Flying High...

Yesterday I went flying in our Bird Dog. For those of you who don't know, the Bird Dog is a military observatory plane. So much fun!

We flew over Brays Island...I could see our house, the main Inn, the Equestrian Center, the docks into the Pocotaligo River, even the water standing in the dove field. Everything looked soggy. We've had a lot of rain down here...

Before we left the airport, I took a video of a take-off: Have a look...there he goes...

Action Jacksonette

I am becoming an Action Jackson-ette. That's what we call my husband -- Action Jackson -- because he's always on the go, doing something exciting.



Yesterday we went flying -- here's a plane that took off while we were waiting outside the main office.

We flew over our property we call Hoota Woods to see how it looked from the air. Everything looked great; - the pond, the hardwood bottom, the shed, the work camper, the newly planted fruit orchard, even the prepared planting beds looked great from the air.

And, then, as we were leaving, we noticed something tragic. The pine forest next to our property is getting cut, clear cut. What a shame. It's a beautiful pine stand -- couldn't they at least just think about doing a 3rd row cut to thin? It made me feel sick to my stomach (or was that feeling from the turns we were doing in the air?!)

Then we drove to Hoota Woods to meet Linda and to do some work. And, I mean work! Linda and I hoed 9 large beds and two long beds. Man, was that tiring work, but gratifying. This city girl is rapidly becoming countrified!

We all went to the fruit orchard, checked the 90 trees, some flowering, others putting out some fruit, and still others with no sign of life externally, except that by the firmness of their branches, we know they are still alive. We placed orange flags by every tree so that when the tractor comes in to plough under the weeds, he won't take the trees with him. Some of the trees are just 8 inches high.

On to Jinna's florist where we bought trees and shrubs and other things. A man carefully takes cuttings from his trees and repots them and nurtures them. You can buy beautiful azaleas for next to nothing. I bought hydrangeas, and Linda bought azaleas and a banana tree.

Then we went to Linda's house where she had planted many shrubs and trees and inspected her greenhouse. No doubt Linda has a green thumb.

Finally, our day began to come to a close when we were invited to the "Skinning Shed," a local, informal hangout run by her husband. It's a collection of buildings where his dad used to have a hog farm. They have two ponds, one stocked exclusively with catfish, and the other with bass and bream.

We ended the night by sitting by the fire in our Carolina room and watching the sun set over the marsh. It was a perfect day in the country...

On the Other Side of the Front

There were disturbances on the horizon...we could feel them and we wanted to get out of dodge before the storms hit.

Since we were flying, we needed to check the weather to see if there would be any storms in our flight path. The aviation weatherman advised that a front was coming, and that provided that we could get through one "iffy" patch, we would be able to get home.

We desperately wanted to get "on the other side of the front," although we knew there was some risk involved. Should we try to wend our way through the "iffy" spot in Jacksonville, not knowing what we would encounter, or play it safe and stay put in Tampa until it was completely clear, which could be days? We decided to go and do what it took to get to the other side of the front.

It wasn't easy -- we needed to bob and weave through cloud banks, ascend and descend as necessary, until we were free and clear from the disturbance. (Personally, I felt like I was in a video game, dodging hot air obstacles, flying through clouds that engulfed the plane and shrouded my vision, creative license taken.)

Here's a picture of our plane's wing as we passed to the "other side of the front", which you can see in the distance, cumulous clouds rising.

How many of you, when faced with an upcoming storm -- whether it be physical, emotional, mental or spiritual -- would do what you could to get out before the storm hits, knowing that you will have to work to navigate your way through risky terrain in order to get to safety on the other side? It would be safer to stay put. But, maybe, just maybe, it is better to take action when you feel a disturbance in the atmosphere and get out of the storm's way, rather than to stay inert and sit it out. Of course, the decision is always yours.

Plane Crash and Other Crashes...

It was a bad omen...

This past weekend, my husband and I decided to fly to Tampa, FL so that we could visit his oldest son and his wife, who just had a baby girl. She's adorable.

So, on Saturday morning, we drove to the airfield, loaded into the plane and took off.

It was a beautiful flying day, a perfect South Carolina day, not a cloud in the sky, just clear and blue. I could see the planted pine fields below, the marshes, the tiny fingers of the creeks that feed into the rivers that feed into the harbor that feeds into the ocean. Water everywhere. I could see islands below -- Cat Island, Dataw Island, Hilton Head Island, and more. Leaving the land, I see the world from an entirely different perspective, houses and farms just mere specks below and the horizon stretching endlessly in front of me, which leaves me filled with an increased sense of possibility.

As I was musing this way, I started listening in to the radio transmissions. We were close to the Savannah airport and I heard a woman's voice say: "Please give me the location for the closest airport. I am experiencing difficulty and I have to land." That didn't sound good. Dispatcher replied: "Hunter Airfield, 10 miles." Hunter is a military airfield very close to Savannah, which we had just passed, off my right side. The pilot in distress continued: "I'm not sure I can make it. I'm losing power quickly." With this, all other radio contact went silent as the pilot in distress and the dispatcher tried to manage the situation. He asked: "How many souls on board?" to which she replied: "One." And, then just silence. It was a horrible feeling, knowing that someone was in such extremity and we were witnessing it firsthand, watching it unfold, unable to help. She radioed again, but it was faint, you could hear her say something about the marsh and then there was nothing. Silence.

An airplane was nearby and radioed in: "I'm right overhead. I can see the plane in the marsh." She was down. And, then we heard this: "The plane is sinking. Do you want me to fly lower?"

And, right then, just at that point, we left the Savannah airspace and went onto a new radio frequency. We would have volunteered to go back, but there were planes in the area so we just went on. I couldn't stop thinking about this woman, her presence of mind. I was so impressed with her sense of composure, despite a horrible situation.

I couldn't stop thinking about her -- what happened? Did she survive? I so admired her calm against the sense of impending doom. It was so terrible to listen to the events of the trauma happen in real time, without being able to do anything but stand by and witness, watching and powerless to help. Reminded me of what happens in families when family members stand by and witness the slow destruction of one of their own -- let's say because of alcohol abuse or some other destructive behavior-- willing to help, yearning to help, but powerless to do so because only that affected family member can make decisions and take action to avert the disaster. How many of you have watched beloved family members crash?

I thought about her all day. Did she make it? Did she make the right decision? Did she pull up her landing gear so that it wouldn't flip her? Did she think about trying to land on a sandy beach or a farmer's field as a practical alternative to landing at an airport? Did she try to land on the bank of the marsh and not in the middle of the river? Did she open the door before the plane went into the water? I had so many questions about her decisions because I knew her decisions would determine the outcome of the situation, just like they do in every situation in life. "Your decisions will master you, whatever direction they take." (From a book entitled: Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, p. 392:21)

When it comes to an alcoholic or substance abuser, the questions are: is s/he open to seeking help? Is s/he ready to take an honest look within? Is s/he willing to be honest with others? Can he or she keep commitments? Does he or she understand what s/he will lose if s/he continues to drink excessively? Does s/he see options and feel empowered to make decisions about his or her life, or simply feel victimized by circumstances which surround him or her? We have options. And, our actions are the result of decisions we make, conscious or not.

Back to the plane crash...when we arrived at our destination in Tampa, I asked the airport officials if they heard anything. They hadn't. So, I thought about it some more. It just seemed so real to me -- I could hear it all unfolding again in my mind.

Finally the next day I started to google combinations like "Savannah Airport+plane crash" and the like. You can read for yourself to find out what happened: http://savannahnow.com/node/587284 This crash story had a happy ending...not all crash stories do.