My early years were spent in Owsley County, Kentucky, a
rural and very isolated community in the Eastern Kentucky Coalfields. We rarely saw airplanes, except those that
sometimes passed many thousands of feet overhead looking like tiny specks, with
long white tails as the only evidence they really existed. But that doesn’t mean that I knew nothing
about flight.
Some of my
earliest memories are of sitting with my Grandpa JE, listening to his stories
of the years he spent in the U.S. Air Force.
During the 1950s and 60s, Grandpa served in the Strategic Air Command,
and was senior NCO of B-52 airplane maintenance at various bases stateside and
overseas. His trips down memory lane
only served to fuel my fascination with airplanes.
Every so
often, my mom and I would make the 75 mile trip to Lexington for a day
out. We would go to a movie, walk
through the mall so I could go up and down the escalator a dozen times, then
grab some Sonic and head out toward the Bluegrass Airport (which was just
across from Keeneland racetrack and a bunch of horse fields). We would find a prime parking spot, munch on
tater tots, and watch the planes take off and land. I thought it would be really awesome to be in
one of those planes!
(“Bluegrass Airport Mural”)
Then, we
took a vacation to Gatlinburg with some friends. On the side of the road there was a big sign
that said “Helicopter rides $11 each for 10 minutes” and Mom said, “Let’s do
it!” So, at the age of four, I got my first
chance to really fly. I remember that it
was slightly scary, extremely loud, over too quickly - but totally awesome!
A couple of
years later, I finally got my wish to fly in an airplane out of the Bluegrass
Airport when my mom, my cousin April, and I flew to Raleigh, NC. Even though April was a teenager and I was
about six, she was way more scared that I was (at least on take-off). Of course, it could be that I was too
interested in the gum my mom thrust at me (apparently she had previously had
trouble with pressure and decided to head off any potential problems with me by
filling my jaw with bubblegum).
I’ve flown
several more times, mostly to Detroit from Kentucky but since my mom and I
moved to the Dayton area in 2005 we have been within driving distance of most
of our family, so the plane trips have ended.
The past
few years have been spent in Riverside, very near the AFB that my Grandpa JE
retired from. I am accustomed to the big
C-5s that seem to float just above the tree-line in our neighborhood but am
still fascinated by them nevertheless.
One of my favorite memories of the fascination with flight is from high
school. The track at Stebbins High
School is right under the landing path of some of those huge Air Force cargo
planes. When we held track meets,
students from all over the area participated – many from the very rural
farmlands that certainly weren’t used to the sudden noise and close proximity
of those planes.
(“C-5 Galaxy”)
I always
enjoyed watching the reactions of these first-timers. Usually they held their hands over their
ears, hunkered down, shouted to their friends, and gasped in amazement – but
the pleasure of being that close to a plane was evident each and every time. It reminded me of when I was that little kid
eating tater tots and dreaming about one day flying over those beautiful horse
fields.
Works Cited
“Bluegrass Airport Mural.” Element Design. n.d. Web photograph. 4 April 2015.
“C-5
Galaxy.” Zimbio. n.d. Web photograph.
4 April 2015.
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