Pilot's Log

Dad and I went Christmas shopping today. We went to a store in Newport that I liked but he hadn't seen before, and sure enough he fell in love with the place.

But before that, we were driving there and talking about the relatives on Lynn's husband's side of the family...how their kids and their needs were going to play out in the near future. He mentioned that having all three of us, myself and my siblings, in college at mostly the same time almost brought the family to financial ruin. Now, only my brother Dana made it all the way to a four-year degree; Lynn dropped out to work and I had to settle for a two-year Associate's degree.

Dad reassured me, though, that he never regretted the fact that I went to flight school and completed it as much as I could. He'd wanted that for himself all his life, and couldn't because of an eye defect he had. So I wasn't just doing it for my own selfish ends.

I don't know if I'll ever get back in the cockpit again, but I guess I can't be so down on myself that I couldn't work in aviation like I wanted.