30
A Gathering of Friends
LTC Robert J Friend was one of a kind. Born in 1920, he made it to nearly 100 years old. The secret to his longevity? “Too afraid to die!” He was born to be a pilot, but back in those days, black men didn’t get to be what they want. Still, Bob found a way, and he eventually became one of the original Tuskegee Airmen, a Red Tail pilot who served in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. When Bob returned to civilian life in the early 70s, he went on to a career in aerospace, eventually obtaining a degree in Astro Physics. He worked well into his 90s, while at the same time traveling and speaking about his experiences as a Red Tail pilot. “It’s easy to make friends,” he once said. “The hard part is keeping them.” And yet, more than three years after his death, the friends he made remain friends with each other, showing up to honor his legacy whenever the opportunity arises.
Flying West
I hope there's a place, way up in the sky,
Where pilots can go, when they have to die.
A place where a guy can buy a cold beer
For a friend and a comrade, whose memory is dear;
A place where no doctor or lawyer can tread ,
Nor a management type would ere be caught dead;
Just a quaint little place, kind of dark, full of smoke,
Where they like to sing loud, and love a good joke;
The kind of a place where a lady could go
And feel safe and protected, by the men she would know.
There must be a place where old pilots go,
When their wings become heavy, when their airspeed gets low,
Where the whiskey is old, and the women are young,
And songs about flying and dying are sung,
Where you'd see all the fellows who'd ‘flown west’ before,
And they'd call out your name, as you came through the door.
Who would buy you a drink, if your thirst should be bad,
And relate to the others, "He was quite a good lad!"
And there, through the mist, you'd spot an old guy
You had not seen in years, though he taught you to fly.
He'd nod his old head, and grin ear to ear;
And say, "Welcome, my son, I'm pleased that you're here.
For this is the place where true flyers come,
When the battles are over, and the wars have been won.
They've come here at last, to be safe and alone
From the government clerks and the management clone,
Politicians and lawyers, the Feds and the noise,
Where all hours are happy, and these good ole boys
Can relax with a cool one, and a well deserved rest!
This is heaven, my son. You've passed your last test!"
—Captain Michael J. Larkin TWA(Ret)
If I Only Had Wings
Do you ever dream of flying? Imagine what it must have been like to live in a world without airplanes, helicopters, hot air balloons, or any other kind of flying contraption. We could only dream of flying.
