Awake: 6:21am Temp 66 sleep 6+55 partly cloudy overnight @ Nicktown.
Trucker Gary C. calls; his best trip yet, he tells me. Fewer delays & more coordination made the difference. I enjoy hearing tales of Gary’s travels & obviously he also enjoys his part-time travel adventures.
K & I attend 8:00 am Mass & then spend only a short time with the KK members before driving to Indiana, PA. En route, a quick stop @ the UPS store to return the faulty module from our DSL kit before arriving @ the Jimmy Stewart Airport for today’s air show.
I missed this air show last yr, but this yr we are expecting a rendezvous with the Foote family before noon. A room full of tables greet us as we enter the terminal building & to our right, (2) young ladies advertising fresh pancakes with sausage + coffee or tea. The CAP (Civil Air Patrol) guys are the waiters with seconds & thirds being permissible. We barely finish our first serving when my aviation buddy, Barry, & his aviation enthusiast sister, Monica, join our table. Barry’s other sister, Suzy, also with the CAP, is the organizer of this (2) day event. We chat about the aircraft that are displayed on the tarmac & learn that Barry will be the speaker during some of the aerial displays.
K & I want to meet up with the Foote family so after our 2nd round of pancakes, we excuse ourselves from Barry & Monica & join in the small crowd attracted to the WWII C-47 sky train, a military troop transporter, which is parked midway on the tarmac. Next to the C-47, another WWII aircraft: a Torpedo Bomber called the TBM Avenger. The Senior Bush President flew one of these aircraft during WWII.
It was about this time that we spotted the Footes; they had been here since 9:30 & had already seen most of the attractions. The young boys had a ride in a very small airplane without an engine that was pulled by a small tractor & they also rode in the large hay wagon with mom & dad & toured the entire airport with a tour guide.
Kevin & I took Matthew & Andrew over & into the C-47, which they had not yet toured inside; Andrew was a little scared when looking out the window & seeing the difference in height from the ground, but Kevin calmed him down nicely. On our exit from the C-47, the first step down was a big one so Matthew was being very careful when the tour guide started to help him by griping his arm…..Matthew quickly turned around, looked seriously @ the man & said: “I’m four!” The reaction from the man was amusing; “oh, alright then” he said & let go of Matthew’s arm.
Aside from being with the boys in the C-47, we also walked over to a hangar where the Indiana Flyers Club was promoting an interest in Radio Controlled Model Aircraft. Soon after this pause, a few dark clouds began moving into the area & Footes sensed that the time was right to return to their castle; we walked with them to their car, passing a WWII L-5 spotter & rescue plane along the way; we agreed to see them tomorrow.
John B from our KK gang is also @ the air show; along with Barry, John shares aviation magazines & books with me to peruse. We spend some time with John & his son Josh with more aviation talk plus knee surgery talk from Kathy due to John’s complaining left knee. The WWII aircraft were scheduled to do some flying soon, but with the rain getting a little more serious, K & I decided to move out, get our grocery shopping finished & return to Nicktown.
Dinner: leftover meatloaf, mashed potatoes, gravy & a fresh salad.
Watch DVR movie: “Johnny Belinda” with Jane Wyman, Lew Ayres, Charles Bickford, Jan Sterling, etc. Sensitively acted, atmospheric drama of young deaf-mute girl (Wyman) & doctor (Ayres) who works with her; setting of provincial fishing-farming community vividly realized. Wyman won an Oscar for her fine performance. 1948. Terrific story…..add it to your list.
High temp=75 Lights out: 11:58 pm
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