The Plane

Always, there is some event that starts movement. This time its friends with a plane inviting Mike (hubby) and I to join them for a flight to Bremerton for dinner. Arriving, I spot a Cessna 150 with a For Sale banner hanging on its prop. I’m compelled to approach and discover that not only are planes affordable, (I actually thought the 150 I’d been training in was worth $100,000.) but that this particular 150 was for sale for a mere $15,000! “I could buy a plane.” I announced. “I could buy this plane. “
“You don’t need a plane” was Mike’s response. I said nothing, but vowed to myself “I’m going to buy a plane.” Mike knows me. He envisioned a plane in our future, so a few weeks later started flying lessons with Russ. By early Spring the decision had been made to buy a plane and we began our research. So many planes, so many features to consider, so much to learn about buying a used plane. We asked. We learned. We began serious shopping.
Sunday, July 20th, 2003 a pilot lands a beautiful Cessna 172 at Chehalis Airport for a pre-purchase inspection. At noon I tell the man he has just sold his plane. “I own an airplane!” I chant while jumping up and down with glee. “I own this airplane!”
You’ve met Hugo, my first love, but I turned from him with hardly a look back and fell head over heels for my Isabo. For those of you who have not owned a plane, this anthropomorphism of an inanimate object might seem strange, but many pilots will admit that their planes do become like friends and lovers. In fact, here is a poem that I particularly like that says it all.

The Affair
By Hansel Herrera

Early in the morning as you awake
I am not home, you wonder why
I was with her, I cannot lie
Making sure that she would fly

I devote my nights to her
Sometimes leaving you alone
As I tend to her every need
And sometimes forget your own

I leave you and the girls at home
As I seek comfort in her love
And escape to her embrace
Dedicating nights to her desire

My hands are scarred from touching her
My heart is bruised from leaving you
But I will never change a thing
From this affair I have with wings.