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I have been writing quite a bit about my passion for flight. I love writing about the joy in flying. I am also drawn to writing about remaining current and expanding flight experiences and skills. But flying also provides opportunities that can be overlooked. My wife reminded me of this on a recent return flight when she looked at me and said, “We are lucky you learned to fly.”
We were returning home from a round-trip flight we had conducted too many times to count: KASG (Springdale, Arkansas) – KBTR (Baton Rouge, Louisiana) – KASG. It’s a flight from our home to visit my parents. But this return flight was different. It was a return home from the last time I would visit my mom. She passed away peacefully on October 5th, and we were able to be by her side at this precious moment.
Mom was 81 and had been in ill health. So, this was not a surprise, but things always seem to happen too fast. A major health change happened the first week in August. We received a call, and we were able to fly down the very next day. As always, just over two hours to KBTR. The world is what it is. There are demands placed on all of us from multiple directions. My wife and I are not retired. So, remaining in Baton Rouge indefinitely was not an option. Yet the ability to fly gave us many opportunities to visit.
From August to the time of her passing, we were able to see her every week — two hours down and two hours back home. Sometimes it was a same-day round trip. Sometimes we were able to extend our visit. We laughed and reminisced. My mom was very upbeat. She was making plans for the future. The visits were more special because we knew they were limited.
We received the call on a Thursday evening. We had already planned on departing the next day for a visit, but with this phone call, we knew it would be the final visit. We left just before sunrise. The morning flight was clear, with a million calm winds. Again, about two hours to Baton Rouge. A flight with a very special mission.
Reflecting back, this was my third flight with such a mission. My first was with a very dear friend. She and her husband were visiting us, and her father passed away unexpectedly. I was honored to fly her and her husband to her family. The second was when my wife’s father passed suddenly. In all three cases, we were several hundred miles from our families at these trying times. Other forms of travel would have been incredibly draining and burdensome. Having some control over the process of getting to our families brought some comfort to us all.
When my wife looked at me and said, “We are lucky you learned to fly,” that’s what she meant. Getting to Baton Rouge from Springdale, Arkansas, is no easy task by other forms of travel. Ten-plus hours of traffic and two-lane highways, speed traps, etc., if you chose to drive. Six-plus hours of airports, TSA, delays, connections if you chose to fly commercially. We just would not have had the number of opportunities with my mom in those last few months. Honestly, we likely would not have made it for that final moment. This one small learned skill has returned more than I would have ever imagined in these moments.
As I type this, I know there will be readers immediately saying I should not have flown this flight. I know the IMSAFE checklist very well. I have had many days where I drove out to the airport, opened the hangar door, then closed it because I knew I was the weak link that day. On those days, flying was not an option. But each pilot is different, and each pilot handles events differently.
I have written here before that flying brings me calmness and a sense of peace. It did on this day as well. I made sure to slow down a bit to assure I was focused. The flow around the airplane felt the same. The walk-around, preflight, etc., all brought the typical clarity that I get when I fly. It was a beautiful morning; weather would not be an issue. Like most flights, my wife slept, and I looked out the window as the world passed below. I was in my happy place, and it helped to bring some needed peace. I am not saying this is a flight every pilot should make. I am not saying I have any special skills that gave me the ability to make a flight that other pilots should not make. I am just saying, in this instance, flying brought peace to this specific pilot.
Stopping by the Baton Rouge Airport in the mid-1980s to take my first flight lesson has opened up so many opportunities and experiences. It may very well be the best money I have ever spent in my life. As I walked away on the day that I received my private pilot’s license, I knew missions such as these never entered my mind. But as I put the plane away returning home from that last weekend with my mom, I realized more than ever that I truly am lucky to be able to fly.
- Lucky to Fly - November 3, 2025
- Friday Photo: Aeroshell at AirVenture - October 31, 2025
- Yes, I Still Take Flying Lessons - October 15, 2025
These are beautiful sentiments, beautifully written. That phrase “a million calm winds”, that is worthy of Saint-Exupery.