Well, until today, I was older than my best friend, Paul.\u00a0 Today, he is as old as I am.\u00a0 Unfortunately, we both went over the hill a long time ago.\u00a0 In other words, we are a couple of old fa…\u00a0 never mind.<\/p>\n
We have known each other for a long time.\u00a0 Even though he is a damn Yankee, he remains my friend.\u00a0 Actually, I don\u2019t think he and his brothers qualify as damn Yankees, as they have been here too long.\u00a0 It is probably the fault of their parents\u2014they are the ones who actually moved down here.<\/p>\n
Oh, let me explain about damn Yankees.\u00a0 And y\u2019all from up north, don\u2019t take this too seriously.\u00a0 It\u2019s [a] old Southern joke!<\/em><\/p>\n A \u201cYankee\u201d is someone who comes down from the north, goes to the beach, or to the Disney World or other attractions, leaves all of their money here in the Sunshine State, and goes home.\u00a0 A \u201cdamn Yankee,\u201d buys a house and stays.<\/p>\n I am so glad Paul\u2019s family became damn Yankees and stayed.<\/p>\n Although he is not a pilot, Paul developed my tastes in airplanes.\u00a0 When we were young and in the fifth grade, I only had interests in jets when it came to airplanes.\u00a0 Paul introduced me to history; he gave me my interest in the War Between the States. \u00a0He showed me a book with an illustration of Alberto Santos Dumont\u2019s Demoiselle and lit my interest in ultralight airplanes. \u00a0He told me about the First World War and the biplanes of that time. \u00a0And he established my affinity for the gypsy pilots and barnstormers of the Roaring twenties and the following decade.<\/p>\n In the summer of 1986<\/a>, I had the chance to repay Paul just a little bit for sparking my curiosity in aviation and history.\u00a0 I wish I had access to another biplane today because we would be gone in a heartbeat.<\/p>\n Had it not been for Paul, I would have probably never refined my interests in aviation.\u00a0 I might have ended up in some other job instead of raging around the skies with my hair on fire.<\/p>\n For this, I owe him a lifetime of gratitude.<\/p>\n -30-<\/p>\n \u00a92011 J. Clark<\/em><\/p>\n Subscribe by email<\/a><\/p>\n Note: Email subscribers, please go to <\/em>my blog<\/em><\/a> to view vids and photos <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Well, until today, I was older than my best friend, Paul.\u00a0 Today, he is as old as I am.\u00a0 Unfortunately, we both went over the hill a long time ago.\u00a0 In other words, we are a couple of old fa…\u00a0 … Continue reading