A personal goal

For anyone that knows me, you know that I am not a goal setter. I never have been. New Year's Resolutions have always seemed silly to me, and only applied to the first few weeks of January before they were tossed aside or forgotten. Well, I suppose I have made some goals in the past, but they were all mundane or petty. I wanted a tablet, so I saved my money and bought one. I wanted to wait until next week to mow the grass. And I'm still waiting. So my 'goals' are more like 'wants'.

I recently turned 32 (or 141, in dog years), and I realized that during the past decade, I really haven't done anything notable. I have found an awesome girlfriend, got a motorcycle endorsement on my license, kept a job for 10 years, and bought a house. With the exception of the motorcycle endorsement, those achievements are nothing more than a byproduct of getting older. In light of this discovery, I am officially setting a goal. A goal that has, for most of my life, been nothing more than a dream. A dream kept far out of reach due mainly to the cost associated with achieving it. A dream shared by many but conquered by only a few.

I dream to fly.

This is not a short term goal, as it will take upwards of $5,000 to gain the Private Pilot certificate, so I am giving myself until my 35th birthday to save as much as I can and then take my first lesson. I have started an account at SmartyPig.com to help me save money, and you can keep an eye on my progress, or contribute if you feel so inclined, by clicking the View Me button on the widget below.

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return." - Unknown

Growing up, I actually got to fly quite often. As a product of divorced parents, I was put on a plane to visit one or the other when the distance to drive was too great. I loved being in the plane and watching the ground drop out from underneath me as we rose up into and above the clouds. Since I was rather young and flying alone, the stewardess' would come check on me, and give me the cheesy little plastic wings, and then take me to the cockpit to meet the pilot and co-pilot. I remember being in awe over the hundreds of gauges, dials, and switches and that these two men knew what every one of their functions were. The entire cockpit looked so complex that an airplane must be very difficult to fly... but the pilot and co-pilot would turn around and talk to me for a few minutes. They weren't looking where they were going! I knew that was a big  no-no in a car, but it was OK in an airplane? These guys were really something.

After a while, the parents ended up living a little closer together, and driving halfway to meet each other was more cost effective than flying, so that brought an end to my semi-annual trip to the sky. But it was too late. I was in love with flying. Every aircraft I saw that passed overhead, I watched until it was gone from sight. I still do this. Part of me is simply wondering which aircraft it is, and where it is headed, but most of me is jealous of those in it. Soaring through the sky, and viewing the planet from the best vantage point.

Hemisphere Dancer - Jimmy Buffett's airplane
HU-16 Grumman Albatross - My all-time favorite airplane

So now, at 32 years old, I am realizing that if I don't begin to take steps to transform this dream into a reality, then I may never get the chance again. Flying is my goal. I am making this goal a public one, and will most certainly share my progress when I begin flight lessons, so that I may inspire someone else to follow their dream. My only regret is that I didn't start sooner.

"Dad, I left my heart up there." - Francis Gary Powers, CIA U-2 pilot shot down over the Soviet Union, describing his first flight at age 14.