It is all part of finishing my degree and becoming a "PROFESSIONAL" teacher. Yah, so what that is worth...
Anyways, I write about avaition and this little "teacher-ette" gives me B's. She gives ME A B for the stuff I write! It kinda ticks me off because during my entire recent career at Fitchburg State College (28 Credits) I got a 4.0 average. Biatch!
Here is my most recent tome. Tell me what you think. I think you will like the content.
There is a place…
There is a place that I like to visit; and you may have been there too. You might not have paid attention to these things before; or perhaps you have?
The place is different each time I visit, but in many ways it is the same each time. It can be tranquil or it can be tense. I have seen many things from its lofty vantage point and on other days, seen nothing at all. The journey could be peppered with distraction or exceptionally solemn and serene. This place is aloft. We are only visitors here. As humans we have adapted to this lonely environment only temporarily. We can borrow the experience only for as long as our mechanical and biological devices will withstand.
While I am there, I am solely responsible for my own destiny. No other individual could hinder or help me, as I am in command of my soul and my own desires; and also those that I have brought along with me to visit this place. If I fail, I could suffer the ultimate consequence, compromising the very existence of myself and that of my passengers. For this reason I find the challenges of an uneventful flight exhilarating and invigorating. It is said that there are lots of boats at the bottom of the sea, but there are no planes left in the skies. I must be at the top of my game because to shortchange any of my faculties could be devastating, or at the very least, exciting. A boring trip can often times be a good one. Flying your own airplane is like driving your car or steering your own boat because you are the one manipulating the controls. That is where the similarities end. Unlike your car or boat, being captain of your own aircraft is less forgiving to carelessness and neglect. Responsibility is the key to success.
Sometimes, I am tense and have a lump in my throat. This is all part of the experience, for I am focused on my journey. It can be a flight of fancy or a trip to a vacation spot. When you fly, getting there is part of your holiday. The weather plays a huge role in the experience. At dawn and dusk, the ride is often silky smooth. This smooth air sometimes persists for the entire day. On other occasions, you will be jostled around so much that you bump your head on the canopy and the instruments appear as though they are duplicates! You must steady your hand on the panel with one finger while using the other to alter the function of an instrument. Unlike on the water or the road, you cannot see the bumps before they impact your vehicle. It is for this reason many people don’t understand this borrowed environment.
Upon retuning to earth, I always feel glad that I went. The aviation experience is one that shouldn’t be done casually, like the way one might enjoy golf. It requires study and experience to be fully understood. To explain it to others; or perhaps to teach it to others embeds the knowledge deeply and makes you a superior operator of this mechanical bodily extension we call an airplane. Any pilot can explain the mechanics and theory of flight. What it does to the spirit of the pilot is beyond description.
Perhaps you should give it a try? You will learn things about yourself and the world that you never knew possible.
CJ
P.S. WS, I made the changes. Do I get an "A" now?
RV-7
Garmin G3X with VP-X & a TMX-IO-360 with G3i
It's all over but the flying! 800+ hours in only 3 years!
Let me first state I'm an engineer that couldn't write a short story if I tried, can't spell, don't know how to use a semicolon in a sentense, and grammer ability, well, I ain't got none. I do remember getting blasted for having way too many short sentences in what I did write, but that's just the way I was, nice neat little thoughts that I didn't have to worry about figuring out where to put fancy punctuation. Maybe this "teacher-ette" is like the one I had so many years ago, just has a personal preference for something that is very subjective. If I can read it, figure out what it means, not stumble over the words, it's good for me. Just keep writing in your style and what makes you comfortable, there will always be somebody that thinks it isn't good, but when it comes to writing, and most art type things, in the end you are the only critic that really matters. Oh, I like it .
Last edited by dons on Mon Mar 12, 2007 3:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I always find it a mystery how flying can be such a deep emotional experience, and yet I can't find words that begin to describe it. I think you done real good.
I will let you know what she gives me for a grade on it. She gave me another B on another paper tonight.
This chicklet is starting to tick me off.
I had some people with WAY more edyumacation than her do the proofreading on this one before I gave it to her so, I am interested in hearing her judgement!
CJ
RV-7
Garmin G3X with VP-X & a TMX-IO-360 with G3i
It's all over but the flying! 800+ hours in only 3 years!
Remember that for many of these people it is not about the education, it is about the ideology. Here you are waxing poetic about an activity which increases greenhouse gasses! If you want a better grade, you better explain how you are minimizing your environmental impact by purchasing carbon offsets like the great walrus - oops I mean Hero - Al Gore.
Pat
RV-8
N804PT - IO-360, Hartzell blended airfoil, GRT dual Horizon I & EIS, TruTrak ADI Pilot II
Flying - 950 hours!
CJ, Just read her mind (?) and write about things she likes and understands. I did that in my English comp classes, way back when, and came out with great scores. Try it and see!
Dan
CJ
.
