You can't always get what you want ...

Colors burst from around every corner these days here in Charlottesville. In fact, every time I open my front door.

Needless to say I was anxious to see what the trees would look like from about six thousand feet. The weather seemed perfectly clear without a cloud in the sky. Looks can be deceiving I guess. When I arrived at CFC Regan told me he had just come down and it was in fact very bumpy up there, apparently a level or two beyond what I've experienced before. I tried to suggest this might be a great time to see if I can cut it. But since I haven't flown in about two weeks and had that unfortunate initial episode years ago he decided it was best for me not to fly. I trust his judgement. Another instructor, Dick, who owns the flight school came by later and said the same thing. Most importantly, I'd likely spend the entire lesson fighting to keep control of the plane and not actually learning anything new. I guess the elders know a thing or two.

They call it Clear Air Turbulence (CAT). I call it bummer (BUMMER). I really was looking forward to flying today. Patience, it would seem, can be tested in infinite ways.

But the fates were not completely stingy. I got my flight kit complete with: syllabus, twenty nine DVD multimedia set, textbook, Pilot's Operating Handbook (POH) for the Cessna 172 (kind of like an owner's manual), Practical Standards Test (the stuff I need to know for my "final"), my very own flight log, carrying bag and (finally) my own headset. I know, very exciting stuff.


The reality of precisely how much information I'm going to have to absorb and process is starting to set in. On the one hand, the introductory party is over. But on the other, the main event is about to begin. Apparently if you try sometimes ... you might find ... you get what you need. Like it or not.