Night Flight
Date: Any summer, moonlit night
Any summer night with a full moon and a cloudless sky, I took to the heavens with Bill, my soulmate. I felt my anticipation grow when we walked around 7095G’s airframe in our pre-flight ritual like two lovers coming together in a complicated dance.
We moved in synchronicity – I drained a bit of fuel from the tanks and checked for signs of water in the fuel line. You kicked tires and examined the wings and flaps. We came together at the wing, (what I called the altar of oneness or in the words of Taylor Swift, I wondered if we’d “always be this close, forever and ever”), studied the charts, and used the compass to draw a line from our starting point at Essex County Airport to anyone of our usual destinations like Pottstown Airport or Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I felt like I was back in high-school geometry class when you reminded me: the shortest distance between two points is a straight line like an arrow hitting its mark.
Throttle pushed in, airspeed increased, nose lifted, and then we rotated. Gliding up on a pillow of calm evening air like a magic carpet ride, we rose above the horizon and headed west into the sunset. You piloted and I held our chart (like a horoscope for two kindred Pisceans) on my lap looking for landmarks along the pencil line I’d drawn to guide our way: small airports, railroad tracks, ponds, woods, rivers – anything that verified we were on the right track. I glanced up periodically and looked at the dashboard heading indicator – always confident we wouldn’t drift from our destined path.
Those enchanted summer evenings when the moon was full, I was encapsulated for a time in a cocoon with you. I felt dreamy knowing I was going where you were going. We were one, together in a cockpit where I glimpsed the majesty of the rising moon as the earth slipped away beneath me. I felt like J. Alfred Prufrock in Elliot’s Love Song – “Let us go then, you and me, when the evening is spread out against the sky.”
I didn’t care where we went! My heart raced with each dreamy, moonlit movement through space. Later on, grounded again, prepared for the return flight – I felt we were closer than before because we’d reached our destination: snuggled in the cockpit and the moon lit our journey home.
From my perch in the sky, when I gazed upon the lights in people’s windows, beaming up warmth in the night sky, I thought of the lyrics “there is harmony”. I was at peace.
As we neared our home airport in Fairfield, New Jersey, I clicked the button and turned on the airport’s landing lights. Within minutes, I was on the ground again.
I will always remember those nights under the moon glow when we flew (for a time) above the horizon and I felt like Saint-Exupery’s Little Prince, because I knew “real love.”
Our Cessna 172 and Teddy Bear (Schipperke).
Simply beautiful sentiments. Thank you for sharing. Anyone who has lost their soulmate can truly appreciate and relate to your heartfelt writing above.
I read all four of the Star O’Brien books and thoroughly enjoyed them. I’m really “hooked” on your mysteries and was devastated to find out there were no more Star O’Brien mysteries. It is such a sorrow to have finished the last book in that series but I was so elated to discover that you have begun a new Artemis Penelope Braxton series! However, I couldn’t find any info. regarding a title for the first book in the new series, so I am assuming that the first book in the new series has not yet been published. I really am hoping this new series will also be set in “Mayo-God-help-us.”
I have visited County Mayo several times. I fell in love with beautiful County Mayo when my mother and I were in search of De Burgos ancestors. Of course, we had already read everything we could find about Granuaile O’Malley, who was married to Richard DeBurgos for a year and a day. Of course we so admire, respect and revere her and everything she fought for and accomplished for her O’Malley clan. We were awestruck by the many sacrifices she made in the continuous fight for the freedom and protection of her O’Malley clan. We mourned all of her many sorrows, including the tragic deaths of her two sons. Granuaile is an incredibly strong and fascinating role model for Irish women all over the world. Granuaile is the most awesome and the strongest woman I have ever read about. Her trials and tribulations make me weep. It is amazing and miraculous how she continued to find the strength to carry on in the face of such terrible, cruel adversity from her enemies.
