| Biographical Non-Fiction posted May 30, 2024 | Chapters: |
...19 20 -21- 22... 
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Another look into my life around five.
A chapter in the book At Home in Mississippi
Up, Up, and Away
by BethShelby
From as far back as I can remember, I was fascinated with birds and watching them as they flew. I would dream about how wonderful it must be to be able to zoom around in the air. I would fantasize about doing cartwheels among the fluffy summertime clouds. I didn’t realize they were optical illusions and nothing like pictures I’d seen of cherubs lounging around on them. If I’d realized they were just damp air that would make things look hazy, it would have been a destructive blow to the imaginary picture I’d created in my mind.
Our little town of Newton had a small airport about a half mile away and planes flew low over our house. I found them intriguing as well. The owner of the airport, happened to be a regular customer at the grocery store dad managed. One day, he told my dad he had plans to generate some interest in the airport by taking kids up for plane rides the following weekend. He’d weigh them and let them go up for two cents a pound. “You think your daughter would be afraid to go up in a plane?” he asked my dad.
“I’m sure she wouldn’t want to go up, but I’ll bring her out and let her see the planes and the other kids going flying. She’s pretty young, but we’ll see.”
Dad didn’t tell anyone. He just said he was going to ride around with me for a little while. He liked having me to himself, so no one objected. I was thrilled to be able to see the planes close up and watch them taxi down the runway and take off into the sky.
“What do you think about all this?” Dad asked. “Would you want to go up in the air in a plane?”
“Yes, I want to. Please, can I? Can you come with me?"
“No, I wouldn’t be going. Mr. Jumper would have to take you up. It is just a two-seater plane. Are you sure you want to do this?"
“Yes, I want to ride in the plane.” Dad took me over and introduced me to the pilot. I liked him right away. He started joking around with me and had me step up on some scales.
“Wow, you weigh a whole 38 pounds. You’re not much bigger than a bird. That’s going to cost your daddy 76 cents. Are you worth that much?"
I just grinned and said nothing. He led me to the plane and helped me into the front seat and buckled me in. He climbed into the seat behind me. There were controls in front of me and behind me as well. It must have been a plane for training people to fly. When he started it up, the sound was so loud I had to cover my ears. When he talked to me, he had to shout. We taxied down the runway and lifted into the air. I was in awe as I watched the place where Daddy waited, quickly become smaller. The buildings, houses, and cars started to look like toys.
We circled around the city and then, he dipped the plane down and pointed to a house and asked me if I knew who lived there. It looked very different from my angle, but I recognized it was our house. It surprised me that he knew where I lived.
Then he angled the plane up and asked if I wanted to go upside down. I nodded, and he told me to hold on tight because it would feel funny for a minute. It was a weird and scary sensation as the plane nosedived and then flipped back right side up. My stomach felt queasy. I hoped he wouldn’t do that again.
“You did great,” he told me. “You could probably fly this plane without my help. I think I’ll take a nap and let you be the pilot.” I looked at him like surely you aren’t serious. He was grinning, and I hoped he was teasing me.
He told me what to do and let me pretend I was flying it, but I’m sure he never let go of the controls. I felt like we were in the air for a long time before he brought the plane back to earth. I was ready to be on the ground again. I hadn’t been scared, but I couldn’t wait to tell everyone about my adventure. I was so proud of myself because I was the only one in my family who had ever been in a plane.
Daddy stopped by his parents' house, and I had to tell them all about it. My grandma got upset with my dad for letting me go up. “Are you crazy? What are you trying to do? Get her killed?” Mom wasn’t too pleased he hadn't told her what he planned to do before we did it. Daddy told everyone he didn’t plan for me to go up, because he thought I wouldn’t want to. He said I had begged to go, and he knew Mr. Jumper was a safe pilot, but he hadn’t expected him to do a flip in the air. When he saw the plane do the flip, he had been worried.
****
Another bright spot, in my life around that time was when I met Mattie. I went to visit my grandparents and to my surprise, they had a visitor. She was related in some distant way. I don’t think Grandma was too pleased when she arrived carrying a big suitcase.
Mattie was an old lady who visited relatives and expected to be waited on. She didn’t move very fast and walked with a cane. She sat around most of the time and dipped snuff, but she liked me right away and was willing to make conversation with me for hours and tell me stories of her life. She loved playing jokes on people. I thought she was funny and acted more like a kid than the other grown people. I was probably the only one who would talk to her. Grandma and Grandpa stayed busy and were delighted to let me entertain her.
Mattie loved telling stories. I craved hearing stories, so we were a good match. In a way, she wasn’t so unlike Grandpa, because he was the storyteller in the family and he also dipped snuff. Grandpa carried his snuff in a tin inside his jean pocket. Mattie got her snuff out of a jar. Snuff is a brown powder that looks like cocoa powder. I wanted to taste it, and Mattie let me taste hers. I couldn’t understand why anyone would put something that tasted so bad in their mouth.
Matte started visiting my grandparents a couple of times a year. Daddy said she was like a parasite because Grandma had to wait on her and cook for her, but she never offered to help her do anything. When I knew she was there I always hurried to visit with her. She was like a kid in an old body, but I couldn’t wait to hear what new stories she might have to tell.
One of the last tales I remember her telling was her plans for the funeral she hoped to have when she died. She wanted a brass marching band and a parade with balloons and fireworks. Her descriptions almost made dying sound like fun.
