The Value of Margins – Six lessons From Ladders and Air Traffic Control

I have come to appreciate the value of margins.  This happened during a season when my husband took too a tumble from a ladder while trimming a tree. Yes, there was a running chainsaw involved.  We are thankful the only damage from the incident was a broken left heel bone. Nonetheless, crutches in a three-story […]

A Timely Rendezvous With A Dear Old Friend

 “The wind taught me never to forget old friends, by blowing them back to me.”― Michael Bassey Johnson This past week I was able to meet and visit an old friend.  Our rendezvous was to be at the local airport and as I approached our meeting point, there she was, just as stately and elegant as […]

Three Ways Quiet Pivotal Moments Can Burst Open New Adventures

In the quiet moments, the discoveries are made. – Vera Farmiga I look back, now, and I know that the naming moment, which seemed so insignificant then, which seemed to demand no more than an arbitrary and superstitious yes or no, was in fact a pivotal moment in my life. – Gregory David Roberts   I remember the […]

Significant Fresh Progress On The Improved Sturdy Biplane Wings

The Chapter 88 EAA Biplane Project is entering new territory with biplane wings.  The two upper wings are complete minus covering and the upper center section is almost reassembled!  Staging is now underway for the two lower wings for which Daddy had the materials but had not yet begun.  The ribs are complete, hardware prepped […]

“Go With Aircoupe – The Plane That is Going Places”

“Go With Aircoupe – The Plane That is Going Places” – Headline From Ad in 1961 Flying Magazine I own a 1961 Forney Aircoupe inherited from my father.  Along with the sheer joy of taking off, leaving the two-dimensional earthbound realm, this little red and white plane abounds with stories. Recently I was contacted via […]

When It feels AWKWARD: A Memorable First Flying Lesson

“Even when it feels awkward…” – Nancy Cullen  “Anything worth doing well is worth doing badly in the beginning” – Marshall Thurber  I do not like doing things badly.  I want to do things well.  The first time.  I see others doing a thing well, with grace and ease, so I jump in and, well, […]

Three Essential Elements Of A Perfect Early Morning Flight

To most people the sky is the limit. To those who love flying, the sky is home. – Unknown Recently I rolled myself out of bed at “O dark-thirty” for an early morning flight.  I had been planning to do so daily for over a week, but other life demands kept getting in the way.  It […]

Biplane Building-How Perseverance, Passion, And Perspective Equals Progress

Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish. – John Quincy In January, we reached a significant milestone on the Chapter 88 Biplane building project.  The upper right wing was completed and hung on the shop wall! A video of this moment has been posted on the Chapter’s Facebook […]

Three Ways To Use DNA To Authenticate And Launch Your Story

DNA opens an even more mysterious door to understanding the human condition: all of our ancestors live within each one of us whether we are aware of it or not. ― Laurence Overmire, from:   The One Idea That Saves The World: A Message of Hope in a Time of Crisis There is science that bears out the […]