July, 2007

That's a picture of two-year-old Big Bubba at the dedication of the Indy Heliport. How things have changed! Big Bubba has grown and prospered. The heliport, one of the FAA's pet projects at the time, is now more helistop than heliport. But that's another story for a later time.

Tomorrow, Sara Jean and I will once again endure the aggravation of taking off our shoes for the TSA, and will board the flying Greyhound bus for Phoenix, this time to celebrate Big Bubba's 24th birthday. We poked around for the best rate and found that by flying on the 4th itself, we could save almost $100. So we depart tomorrow at 1400 hours, and taking the time change into consideration, we'll be arriving in plenty of time to bask in the (116F. predicted) sunshine. When the sun disappears in the West, there will be a fireworks display just down the street from BB's apartment, and we are hopeful the temps will have moderated enough for us to sit on his balcony with an adult beverage and "ooh and ahh" at the colors, shapes, and BOOMS.

Everyone involved in aviation knows that Murphy's Law reigns supreme, so it'll come as no surprise to you that the air-conditioner on Big Bubba's 1992 Cadillac ceased to work just about two months ago when the temps in Mesa first popped their heads above 100 degrees F. BB's drive to work is only 15 minutes or so, so he has been "toughing it out", sweating and saving like crazy for wheels he has been dreaming of for a couple years. He wanted to pay cash for the truck, but the heat finally got to him. He found the exact vehicle he wanted at a dealership just a few minutes away from his home, and on his own, just made a deal to trade the Cadillac for it. The Cadillac is titled in my name and I spent a few frantic moments looking for the title this afternoon... the cabinet those records were in was one we gave him when he moved, so all our titles were temporarily misplaced. But I found 'em, and now all but the Caddy title are in the fire-proof safe in my new office- Big Bubba's old bedroom!

So we're gonna be brave and risk traveling on our nation's birthday, on a day when fanatics would love find a way to blow us out of the sky. We're gonna thumb our noses at 'em and act like not bein' able to bring 4 ounces of hand lotion aboard the airplane is a normal thing!
I'll update you on the flight when we are safely in Mesa.

Happy Birthday U.S.A.! Have a safe and happy 4th of July everyone!