"Silver wings
Shining in the sunlight
Roaring engines
Headed somewhere in flight
They're taking you away
And leaving me lonely
Silver wings
Slowly fading out of sight "
--Silver Wings, Merle Haggard
On stormy or windy days, Kansas City International airport sometimes reroutes its flights right over the Little Farm. As the crow flies, we're only about 15 miles away so we see a lot of air traffic on a normal day. But I love those rare days when the planes are coming in really low as they make their final approach.
For me, there is a real beauty in flight. It fascinates me--not just the physical mechanics of it, but the emotions surrounding the journeys of the travelers. As I hear the engines roaring overhead, I always think about the people inside. What are they feeling? Are they home, or are they just passing through? Did they leave someone behind? If so, is it just for a little while or forever? Is someone waiting here for them?
And I think about many of my own journeys--the hellos and goodbyes, leaving old places and discovering new ones, the excitement of packing my suitcase and going. And it always makes me wish I was on a flight heading somewhere, too.
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I used to feel that way about airplanes... not so much anymore, just seems like so much chaos to board a flight and try to cram a bag overhead! I've always loved a good road trip, so now I try to take more of them. As long as time is not a factor, I prefer the car to the plane.
ReplyDeleteWhen I lived in Ohio, I lived very close to a small town airport, and for several years, they held a large air show there. So the military planes, large and small, slow and super fast, would come in mega-low right over my house on their approach... I could sometime see the pilots in the fighter jets, the red hot jet engines, and once their was a sonic boom (which many neighbors complained about, boo-hiss on them!) Every year that show came back, I got chills up my spine, and goosebumps over my arms as the planes passed low over me. The sheer beauty of it all never failed to get to me!!