Across the road from where I went to elementary school was Graham Road Airport... It had a dirt runway and about 20 planes tied down... It also had an "aviators club" (wink, wink... i.e. beer joint)... Well, for two of my years I was in classrooms that faced the airport and you could hear the planes as they were landing or takin' off so, of course, what was I gonna do but...

...like the rest of the kids, look out the classroom windows and watch the planes...

About once every couple months my dad would take me over to the airport and we'd walk into the "aviators club" where a bunch of retired (or not) WW II pilots would hang out, drink beer, tell lies and have them a fine time... Most of them had planes there and my dad would look around and find one who wasn't all that drunk and ask him to take me up for a couple bucks... I loved those early experience 'cause all these guys loved to show off their stuff and most of them would let me fly the plane a little...

Man, thems were some good times...

B~