The wee tiny Central City Airport had a "Fly-In" today, and the three of us headed out. Grant has seen images of planes, of course, and he has seen a few on the ground. But he hasn't really seen a plane take off or land. He's never seen a helicopter in person, nor has he seen a skydiver; both of which were expected at the event.

(Point at pics on this page, many are double-loaded...)

Private planes from all over the midwest came out. After an average breakfast in a hangar, we headed across the little runway to the center field where the vehicles were parked. Grant wanted to climb on and in every plane he saw, but that wasn't possible. There was a large Nebraska State Patrol helicopter, and the pilot was kind enough to let Grant sit in the back seat for a little while (if he didn't touch anything). A couple of small whirly-birds were parked nearby.

The runway where takeoffs and landings happen wasn't too far in front of us, and the little planes were coming in and out one right after another, as plane rides were offered for just $10 a seat. Grant was quickly fascinated. We sat on the grass just out of range of the Patrol chopper and watched for a long time.

We could hear little snippets of the loudspeaker voice that was so loud in the main hangar, and they kept talking about skydivers. The wind was very high; it was probably quite a trick to get a good jump. Finally we saw the first little bird-shaped speck and tried to point it out to Grant. Remember, he had never seen a parachutist before, so he didn't know what he was looking for. Finally he saw it. He was enrapt. Kevin had picked the A-Number-One place to sit: each of the four divers landed within 10 yards of us! For about the hundredth time this day, Grant made the sign for and said "more, more".

At about this time, one of the small helicopters started up its rotors; then the other. Grant was a little worried, but we talked to him as the copters warmed up. Just as he was starting to get bored, the far copter slowly began to lift. It took a few seconds for the pilot to get equilibrium in the strong wind, then he turned, circled a bit, and took off. The second helicopter followed shortly. Grant was amazed: he had never seen a helicopter in motion and it put a whole new "spin" on some of his books and toys. It was great.

We began to wander around to look at the planes up close. There were even some beautiful bi-planes in show condition. Unfortunately, Grant chose one of these to touch the wing, and tap it like a drum to see what sound it might make. The owner came running over, and asked us not to touch the paint on his plane. Grant started to get a little fussy at being able to look at all these cool planes, but not being able to climb all over or even touch them. I was also getting weary, and my bladder was getting full. I was not interested in using the lovely port-a-johns, and thought we might want to start thinking about the short trip home.

Just then, a man came up to us (out of the blue, as it were), and asked if Grant would like to sit in a plane. I answered right away, "He'd LOVE to!" He moved his headphones and other small stuff out of reach, and locked his controls, then lifted Grant into the pilot's seat. Grant "drove" the plane for a few minutes, and just loved it. I thought it was terrifically generous of the pilot to offer up his plane to us. We stood back and watched as the plane started up, taxied, and took off. It was time to go.

Now, I don't know what it is in my background: being around so many race tracks as a girl, working in the theatre, being around horses, I don't know. But it makes me crazy to see people who are not where they are supposed to be, make it difficult for people who are trying to do their job or who are where they are supposed to be. At the airport this day, I kept seeing people literally standing on the taxi runway, oblivious to airplanes trying to get through, or people chatting on the lawn/parking area while an airplane tried to make it to the runway without killing anyone. Planes don't have horns; I guess they thought the propeller that can chop a person to bits would demand enough respect. Anyway, the point of this rant is that as we were leaving, there was a little plane coming in on the lawn to park. I wanted to make sure that our little group of three wasn't in his way at all. So we stopped, well out of his way. The plane turned a bit, as if it wanted to come where we were standing. So we started walking quickly forward. The plane made another little shift, and I stopped. Kevin and Grant kept running forward. I looked at the plane again, trying to figure out where he was going; I couldn't see the pilot's face for a clue. So I started walking again. The plane came toward me, then stopped when I stopped, then moved toward me when I moved again. I started laughing, and jogged out of the way, waving "sorry!" as I went. We went up to talk to the pilot after he powered down, and he was practically in hysterics; tears in his eyes from laughing so hard. His whole family was cracking up. I laughed and apologized for getting in the way, he said it was no problem, and that he had never chased anyone with his plane before!

So on that funny/happy note, we called it a day and headed home. Grant continues to ask for more planes, more parachutes. I know he doesn't understand that he'll need to wait 'til next year's fly-in...

You may have learned from these pages that Grant is a very boyish boy. Although he can be shy and slow to warm to new environments, he is rough-and-tumble, enjoying nothing more than tools, trains, blocks, and other stereotypically "gender-appropriate" toys.

So you might be surprised to learn that Grant also LOVES tea parties. If you look around at books and videos, you will find that the Tea Party is ubiquitous. Pooh Bear and his friends are always having tea, as are Wubsy, Sir Topam Hatt, Blue, Barney, Backyardigans, and many other characters in many different media. Of course, we have never dissuaded Grant, or told him "tea parties are for girls". The boy loves him a good tea party. It should be noted that there are no white gloves, cucumber sandwiches, or flowered hats. It is lots of pouring, stirring, and cookie eating.

24 August - first visit to preschool (G fever in evening)

30 August - Grant presents with bacterial infection