US, Texas, Dallas and Ft. Worth flagsWhen I was a kid I was fascinated by flying. In fact, after seeing top gun I begged my parents to buy me one of those coffee table books with photos of fighter jets and dreamed of becoming a pilot for the military. I was devastated when I found out that you had to have perfect vision to be a pilot (and I don't).tools to find your way: compass and tower broadcasting air traffic controlFor a long time, flying meant freedom and possibility and beauty to me. Then I spent most of my twenties rootless, searching and broke and any form of travel induced anxiety and resistence. Especially flying. Airports became the depository for the rootless and being in one prompted feelings of lonliness so intense I was often moved to tears. seeing furtherNow that I have established roots, traveling no longer represents the ugly detached feeling one has when one has no place to call home and my fascination with flying has returned. Something about the sleek design of airplanes, the chrome and color and dials and switches is artful to me. Flying seems to hold possibilities and airports have become the transition place in between adventures. coming in to landI happen to live and work near a major airport and every day on my way home I drive by a sign that says Founders plaza. I've always been curious about what it is (a park? a place to watch the airplanes? kind of both) so I decided to stop by and check it out. I was surprised at how much fun it was to watch the airplanes and even from that distance, feel the force of energy that seems to suck right out of your gut and hear the rumble as they took off. Towers around the area broadcast air traffic control so you could hear the guys saying stuff like flight 815 you are clear for take off on runway 30. People sat in their cars or on park benches and just enjoyed the sheer magic of seeing these big huge boxes of metal hanging in mid air as they settled in to land.And really, when you think about, we created magic when we created flying. This little spot was a way to be part of and witness that.
