This was his first flight in a tail dragger and he loved it. He and his instructor both seemed a little queasy when they got down so there must have been some fun aerobatics going on up there.
Meanwhile, I sauntered off in the boring, old Cessna 172 for landing practice. Ho-hum...
On the drive home from the airport we had one of those memorable talks you sometimes have as a parent. He was commenting on how much he LOVED flying. I told him that it has taken me a long time to learn that you need to pay attention to those feelings. At the risk of sounding melodramatic, I told him those feelings are the "voice of God" speaking to you.
We are each called to a different purpose in life and that purpose isn't always obvious. But I've learned that those feelings of intense engagement -- what Aristotle called "Eudaimonia" or "flow"-- are signals or signs that help us figure out a direction in life.
Unfortunately, may of us are brought up believing that if something is fun or engaging or captivating or otherwise speaks to us, it somehow must not be appropriate or righteous, or worthy. I wish I had learned this 30 years ago, but I know it now. This is why I'm supporting his flying habit.
To Alex's credit, he could have just rolled his eyes, plugged in his iTouch and tuned me out. Instead, he just nodded and sat there. And, then he said, "hey, when are we flying again?"
Soon my friend, soon...
*The term "Tail Dragger" refers to aircraft whose landing gear has a tail wheel instead of a nose wheel. They are more challenging to fly but are often more interesting to fly. While many people think of them as relics from the past, most of the hot, aerobatic planes are tail draggers. Think of them as airplanes with a manual transmission instead of an automatic transmission...
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