To Fly or Not to Fly?

Many people I work with wonder what it is like to fly up to Washington DC to work and then return back home. I do this each and every week.

I usually board my flight Sunday evening of each week and return home on Thursday evening late.

On Friday, at least twice per month, I will go to the SEARISC and perform my Army Reserve duty. I owe the Army two "weekends" per month. My Reserve unit is actually located in Vermont, but I've never been there. In fact, almost no one goes to Vermont. The unit members are scattered across the Eastern United States. Since the unit drills on MONDAY nights, most people find their way to a Reserve Center and perform the duty. In my case, I have no reserve center close by, so I choose to work from home.

This covers two Fridays. I also handle yard work and perform any owner repairs on my rental property.

After the work is complete, I have time to spend with my family. We usually go and eat out lunch on Saturday or dinner at Anh Hong's, a great little Vietnamese eatery at the corner of Mills Avenue and Colonial Drive in the heart of Little Vietnam of Orlando.

But my real love is flying. I love to fly little Cessnas around in the sky. But as of late, I have not felt like flying too much.

Last year, instead of buying an airplane, I bought a membership in a flight club. The club provides a nice array of aircraft for a very affordable price.

I am very superstitious about my flying. If everything is not just perfect on the plane, I will not fly. If I am a little tired, I won't fly either. Also, it's getting a little old flying around by myself.

My son does not have an interest in flying, probably due to his mother telling him all about spiral crash and burns. My wife cannot fly because she gets terribly ill from motion sickness. For her, it's really bad. She actually went with me about two months ago and it took almost three days for her to get better. My daughter loves to fly, but at three years old, I am a little hesitant to take her because I cannot predict what she will do and I need to concentrate on flying the plane. Last time we went, she fell asleep within five minutes of take-off, but then my wife got sick.

I have had a few conversations with friends or associates, but have not yet set a date to go flying with any of them. I wish I had someplace to go or a reason to fly, but I am a practical individual and I do not like to waste money.

With the economy the way it is, I don't like to spend money unless it has a purpose behind it. It seems like this expensive form of entertainment may have to wait until the economy gets a little better.

Unless of course, a trip to Miami beckons for a Media Noche and a nice Cafe Con Leche.