From as far back as I can remember, I was fascinated with birds and watching them as they flew. I would dream about how wonderful it must be to be able to zoom around in the air. I would fantasize about doing cartwheels among the fluffy summertime clouds. I didn’t realize they were optical illusions and nothing like pictures I’d seen of cherubs lounging around on them. If I’d realized they were just damp air that would make things look hazy, it would have been a destructive blow to the imaginary picture I’d created in my mind.
Our little town of Newton had a small airport about a half mile away and planes flew low over our house. I found them intriguing as well. The owner of the airport, happened to be a regular customer at the grocery store dad managed. One day, he told my dad he had plans to generate some interest in the airport by taking kids up for plane rides the following weekend. He’d weigh them and let them go up for two cents a pound. “You think your daughter would be afraid to go up in a plane?” he asked my dad.
“I’m sure she wouldn’t want to go up, but I’ll bring her out and let her see the planes and the other kids going flying. She’s pretty young, but we’ll see.”
Dad didn’t tell anyone. He just said he was going to ride around with me for a little while. He liked having me to himself, so no one objected. I was thrilled to be able to see the planes close up and watch them taxi down the runway and take off into the sky.
“What do you think about all this?” Dad asked. “Would you want to go up in the air in a plane?”
“Yes, I want to. Please, can I? Can you come with me?"
“No, I wouldn’t be going. Mr. Jumper would have to take you up. It is just a two-seater plane. Are you sure you want to do this?"
“Yes, I want to ride in the plane.” Dad took me over and introduced me to the pilot. I liked him right away. He started joking around with me and had me step up on some scales.
“Wow, you weigh a whole 38 pounds. You’re not much bigger than a bird. That’s going to cost your daddy 76 cents. Are you worth that much?"
I just grinned and said nothing. He led me to the plane and helped me into the front seat and buckled me in. He climbed into the seat behind me. There were controls in front of me and behind me as well. It must have been a plane for training people to fly. When he started it up, the sound was so loud I had to cover my ears. When he talked to me, he had to shout. We taxied down the runway and lifted into the air. I was in awe as I watched the place where Daddy waited, quickly become smaller. The buildings, houses, and cars started to look like toys.
We circled around the city and then, he dipped the plane down and pointed to a house and asked me if I knew who lived there. It looked very different from my angle, but I recognized it was our house. It surprised me that he knew where I lived.
Then he angled the plane up and asked if I wanted to go upside down. I nodded, and he told me to hold on tight because it would feel funny for a minute. It was a weird and scary sensation as the plane nosedived and then flipped back right side up. My stomach felt queasy. I hoped he wouldn’t do that again.
“You did great,” he told me. “You could probably fly this plane without my help. I think I’ll take a nap and let you be the pilot.” I looked at him like surely you aren’t serious. He was grinning, and I hoped he was teasing me.
He told me what to do and let me pretend I was flying it, but I’m sure he never let go of the controls. I felt like we were in the air for a long time before he brought the plane back to earth. I was ready to be on the ground again. I hadn’t been scared, but I couldn’t wait to tell everyone about my adventure. I was so proud of myself because I was the only one in my family who had ever been in a plane.
Daddy stopped by his parents' house, and I had to tell them all about it. My grandma got upset with my dad for letting me go up. “Are you crazy? What are you trying to do? Get her killed?” Mom wasn’t too pleased he hadn't told her what he planned to do before we did it. Daddy told everyone he didn’t plan for me to go up, because he thought I wouldn’t want to. He said I had begged to go, and he knew Mr. Jumper was a safe pilot, but he hadn’t expected him to do a flip in the air. When he saw the plane do the flip, he had been worried.
****
Another bright spot, in my life around that time was when I met Mattie. I went to visit my grandparents and to my surprise, they had a visitor. She was related in some distant way. I don’t think Grandma was too pleased when she arrived carrying a big suitcase.
Another bright spot, in my life around that time was when I met Mattie. I went to visit my grandparents and to my surprise, they had a visitor. She was related in some distant way. I don’t think Grandma was too pleased when she arrived carrying a big suitcase.
Mattie was an old lady who visited relatives and expected to be waited on. She didn’t move very fast and walked with a cane. She sat around most of the time and dipped snuff, but she liked me right away and was willing to make conversation with me for hours and tell me stories of her life. She loved playing jokes on people. I thought she was funny and acted more like a kid than the other grown people. I was probably the only one who would talk to her. Grandma and Grandpa stayed busy and were delighted to let me entertain her.
Mattie loved telling stories. I craved hearing stories, so we were a good match. In a way, she wasn’t so unlike Grandpa, because he was the storyteller in the family and he also dipped snuff. Grandpa carried his snuff in a tin inside his jean pocket. Mattie got her snuff out of a jar. Snuff is a brown powder that looks like cocoa powder. I wanted to taste it, and Mattie let me taste hers. I couldn’t understand why anyone would put something that tasted so bad in their mouth.
Matte started visiting my grandparents a couple of times a year. Daddy said she was like a parasite because Grandma had to wait on her and cook for her, but she never offered to help her do anything. When I knew she was there I always hurried to visit with her. She was like a kid in an old body, but I couldn’t wait to hear what new stories she might have to tell.
One of the last tales I remember her telling was her plans for the funeral she hoped to have when she died. She wanted a brass marching band and a parade with balloons and fireworks. Her descriptions almost made dying sound like fun.
 Recognized |
The year is around 1942 in Newton, Mississipp. This will be a chapter in the book "Growing Up in Mississippi.
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