This past Thursday, I reflected on the title of my blog, "Come Fly With Me." This title was inspired by a song that my mother and I enjoyed listening to when travelling to golf tournaments. I love the lyrics - they are so upbeat and whimsical:
Weather-wise it's such a lovely day
Just say the words and we'll beat the birds
Down to Acapulco Bay
Sometimes, I feel as though I forget how awe-inspiring flying can be. Like many of my fellow passengers, I typically have my head in a book or I'm working on my laptop for most of the flight. Perhaps this is a side effect of often choosing the aisle seat and having the privilege of flying regularly.
On Thursday, I wasn't in the aisle, but snuggled up close to the window. The director of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America booked my flights for the award ceremony in Washington D.C. I'm grateful that she broke me from my normal routine. The view from my window was magical...and I truly mean it when I say that it was a once in a lifetime view!
I flew out of New Orleans around 4:30pm, heading north to a sunset that fell around 6:28pm or so (e.g. during prime sunset viewing time). Our pilot chose a course that had us riding on the crests of clouds for the duration of the flight. At first, the clouds looked like rainbow sherbert. They were the colors of blushing Chambersburg peaches and crisp pink lady apples. These same clouds were also rimmed in bronze and gold as the sun swan dove toward the horizon. Speaking of, the sky line was a rainbow in and of itself, transitioning from burnt red upwards toward a smokey lavender. I kept thinking to myself that the Pixar and Disney animators only wished they could capture such natural beauty in films like Hercules and Up!
As the sun fell below the cloud bank, the ethereal dayscape transitioned to an eldritch nightscape. The skies were as mercurial as the Greek gods who called them home. As I looked out at the pale grey clouds and the cavernous shadow that were only moments before crucibles of sunshine, I couldn't help but feel like I was Wendy in Peter Pan, soaring "up, up and away!" (I also had these weird flashes of that scene in The Life Aquatic when they're in the netherworld of the deep ocean, happening upon cartoonish sea creatures. I half expected a leopard shark...or the flying dragon from the Never Ending Story to pop up from the clouds...my imagination was really active on Thursday...)
The horizon line was a lively periwinkle, working its way up to a deep royal blue. The full moon hung brightly in the sky, making possible my exploration and appreciation of those of those cumulonimbus crevasses.
As I daydreamed, sighed, and became giddy with the natural beauty and wonder of flying, I felt a slight pressure from the mundane habits of those around me. I think I may have been one of the only people on the plane looking out the window. Everyone else was busy answering emails, catching up on the latest New York Times Best Sellers, or just sleeping. I wish that a few more of them could have been jolted from their in-flight routines, to take a little flight of fancy through their imaginations...
Weather-wise it's such a lovely day
Just say the words and we'll beat the birds
Down to Acapulco Bay
Sometimes, I feel as though I forget how awe-inspiring flying can be. Like many of my fellow passengers, I typically have my head in a book or I'm working on my laptop for most of the flight. Perhaps this is a side effect of often choosing the aisle seat and having the privilege of flying regularly.
On Thursday, I wasn't in the aisle, but snuggled up close to the window. The director of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America booked my flights for the award ceremony in Washington D.C. I'm grateful that she broke me from my normal routine. The view from my window was magical...and I truly mean it when I say that it was a once in a lifetime view!
I flew out of New Orleans around 4:30pm, heading north to a sunset that fell around 6:28pm or so (e.g. during prime sunset viewing time). Our pilot chose a course that had us riding on the crests of clouds for the duration of the flight. At first, the clouds looked like rainbow sherbert. They were the colors of blushing Chambersburg peaches and crisp pink lady apples. These same clouds were also rimmed in bronze and gold as the sun swan dove toward the horizon. Speaking of, the sky line was a rainbow in and of itself, transitioning from burnt red upwards toward a smokey lavender. I kept thinking to myself that the Pixar and Disney animators only wished they could capture such natural beauty in films like Hercules and Up!
As the sun fell below the cloud bank, the ethereal dayscape transitioned to an eldritch nightscape. The skies were as mercurial as the Greek gods who called them home. As I looked out at the pale grey clouds and the cavernous shadow that were only moments before crucibles of sunshine, I couldn't help but feel like I was Wendy in Peter Pan, soaring "up, up and away!" (I also had these weird flashes of that scene in The Life Aquatic when they're in the netherworld of the deep ocean, happening upon cartoonish sea creatures. I half expected a leopard shark...or the flying dragon from the Never Ending Story to pop up from the clouds...my imagination was really active on Thursday...)
The horizon line was a lively periwinkle, working its way up to a deep royal blue. The full moon hung brightly in the sky, making possible my exploration and appreciation of those of those cumulonimbus crevasses.
As I daydreamed, sighed, and became giddy with the natural beauty and wonder of flying, I felt a slight pressure from the mundane habits of those around me. I think I may have been one of the only people on the plane looking out the window. Everyone else was busy answering emails, catching up on the latest New York Times Best Sellers, or just sleeping. I wish that a few more of them could have been jolted from their in-flight routines, to take a little flight of fancy through their imaginations...
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