![\"\"](\"http:\/\/joeclarksblog.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/05\/cat1.jpg\" "\\"cat\\"")
<\/a>Hangar cat, the bobcat's cousin<\/p><\/div>It is good to be at the airport again.\u00a0 I spend too much time working–away from the people and places I really enjoy.\u00a0 As we stand talking, the airport cat comes over and does what cats do.\u00a0 He rubbed up against me and I reached down and patted his head.\u00a0 I also thought our cat, Gracie, is going to be one ticked off feline when she smells another cat on my pants leg.As I was thinking about this, a Cessna flies overhead and it triggered the\u00a0memory of a day from about 12 years ago.\u00a0 Jeff and I were shooting landings in the 170 when I tired and got out near the hangar.\u00a0 He taxied back for some more and I sat down to watch from the side of the taxiway.I watched as Jeff deftly took off and flew away.\u00a0 It was late afternoon, right at sunset.\u00a0 It was a very pretty evening and very\u00a0peaceful.\u00a0 I could hear the throaty sound\u00a0of the 170\u2019s Continental as it climbed into the sky.\u00a0 I always preferred the sound of the Continental to the Lycomings; the Continentals were deeper and quieter compared to the whiny Lycs.\u00a0 The further they flew away, the more quiet it became.I relished the peace.\u00a0 I liked the quiet.As Jeff turned downwind for 11, I could barely hear the plane.\u00a0 Truly all was right with the world at the moment.\u00a0 As he came abeam my position, it\u00a0forced me to turn around slightly to watch the plane.\u00a0 That was when I saw him.And he saw me.No more than 50 feet away in the middle of the access taxiway, a bobcat sat preening himself.Huh,<\/em> I thought.\u00a0 I hope he has just finished eating.\u00a0Maybe he won\u2019t be so inclined to eat me.<\/em>I was smart enough not to move.\u00a0 I watched him, he watched me.\u00a0 We both seemed content to let things remain the way they were.\u00a0 I had no inclination to scratch that cat behind the ears.As Jeff kept flying, I continued to sit and watch–both the 170 and the bobcat.\u00a0 I don\u2019t remember how many more circuits Jeff completed, but when he finished up, I turned around to take a look at the bobcat one last time.\u00a0 He was gone\u00a0and it was turning dark.It was time to put the 170 away in the hangar.<\/p>\n -30-<\/p>\n \u00a92011 J. Clark<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Jeff and I stand at the front of the hangar.\u00a0 As we watch student pilots practice their approaches and landings, we revel in the wonderful evening. \u00a0The weather is perfect for perfecting landings–except for the westerly winds, which forces the … Continue reading