6/5/2012
N874T
Recently
I wrote about Wilma, the fictional woman in my life. Now I’m going to tell you about another woman
and this one is not a figment of my imagination – she’s real – very real. And, yes it happens to be Jeff’s plane. She’s white with jazzy red striping and new
pants (wheel cover thingies). She’s younger, sleeker and faster than me. When she’s flying she positively hums with happiness
as does her pilot. On the negative, and
there is always a negative, I’ve noticed that she’s a pretty heavy duty drinker
and guzzles her way through a tank of fuel quickly. Jeff always thinks my shoes are expensive –
but they pale in comparison to a set of ‘shoes’ (tires) for the plane. Trust me there is no comparison.
Let
me tell you the significance of the tail number (and with Jeff and I there is
always a story). As owners of a new
plane we were able to select our tail number which is kind of a fun experience. We were married in September of 1974, which
if you notice is NOT part of the tail number – that’s because Jeff didn’t want
to spend a lifetime saying niner. So we
compromised on August of 1974 (pretty close, at least we’ll never forget the
year we were married) and the T is for Tango because he just likes saying it –
and has nothing to do with his ability to dance!
There
are advantages to owning a plane – even if it’s a small one. With very little persuasion the pilot, weather
permitting, is ready and eager to go anywhere, anytime. Homesick and want to leave early – no
problem. Sick of home or family and want
to stay longer – perfectly doable.
I
don’t have to take my shoes off, weigh my bags (okay that’s not completely true
there is a weight limit on a small plane – you can have luggage or fuel – you
decide what’s most important) or have my body scanned (thank goodness for
that). I’ve never been late for a flight
and I always get a front row seat. The
beverage and meal service on board is a bit (actually a lot) limited and you
for sure don’t want to bring anything that might melt, which eliminates my
favorite food – chocolate – entirely. I
have a carry on bag in which I stuff cheese crackers, a large assortment of
hard candy, and bottles of water (though you don’t want to drink too much while
you’re up in the air for obvious reasons, particularly if you’re a woman), nuts
and anything else that I can think off.
At the end of a trip that carry on bag is full of wrappers, empty bottles
and crumbs.
So
if you see a little plane flying over your house it just might be us gliding
through the sky going out for a new adventure together – just the three of us!
P
I like this story
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