from how big Wing-Girl’s smile was, I think she was grateful
for the experience too.
All of us were done flying for the day. Flat Stacey’s grand
adventure at the airport was not yet over. Wing-Girl keeps a bike at the
airport. She likes to ride around and think about things. (It’s also good
exercise for a person of her age. Okay, it’s good exercise for a person of any
age.) Wing-Girl asked me if she could take Flat Stacey for her first bicycle
ride. How could I say no? Flat Stacey got to do TWO new and fun things in one
day- how awesome is that? I was a little worried that I didn’t have a flat
helmet with me. Wing-Girl alleviated my concerns by saying she would be “Extra-Careful.”
Look at them in the picture below, all smiles again!
After all of this activity, Flat Stacey became very tired.
We put her on the floor and covered her with blankets. Again, within a few
seconds, she was out like a light. While she napped, my dad was nice enough to
take me and John to the local dollar store to look for party hats. We found
some! When we got back to the airport, Flat Stacey was still fast asleep. I didn’t
want to wake her, but John wanted a picture of all of us wearing our party hats
with Wing-Girl. It turned out to be a wonderful memorable shot. In retrospect,
I wish I would have woken up Flat Stacey so she could have been a part of it.
If she is like you or me, sometimes we can be grumpy when someone stirs us from
our slumber. Maybe it was better to let her be.
The good news is that she was awake in time to join all of
us in singing a fantastic rendition of “Happy Birthday” to Wing-Girl. Then we
all enjoyed some cake and enjoyed each other’s company for a little while.
Whenever we could, Wing-Girl and I made fun of each other. It was a lot of fun.
I would like to thank everyone for showing Flat Stacey such
a good time last weekend. It created memories that none of us will soon forget.
Thanks John, for coming along and sharing all your awesome photos with
everyone. Thanks dad, for showing me how to fly on skis, the ride to the dollar
store and letting all of us enjoy flying in the airplane. Finally, thank-you
Wing-Girl. You gave Flat Stacey a great
day of “Firsts.” She really liked you for some reason. It will be sad that she
won’t be joining us for next year’s birthday celebration. She will be there in
spirit and we can always chat about her and that great day all of us had
together. As for me, I look forward to celebrating all your birthdays with you,
right up to the day you really do turn 75.
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