I can only imagine the expression on my wife's face.
Here was the phone conversation:
ME: So Bill's flying into town and he's gonna take the kids and me up his plane!
HER: (Silence, and probably a not-so-nice look on her face.)
My godfather came into town recently, and he traveled the way he prefers - in his Grumman Tiger four-seat prop plane. He was going to fly into Aiken and let us ride with him to Augusta, where he would leave his plane. It made perfect sense to me. My wife? Not so much.
I explained to her that Bill was a seasoned pilot.
She knew that.
I explained to her that Bill and my father had flown to Alabama just a few weeks ago.
She knew that.
I explained to her that nothing would happen.
She told me I didn't know that.
Eventually, we came to this agreement: We would fly, and we would duly note that my wife thought I had the judgment of a peanut.
News flash: Peanuts have awesome judgment, as evidenced by the fact that I am safely on the ground writing this column.
When we arrived at the airport, my son was really excited about flying. My daughter told me that she was still considering her options.
Translation: Time to overcome some fear.
Eventually, my daughter braved up and decided she would fly. (Oh, and my sister told her she would take her shopping if she flew.)
Inside the plane, it was close quarters. We all had headsets on, so we could communicate with each other during the flight. Just before we took off, I reminded the kids that every time they spoke, their microphones came on, so some conversations were not necessary, such as:
ALLIE: Hey, Parker?
PARKER: Yeah?
ALLIE: My headset comes on when I talk!
PARKER: Mine, too!
ALLIE: Let's see if it does it again.
PARKER: Yeah.
ME: STOP IT!
We left the Aiken airport and banked over the city. Once I got my bearings in the sky, I started trying to identify various landmarks. The first one we were able to identify was the Aiken Standard, which I was able to locate by first finding Aiken High's stadium. The kids said they saw it, but I think they may have just been saying that to be nice. I also found our house and the mall, which the kids also pretended to see.
The flight itself was smooth as could be. We flew at about 2,500 feet, traveling around 125 mph. Every so often, I'd look back at the kids and see their noses to the window, trying to identify various things on the ground. Parker at one point said he saw a plot of land that looked like the Millennium Falcon. Bill caught only the last part and said, "You just saw the Millennium Falcon?" We all agreed that would have been really cool.
Before we knew it we were making our descent to Augusta. The kids loved the flight and never showed an ounce of fear in the plane. When we landed, I remarked to them that we were going to now do the most dangerous thing we would do all day: drive home.
Despite my wife's initial hesitation, she concedes that she is glad that we went. The kids had a memorable experience on their afternoon adventure. I can't imagine what her expression will be when I ask her about skydiving.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Thursday, December 02, 2010
Light it up
And the Christmas decorations are up.
I may actually have set a record for getting the lights up this year. For years, I have tried to make it so that shortly after Thanksgiving - boom - Clark Griswold-approved lighting.
My goal for our Christmas lights is to make our house look like a gingerbread house. I am pleased to report we are slowly closing in on that goal. We have a heaping helping of colored lights decorating our house, and my neighbors may, in fact, be embarrassed by me. And possibly need sunglasses at night.
The kids enjoy helping put up the lights - and certainly enjoy seeing the house all bright and colorful. Of course, their favorite part is actually getting the lights out of the attic. For some reason, climbing in the attic is one of the most awesome things for a kid. It's this unreachable trap door of mystery into the ceiling, and the chance to go up and explore is always exciting. Plus, there is the added element of danger when your mother repeatedly warns you that one misstep and you will come crashing through the ceiling.
Our light collection has grown over the years, as we try and pick up a few here and there after the holiday season. Go to any store after Christmas and wander into what is left of their Christmas wares. Oftentimes, a clerk will approach you and say, "Sir, I will give you $5 to take these net lights. Please. Get them out of here. I have been staring at them since August."
So, over time, we have built up enough lights to cover the bushes by our front door as well as the azaleas that stretch across the front of our yard. We have also started adding strands of lights along the roof line. While I hope to continue to pile lights around the yard, I will say that I have gone as high up as I plan to go. We have a two-story house, and I did put rope lights along the top roof line a few years back. And then my neighbor convinced me that I should never do that again. He did that by falling off his ladder and breaking his ankle. I was across the street watching when that happened, and before he had hit the ground, I said, "Hmm. I don't think I am going to hang lights up high anymore." I am sure he would have preferred my thought to have been, "Hmm. I should probably get help."
While we have grown our light stash, we have yet to start adding those great big inflatables, much to my children's disappointment. One house in our neighborhood has an estimated 43,000 of them. Every time we pass it, my children point out that they, clearly, love Christmas more than we do. Personally, I'd like to get some of those lighted candy canes to line the driveway, because it adds an element of gaudy that goes well with our current motif, but the inflatables would be nice, too.
So being done with the bulk of our outdoor decorating this early gives us plenty of time to enjoy our bright and flashy display of Christmas awesomeness. It helps you get into the Christmas mood to see all the bright colors and vibrant appeal. And even when Christmas is over, we can look forward to the next year. Maybe the stores will pay me to take some inflatables off their hands.
I may actually have set a record for getting the lights up this year. For years, I have tried to make it so that shortly after Thanksgiving - boom - Clark Griswold-approved lighting.
My goal for our Christmas lights is to make our house look like a gingerbread house. I am pleased to report we are slowly closing in on that goal. We have a heaping helping of colored lights decorating our house, and my neighbors may, in fact, be embarrassed by me. And possibly need sunglasses at night.
The kids enjoy helping put up the lights - and certainly enjoy seeing the house all bright and colorful. Of course, their favorite part is actually getting the lights out of the attic. For some reason, climbing in the attic is one of the most awesome things for a kid. It's this unreachable trap door of mystery into the ceiling, and the chance to go up and explore is always exciting. Plus, there is the added element of danger when your mother repeatedly warns you that one misstep and you will come crashing through the ceiling.
Our light collection has grown over the years, as we try and pick up a few here and there after the holiday season. Go to any store after Christmas and wander into what is left of their Christmas wares. Oftentimes, a clerk will approach you and say, "Sir, I will give you $5 to take these net lights. Please. Get them out of here. I have been staring at them since August."
So, over time, we have built up enough lights to cover the bushes by our front door as well as the azaleas that stretch across the front of our yard. We have also started adding strands of lights along the roof line. While I hope to continue to pile lights around the yard, I will say that I have gone as high up as I plan to go. We have a two-story house, and I did put rope lights along the top roof line a few years back. And then my neighbor convinced me that I should never do that again. He did that by falling off his ladder and breaking his ankle. I was across the street watching when that happened, and before he had hit the ground, I said, "Hmm. I don't think I am going to hang lights up high anymore." I am sure he would have preferred my thought to have been, "Hmm. I should probably get help."
While we have grown our light stash, we have yet to start adding those great big inflatables, much to my children's disappointment. One house in our neighborhood has an estimated 43,000 of them. Every time we pass it, my children point out that they, clearly, love Christmas more than we do. Personally, I'd like to get some of those lighted candy canes to line the driveway, because it adds an element of gaudy that goes well with our current motif, but the inflatables would be nice, too.
So being done with the bulk of our outdoor decorating this early gives us plenty of time to enjoy our bright and flashy display of Christmas awesomeness. It helps you get into the Christmas mood to see all the bright colors and vibrant appeal. And even when Christmas is over, we can look forward to the next year. Maybe the stores will pay me to take some inflatables off their hands.
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