This is a
post about some family history for family members. It may be of interest to
others.
My father’s family was in dire financial condition during the Great Depression. There was a total of twelve children. One passed during infancy. My father was number five in the birth order. Each year they did attend the Moffat County (Colorado) Fair where each child received their annual allowance, 25 cents.
One year at
the fair, when my father was five, he disappeared while a barnstormer was
preparing for his show. The brothers and sisters were becoming concerned when
they couldn’t find him.
After the
barnstormer landed, my father climbed out of the plane. He had convinced the
pilot to accept his quarter to give him a ride. During the barnstormer’s
performance, my father sat between the pilot’s feet. The story goes that he had
a grin from ear to ear.
My father
never lost his interest in aviation. His eighth grade education kept him out of
pilot training during WWII, but, in the CBI theater, he did make some trips “over the Hump” as what
he called a cargo kicker.
In later
years, he and I shared a Piper J-4 while getting our Private License. He then
bought a Cessna 182. The man could fly an airplane as well as anyone you might
meet, but was damn careless. We had a few heated conversations about that. The Cessna pictured wasn't his but is the same model.
He died at
age 64, probably from undiagnosed Obstructive Sleep Apnea complications. I miss
him to this day.
2 comments:
I remember the years of Trade-A-Plane papers strewn about the house, his taking off & landing and letting me fly in between & the putta putta of the Piper. Miss him a lot also. He never did anything half way in his life and lived it to the fullest. NOT a good loser, however.
Sisty
Good loser? He was about the worst loser I ever saw, especially if one of his kids beat him. Maybe that is why we get up every time we get knocked down.
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