Last week, after enjoying one flyable day in between snowstorms, I gave up on aviating and took myself to the movies. The flick had great reviews and an impressive cast, but it was as gloomy as the weather. I sat for a couple hours and watched a totally dysfunctional family implode — the mother dying of cancer, the father committing suicide and three (really four) adult offspring screwing up their lives. It made me think of Katherine Hepburn’s great line from The Lion in Winter — “Every family has its ups and downs” — and reminded me that, as individuals, we sometimes find ourselves on a wild roller coaster ride.
The stories I tell you about escapades, screw-ups, improbable situations, interesting characters, treasured friends, goofy schemes, breathtaking sights and beloved airplanes are real, not only from the dusty windows of my memory but from 35 years of diaries and daybooks. Recently, I was rummaging around in “1982” to check a date and found myself painfully reliving a time when my “Peter Pan” life had plenty of darkness — mostly self-made. Along with appointments and notes, there were fervently desperate prayers and quotes like Churchill’s “Never, never, never give up” and “If you’re going through hell, keep going.”
