We were invited to a GPB dinner on Tuesday evening to share our ideas on one of our favorite shows, On Second Thought. The show is taking a new turn, as the previous host stepped down for a new and wonderful adventure. One of the reporters said she was from a small town in North Carolina, and I said I was from a small town outside of Greensboro. She said she was, too, and it turned out she is from Trinity, about 15 miles from my home. Trinity has a small airport, Darr Field, which is where I had my first flying lesson that really ignited my passion for aviation. It was a wonderful conversation and we talked about some of the things we love about North Carolina. We left with sense of just how connected we all are and how small the world really is.
And then today I received an email today from a man whose grandfather owned our (my!) airplane before my dad bought it. He talked about flying with his grandfather to a baseball game between Kansas City and the New York Yankees, and how he got to see Mickey Mantle play. I told him how Daddy flew my brother to Baltimore to see the World Series, around 1970, and how they flew to Indianapolis to the Indy 500. He told me that his grandfather purchased a Cessna 210 after he sold the Cessna 172, N7214A, which he had owned in a flying club with three other pilots. I told him how I stripped all the paint off the plane so that Daddy had no choice but to paint it yellow and white, just like I wanted. He told me he was a commercial pilot and flew crop dusters. I told him that was what I always wanted to do.
I’m always amazed by connections and how small the world truly is. But right now, I just want to call my dad. I want to tell him about the email and I want to tease him about taking Robert to the World Series and the Indy 500 instead of me. I want to hear him laugh about losing his airplane the day I had the flying lesson at Darr Field.
I just want to remember.
Dr. Suzanne Minarcine 