Chapter 72

The next morning I got back into my uniform, and met the girls at breakfast. Grace had already used the computer at the front counter and printed off the weather report which I read. Cloud ceiling at 35,000 feet, light scattered drizzles, and winds from the west at 5-10 knots. All in all, pretty good flying weather.

The two of us got the plane inspected and prepped quickly, and the fuel truck arrived as we were finishing so I had the tanks quickly topped off. And after a final check of the windsock I took a look back. Amy looked a bit ashen, and was clutching Grace’s hand in what seemed to be a death grip. So I just slowly taxied around the runway. Moving to the end, then returning a little bit faster.

I glanced back, and Amy still had her eyes closed. But Grace smiled at me, I think she realized what I was doing. On the final time down the runway I applied more throttle, and less than half way down I felt us leave the ground. And a moment later Amy gave a soft gasp. “Are we in the air?”

“We sure are, sugar” I said. “Take a look out the window.” I had reached 10,000 feet, and slowed my rate of climb and turned towards Soda Springs. And she said it was not as bad as she thought it would be.

“I told you George was a good pilot. Much better than I am, but he also has so many hours compared to me. Go ahead and look around, this is a whole new way to look at the world.”

I called Tina and told her I was on the way, and she just laughed. “I’m actually out in town getting my hair done, George. The farmhouse is unlocked, all the paperwork is on the kitchen table. And I pulled the Piper out, it’s parked in the spot closes to the house. Just park next to it, and thanks a lot for doing this.”

I told Grace that, and she smiled. A few minutes later I made a pass around to check the wind, and smoothly touched down. And as she said, the Piper was tied down near the farmhouse, so I parked next to it. I filled out the paperwork after the final inspection, and after tying it down and locking the cabin I asked Grace if she could run them to the house and get me the keys for the Piper.

She headed to the farmhouse, and Amy went along as there was no bathroom nearby. The only thing out here was an outhouse near the hangar. And not even a portajohn, an actual wooden outhouse over a hole in the ground. And I laughed as I started to remove the tiedowns on the Piper, as that had been one of my jobs back in school. Heading out here with Pete about once a month, where the two of us would move the outhouse off to the side, then I would pour in about five gallons of diesel fuel and set it on fire.

I asked him about that once, and he smiled at me. “Oh, an idea I got from the Marines. You see, normally for an outhouse you would use it until it was full. Then move to the side a bit and dig a new hole and fill up the old one. Every year or to repeating that. This is not used all that much, and in the military they literally burn the shit away. Disinfects it, reduces the amount inside, and a hell of a lot less work.” He also pointed out how it was not just a dirt hole, but a large metal culvert upended in the bottom. “Eventually all that is left down there is stuff that won’t burn, at that time we fill most of the tank at the bottom with water and a couple of days later have a septic service come and pump it out.”

I asked him why they did not just fill it in then and move it to the side like they used to do. He shook his head and smiled at me. “George, that is several hundred dollars of galvanized steel culvert down there. And we’re adding in diesel fuel. Doing that would not be good for the environment. Without the steel tank, diesel would get into the ground and ground water. ‘Hazardous waste’ it’s called, we ain’t gonna do that if we can avoid it. The tank there is not to keep the shit in so much as it’s to keep the diesel out of the ground. Back then, nobody thought of the effect of that.”

He handed me the road flare, and I lit it and tossed it in. And we both stepped back as the stinking smoke rose out of the hole. “Now if this was a real airport, we would have a lot more use here and I would have a septic company come and empty it regularly. But this is mostly for Tina, Mandy, and me. If we are out here and just don’t want to go all the way to the house. Or the ranch hands when they come out to check the herd. And this weekly burning, that’s mostly for sanitation. Don’t want any more flies around here with the diseases they can get from human shit if we can avoid it.”

I thought that was disgusting back then, but looking back it did make sense. And I was actually a bit surprised when dad told me they did it that way in Vietnam. “Oh yes, shit burning detail. Mostly for those that got in trouble, but not enough to see the Commander. But I had to do it a couple of times, it really does suck.”

As I took a piss in that outhouse I thought back on that conversation. And at the time, I thought Pete was just being cheap. But now I was really understanding what he meant. One of those little villages that Carmen had taken me to in Mexico had no sewage system, and it seemed like the entire village stunk and the flies were everywhere. And as I stood there and pissed, I finally understood why they had me do that as one of my chores.

