The little plane that could

I hate flying. I hate feeling out of control, in a tiny space, with a bunch of smelly people, and the fear that somehow we will get stuck in the sky forever and it will never end. I don't like planes. I don't know anything about them, besides that sometimes they fall out of the sky. In fact, there is an entire series called "why planes crash". Naturally, I have seen every episode. Still, I've flown on a lot of planes. Just last week, my dad flew his one million three hundred thousandth mile (1,300,000) go dad! So I suppose flying is in my blood, or the way I was raised, or a privilege I scoff at because of the full body sweat it almost always sends me in to.  

Today, I took what was debatably the best flight of my life. It certainly had nothing to do with the plane. This little ten-seater had props that spun so slowly the light coming in the window (which naturally didn't have shades to pull down) was seizure inducing. Turbulence started when pilots turned the plane on, as if a delicate spinning of the props while on solid ground was enough to call for the fasten seatbelt sign. Take off was loud, but fast, "this little plane has balls" I thought to myself. As we got higher the engines got louder, I watched as the dirty joints on the plane’s wings flexed and taunted me with the possibility that they might let go if they felt like it. If there were one plane out there I would add to my fleet of decrepit Jeep Wranglers, this would be the one. She's got character, but more than anything she changed my view. 

As we flew over Albany (and when I say "over" I mean just barely over, as in, Annie if you're standing on a high peak right now watch your head because were coming through, over) I saw the trees in a new way. The ground was on fire with colors I have never seen before in my life, as if a giant toddler had opened up a box of orange-red crayons and sprinkled them over the landscape. The view was so different and inspiring that I nearly scream WOW out the window. Luckily for me, the little plane was so loud I didn’t embarrass myself.

Driving away from the mountain house I thought to myself how much I needed to leave in order to get some perspective on my experiences there, in order to fully appreciate it. I was certain that the much-needed change of view would come from my time in the city of New Orleans with family and lots and lots of people. I was pleasantly surprised to gain that perspective so early on.