SHORT FINAL By DEB McFARLAND Today, the man I married nearly 30 years ago, the man who suffered through my flight training and later patiently taught me to fly his Luscombe 8A, retired. After 35 years of service to the federal government, my best friend has come home to stay. It’s not a coincidence that […]
No. 41: A father passes on his passion for flying — and his license number
SHORT FINAL By DEB McFARLAND Pickens County Airport in Jasper, Georgia, is a nice airport, but it’s not particularly known as a hub of aeronautical excitement. However, every now and then we have a visitor who attracts notice. Such was the introduction of pilot and veteran, Jesse William Lankford Jr., who recently attended our annual […]
A great excuse to call in sick
SHORT FINAL By DEB McFARLAND It’s 5:30 a.m. and I have supper cooked. Soup beans, corn on the cob and cornbread. Directly, I will wake my young sleeping beauty, who has a vacation day from school. She will be shocked that there are towels waiting to be folded, a dishwasher that needs unloading and clothes […]
The Spirit of Thomasville
SHORT FINAL By DEB McFARLAND The forecasters were wrong. I don’t generally pay attention to forecasts until a day or two before my flight because, frankly, here in the South, weather predictions bob up and down nearly as bad as the float on my old fishing pole when cast in a pond of bored fish. […]
A new heart for an old girl
SHORT FINAL By DEBORAH McFARLAND As I write this, my own Lester is buzzing over my head. While I’ve always thought his throaty C-85/O-200 made a sweet sound, today I find the noise annoying but, in hearing it, I know that my place in heaven is assured. Any woman who lets her husband borrow her […]
Making magic happen
SHORT FINAL By DEB McFARLAND Every now and then magic happens. It can happen in a certain time, at a certain place or with certain people. Mine came on a Saturday with a group of pilots from a friendly country airport called Jackson County in northeast Georgia. This particular day and time, these folks shared […]
The road to the hangar
I left three loads of laundry on the kitchen table, ready to be folded and put away. Grass needed cutting; tomatoes needed canning. The dog begged to go, but for him, a ride in the truck would have to wait until another day. Like me, my green Dodge Ram has seen better days. The right […]
The Land of Perfect
SHORT FINAL By DEBORAH McFARLAND Like many aviators, I spend some of my free time cruising various aviation forums, and from past experience, I have learned to take what I read with a grain of salt. Recently, however, it has been kind of difficult to ignore some of the nonsense that makes its way to […]
Endless Summer
SHORT FINAL By DEB McFARLAND Summer officially commands three months on the calendar, but according to Keely’s school calendar, summer only lasts eight weeks, hardly enough time for mind and body to slip gently into summer’s languid rhythms. This year, I can hardly conjure those memories of simple summer pleasures such as swimming in a […]