Dreams of Flying

     When I have dreams of flying, they are grand.

Flying was an indulgence of the soul. Not being a pilot but being part of a small aircraft  not encumbered by the massive instrument panel, multitudinous  instrumentation.   There is simply a ball and gate, a gas indicator and a compass.  A cockpit not much wider than your shoulders and a clear view out side.
                                                                        

     It is three dimensional travel. and fourth dimensional feeling. It is  freedom and being untethered.

     My aerobatics instructor, Bob C, was excellent and a bit of a rogue.  He took me from simple flying to aerobatics, and often used a rolled up newspaper to hit me in the back of the head if I didn't "follow the count" in a maneuver.  One of my favorite times was a "hare and hound" exercise. He led. I followed. We flew Citabria Decathlons. We flew the hills of Sonoma County California. One wheeled fast taxis hitting mud puddles on the Shellville runway,  Snap rolls,  hammer heads, loops, snapping the loop, and much more. He pushed me out of my comfort zone until aerobatics became my comfort zone.
I was addicted. I spent any ready cash on flying to the extent I only had an old three speed girls bicycle to ride to the airport.
Once I "cleared the Prop"  and cleared the runway, I was transformed. Freedom to a  reality of flight.

      One day I came in to fly with my teacher. He said he couldn't. I pressed, eager to gain some other gem of training and aeronautical percision.  Bob looked away for a moment, then turned to me and said.  "Each time we went up, I had been drinking".   I didn't know what to say.   But I do know it took a lot of courage to say what he did. I respect him for that and all that he taught me. He didn't cause any deaths, or misery. He didn't ruin lives,  chose to drink and then made the decision to quit, made his apologies and went on with his life.
That is courage.

      What happened to  courage in our world?  What happened to treating each other with respect and dignity?

     Our freedom and Constitution were fought for by only 3 percent of the population in the war for independence from the corrupt British.and their accomplices 
That is courage.

Perhaps keeping the our Constitution alive and well is by each one of us living it every day.
That, in today's America, is courage..