September 2022

Above: Aria enjoying a carousel.

Between eating Elmer’s glue on a dare (little boys are gross) and making leaky clay “bowls”, art was easily one of my favorite classes in school. I am not a natural artist, and I am constantly amazed at the beauty others can produce with a simple pencil to paper. My art is less Rembrandt and more Picasso, with stick figures and pine trees dominating my masterpieces.
Art is both a natural gift and a carefully crafted skill. I am a gifted procrastinator, but it has taken me a lifetime of trial and error to hone. Procrastination grows from one-day late homework assignments, and when perfected leads right to one-day late mortgage payments, trust me. But art is different. Art is beautiful and is meant to inspire, stir emotions, sadden, and bring joy. Don’t believe me? Listen to the “Hallelujah Chorus” from the lips of a full choir accompanied passionately by a full orchestra.

So what is the art of saying goodbye? Goodbye is mostly a meaningless word. Of course, we say goodbye when we leave friends, church, or family potlucks. But what is the art of saying goodbye? How can we communicate the joy, sadness, and general mix of emotions that goodbye brings? Goodbye is more than a word, it’s an idea of departing the known and entering the unknown. When Christopher Columbus left to travel West, he didn’t know what lay ahead of him, so he probably said goodbye to his wife Karen Columbus, and left for the unknown. Goodbyes are not always empty, and soon we will say it again.

So what’s next? Lord willing we move to North Carolina on October 29th, and we begin to say hi to a bunch of new faces. But in so doing we say goodbye to all the friends and the loved ones we made here in Ohio. Maybe I am being overly dramatic, but there is a real chance that I will never see some of you again. When I wrote “the art of saying goodbye” in the December 2019 newsletter, Janie Martin my wife’s grandmother was pictured helping us pack up our house in PA. That was one of the last times we ever saw her on this side of eternity.

So to all my loved ones in Ohio, goodbye, and thanks for all the buckeye candy, it tasted way better than even the most premium Elmer’s glue.

Currently at MMS

Currently, at MMS I am still working on the avionics upgrade to LAMP’s 1977 Piper Lance. Things are going well with the project, and we are getting closer to completion daily. A few weeks ago, I was in charge of rigging the aileron, rudder, elevator, and trim systems. I was basically in charge of making the airplane control cables the correct tension and the correct travel. This can be a long process, but pilots appreciate airplanes that turn in the direction they point them in. Anyways, I tensioned the cables and had them checked by my boss. Then after break, we tested them again and found the tension changed. So I corrected them and moved on. Then we checked the cable tension again an hour or so later and they changed again. Needless to say, I was beginning to think unhappy thoughts. It was only after much unprofitable frustration that my boss thought about testing the cable tension with a different cable tension tester. Lo and behold, our cable tension tester was to blame for all the confusion. So we corrected it and we were back in business.

I am studying half-days now as I prepare for my future mechanic license tests. My three written tests are scheduled tentatively for the 22nd of September and my oral and practical exams are planned for October 5th – 6th. On October 8th I will fly out to Boise, Idaho for two weeks to aid in preparing MAF’s Grand Caravan for service in Africa. I arrive home on the 22nd of October and we move on the 29th. Right now feels like the calm before the storm!

I got the opportunity to represent MMS Aviation at Oshkosh this year. Oshkosh is the world’s largest airshow, with over 10000 airplanes in attendance this year. With my wrist in a cast (more about that later) I was almost useless at the shop. So I was really glad to get the opportunity to go to the mecca of aviation.

Here is a quick update about the end of July, Aug, and the beginning of Sept.

I may have had a motorcycle accident. It is a long story, and I did a write-up about it you can read if you click here. The short story: I was driving on a Sunday afternoon when Maria was in PA, and a car didn’t see me and turned into my lane of travel. I got knocked out and rushed to the ER. Praise God I only broke a wrist, had a concussion, and banged up my knee bad. I am better now, but please pray I get full wrist movement back.

With my cast on I couldn’t do much at the hangar. Most of the time mechanics wish for more joints instead of fewer. So we jumped at the chance to help an Ohio friend move to Boston. The couple rented a giant Uhaul truck that I drove up amid heavy Boston traffic. We were able to spend a few days visiting Maria’s sister Diana & her husband Jesse. They currently live in Boston as he attends Sattler college. Boston is beautiful but I always feel like a country bumpkin whenever I am in a city with more than 5 McDonalds.

On Labor Day we visited the Pittsburgh children’s museum. It was a super fun place with all types of interesting activities for the children. There were ropes attached to a stand that if you pulled just right, would make projected kites fly on the ceiling. There was a water room with all matter of water toys and a big table of ice shavings that Evelyn mostly just ate.

Evelyn turned one on September 14th. I can’t imagine living life without our little girl with curly strawberry hair. She is not as proactive about walking as her older siblings were; Aria learned to walk at 9 months, and Freddie at 11.75 months. But she is a happy crawling baby and besides Freddie carries her everywhere she needs to go.

Upcoming dates

Sept 22nd I will take my three written exams, Oct 5th-6th I take my oral and practical exams, Oct 8th-22nd I fly to Idaho to aid MAF in preparing a Cessna Caravan for service in Africa, Oct 29th Move to North Carolina.

Prayer and Praise

Pray that I can stay focused when I take my exams. Pray that my brain will remember all the things I studied. Pray for our family as we say goodbye. Pray for the children during all this time of change and busyness.

Praise that we have our home situation already figured out in NC. Praise that we don’t have a basement apartment (more about that in the next newsletter). Praise that I survived my motorcycle crash. Praise that we survived MMS Aviation! 😊 It was hard, but we couldn’t have done it without your prayers!

Till next time (and by then from North Carolina),