- Some of my fondest memories of my dad include flying. We spent
many hours together, toodling around the country-side or dropping into a
little airstrip in the middle of no-where just to see what was there.
Another of our past-times was to enter contests at the local airport that
included spot-landings, bomb drops, etc. An extension of that type of fun
was when dad and I would head off to some sparsely populated area and cut
toilet paper. For the uninitiated, a roll of toilet paper is tossed out
the door in the hopes that it will completely unroll, producing a beautiful
streamer. The object, of course, is to see how many times you can cut it
with your wing. It is more difficult than one might imagine as the
streamer falls at about 1000ft./min. and can be hard to spot. When done
properly it can be great fun.
- When my son arrived on the scene it seemed quite natural to carry on
the tradition that my dad and I enjoyed so much. I think I had him in the
air by his first birthday. By the time he was in grade school he was always
ready to go flying at the drop of a hat. One memorable day when he was
about 10 years old I asked him if he wanted to go up with me and, of
course, I got back an enthusiastic answer of, "heck yeah".
- Now, being wise beyond my years I knew the benefits of feeding a child
before any excursion so we stopped by the local McDonald's on the way to
the airport. My son quickly consumed the contents of the Happy Meal as I
performed the pre-flight ritual. I didn't think much of it when he
brought the Happy Meal box on-board as we wiggled our way into the front
seat of my Tri-pacer. Soon enough, we were airborne and enjoying the
clear, blue sky and smooth air. As we approached the coastline I felt a
small elbow bumping against mine. I looked over at my son to see what he
wanted. I'll never forget what happened next. With a particularly cute
little gleam in his eye, he slowly opened his Happy Meal box to reveal a
very nice looking roll of toilet paper. I burst out laughing. Without
any words exchanged I knew what to do. I think we cut that roll 4 times
before we got too low to turn on it again. The giggles and grins were
priceless.
Copyright © 1995 David C. Stafford
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