And as I zipped up and used the hand sanitizer, I pondered for a moment how Carmen was doing. I had not thought of her in ages, and what did that say about me that when I did think about her it was while taking a piss. But as I stepped outside again, I did smile as we had some good times. And I hoped she was happy.

The girls came back, and after checking over the logs and paperwork I smiled and had us all get in. I warmed it up, and called Mandy to tell her I was on my way. “Oh, and as you might guess, I have two passengers with me.”

She just laughed and said she suspected I would have at least one, and she and Pete would be waiting for us at the airport. Amy was a lot more relaxed this time, and actually gasped when she realized she could start to recognize the landmarks. Even saying “I think that’s our house!” as I was flying over the town. And I was only in a pattern for five minutes before I was cleared to land.

I saw Mandy and Pete in their SUV when I pulled in to park, and after giving me a hug Pete helped me tie her down as Mandy and the girls hugged. When we piled in Pete thanked me for doing this for them, and I said it was no problem. “In fact, it will help me as I do not have a hell of a lot of hours in the Piper. Just enough to get certified in it, not enough to really feel proficient.”

“And before they send it back down, I’m gonna try and get Tina to give me some time in the Cessna” Grace said. “It’s the reverse for me, as I always had the Piper on hand, but only used the Cessna on rental for the certification. I actually have more time in the Bonanza than in a Cessna.”

Mandy smiled at her after she said that, and said she would make sure she did. “And if Tina does not have time, I’ll take you up myself sweetie.”

Grace hugged her for that, and soon we were heading to a steakhouse for a late lunch. And afterwards, Pete drove us to a medical clinic in town. Where we went in, and after giving them my name had to fill out a bunch of forms. Then after a brief examination in another room and checking my ID I was handed a plastic cup. Thankfully I had no problem filling it, and when I left Pete and Mandy both smiled.

We went to the ranch, where the girls went into the Big House as the three of us went in Pete’s house and into Mandy’s office. Where she went over the forms, and soon everything was signed. Pete used a digital camera to take my picture, and about ten minutes later Mandy handed me a laminated ID card. Identifying me as a pilot for Gem Charter, and on the back a listing of the aircraft I was certified on. I even chuckled when I pointed out the AN-2 on there.

Pete looked at Mandy, and she smiled. “Oh, we do sometimes swap pilots with other companies. Or get called up to do ferry flights. Say a company needs an airworthy DC-3 moved from Tucson to Oklahoma City. You should see Harve’s, he actually has five cards like that. Not that he will likely ever need them for us, but say if a company needs a C-130, C-5, F-5 or T-38 moved on a ferry flight, we can do it.”

I shook my head, but I could actually see the need for that at times. “So like this weekend, essentially this was a ferry flight, and taking advantage of Mike needing to come up here to do it. Well, I can’t see it happening, but I would love to fly a Colt again in case you ever do get a ferry requirement for one.” They both smiled at me, and said stranger things had happened.

They both gave me a hug and welcomed me aboard, then I was surprised when Pete took my hat away. He smiled at me and walked over to the trash can in the kitchen and threw it away! I asked him what in the hell he was doing, when I saw him open a cabinet and pull out another one. This time with the gold “scrambled eggs” on the brim.

“Now you are only certified at this time as pilot in command for either a Cessna or Colt, but that’s enough. And as you get more hours in the various aircraft in the fleet we will add those certifications to your record. And while you can use the Commander now, we both would prefer you get some more time in it before we actually certify you to be in command of that.”

I nodded, and said when I could I would try to schedule some more time with Harve. We walked back across to the Big House, and Grace noticed the new hat right away and came over and hugged me. I laughed and picked her up and spun in a circle, both of us laughing as she bent her knees s I did so. “Way to go, George! But I guess I have a lot more to do in order to catch up with you.”

Mandy smiled and nodded. “But you’ll have a chance next year, we’re going to add another small craft by the end of the year, and we’ll see about getting you certified in that. And starting to work on your hours for commercial.”

And when we got back to the airport Pete and Mandy gave us all hugs again, and when Grace looked at Amy this time she nodded. “Go ahead, G. I know you want to fly, I think I’ll be OK now.” Grace hugged her, and I smiled as she climbed into the co-pilot position this time. And once the needles were in the green and I had gotten permission from the tower, I told her to taxi us to the runway and take off.