One Brief Moment

Memories are odd things. We each have our own, and we call them our own because we have our own emotions tied to them. Even though they are uniquely ours, they hinge on so many other people's memories that it's amazing that we don't all just have on human consciousness, with no concept of "individual."

I remember the first time I thought of this. I was flying a Cessna 172 with a friend of mine down the Miami coastline, taking pictures and enjoying the early December sunset. As we neared the Port of Miami, I spotted a Carnival cruise ship about 4 miles offshore and turned in its direction, descending to about 400 feet over the water. As we slowly passed the ship, camera flashes began to appear in our direction, and we returned the favor with a few flashes of our own and waves to the passengers. As I headed back towards the shoreline, I realized that I would remember that moment for years as the first joy ride with my brand new pilot's license. At the same time, I hoped that it might be a memory for someone on that ship, to have seen a plane fly so close to their ship on a big vacation. Maybe it was their honeymoon, and 40 years later when they recounted it to their own grandchildren they would remember me. Or maybe it was a 5 year old kid who found our airplane interesting, and be inspired to pursue aviation in some form or another later in life.

I've thought about this a lot since that moment. For example, when I look up at the sky and see a plane cruising overhead at 35,000 feet I wonder about the people on that plane: the pilots and all the training and flying they have ever done, the family moving across the country or around the world for the first time, a father coming home from a business trip, grandparents going to visit their children and grandchildren, maybe for the first time in years, the child going away from home for the first time, and the countless other stories that become intertwined on that plane, and then become intertwined with mine for one brief moment when I look up and see them zoom across the sky.