Flying Lessons: The Challenge of Letting Go

摘要

There's a chill to the night air as I park, shut off the motor and open the car door. The barbed-top, chain-link airport fence looms tall in front of me, and the approach lights to Runway 32 lie a few feet above eye level to my left. The runway is just out of sight, at the top of the little grass-covered rise on the other side of the fence, but I can see the tower beacon flashing its steady green and white voice of welcome out into the night. I draw my jacket closer as I take in the stars, the silence and the peace of this place. It's been a long time since I've sat outside an airport fence, especially at night. Usually I'm an insider, watching from the clubhouse seat of a taxiway or hangar door. But not tonight. Tonight, I find myself watching from the outside, and my heart is suddenly crowded with such a complex mix of emotions that it feels as if it's constricting under the weight of it all.