While on Clare Island, my mother, grandmother and I stood in Granuaile’s beautiful, little, white chapel up on the mountain, open to the winds, all weathers and the salt, sea air. We knew about her coat of arms on the wall of the chapel and wanted to see it. We wanted to try to feel her presence in the chapel. This was a sacred pilgrimage for us. It was such an honor and a privilege to be able to be standing in the holy place where she would go to pray when she was on Clare Island. I will never, ever forget her and how fiercely she persevered after the many tragic events in her life, so many of which were caused by her enemies in England. It seems she dedicated her entire life to protecting and helping her clan. I can only be awestruck at her courage, strength, perseverence and ability to never stop fighting to preserve the freedom and territory of her clan. I will never forget the awesome intelligence of her successful plan to take Rockfleet from Richard DeBurgos. She worked so tirelessly and successfully to regain stolen O’Malley land. Granuaile was an extremely selfless, canny, compasionate, caring, fiercely independent woman!!! It’s a huge sorrow we cannot travel back in time so we could meet and know those true, historical figures we so admire and revere. It is at least comforting to know that Granuaile and all of her successful endeavors for her clan will never be forgotten. Thanks to Granuaile, there will always be O’Malleys, scholars and authors to continue to share her story with the world. Granuaile and her indomitable spirit will never, ever be forgotten.
Please let me know when the first book of your new series has been released. I am awaiting the pleasure of reading your new mystery series with much anticipation. One of the great things about your mysteries is that they really make one think and keep one guessing about who the culprit is!!
Thank you for the gift of your incredible writing and wonderful stories!!! Long may you write!!!
Simply beautiful sentiments. Thank you for sharing. Anyone who has lost their soulmate can truly appreciate and relate to your heartfelt writing above.
I read all four of the Star O’Brien books and thoroughly enjoyed them. I’m really “hooked” on your mysteries and was devastated to find out there were no more Star O’Brien mysteries. It is such a sorrow to have finished the last book in that series but I was so elated to discover that you have begun a new Artemis Penelope Braxton series! However, I couldn’t find any info. regarding a title for the first book in the new series, so I am assuming that the first book in the new series has not yet been published. I really am hoping this new series will also be set in “Mayo-God-help-us.”
I have visited County Mayo several times. I fell in love with beautiful County Mayo when my mother and I were in search of De Burgos ancestors. Of course, we had already read everything we could find about Granuaile O’Malley, who was married to Richard DeBurgos for a year and a day. Of course we so admire, respect and revere her and everything she fought for and accomplished for her O’Malley clan. We were awestruck by the many sacrifices she made in her continuous fight for the freedom and protection of her O’Malley clan. We mourned all of her many sorrows, including the tragic deaths of her two sons. Granuaile is an incredibly strong and fascinating role model for Irish women all over the world. Granuaile is the most awesome and the strongest woman I have ever read about. Her trials and tribulations make me weep. It is amazing and miraculous how she continued to find the strength to carry on in the face of such terrible, cruel adversity from her enemies.
While on Clare Island, my mother, grandmother and I stood in Granuaile’s beautiful, little, white chapel up on the mountain, open to the winds, all weathers and the salt, sea air. We knew about her coat of arms on the wall of the chapel and wanted to see it. We wanted to try to feel her presence in the chapel. This was a sacred pilgrimage for us. It was such an honor and a privilege to be able to be standing in the holy place where she would go to pray when she was on Clare Island. I will never, ever forget her and how fiercely she persevered after the many tragic events in her life, so many of which were caused by her enemies in. It seems she dedicated her entire life to protecting and helping her clan. I can only be awestruck by her courage, strength, perseverence and ability to never stop fighting to preserve the freedom and territory of her clan. I will never forget the awesome intelligence of her successful plan to take Rockfleet from Richard DeBurgos. She worked so tirelessly and successfully to regain stolen O’Malley land. Granuaile was an extremely selfless, canny, compasionate, caring, fiercely independent woman!!! It’s a sorrow we cannot travel back in time so we could meet and know those true, historical figures we so admire and revere. It is at least comforting to know that Granuaile and all of her successful endeavors for her clan will never be forgotten. Thanks to Granuaile, there will always be O’Malleys, scholars and authors to continue to share her story with the world. Granuaile and her indomitable spirit will never, ever be forgotten.
Please let me know when the first book of your new series has been released. I am awaiting the pleasure of reading your new mystery series with much anticipation. One of the great things about your mysteries is that they really make one think and keep one guessing about who the culprit is!!
Thank you for the gift of your incredible writing and wonderful stories!!! Long may you write!!!
Simply beautiful sentiments. Thank you for sharing your lovely story about your soulmate. Anyone who has lost their soulmate can truly appreciate and relate to your heartfelt writing above.
I read all four of the Star O’Brien books and thoroughly enjoyed them. I’m really “hooked” on your mysteries and was devastated to find out there were no more Star O’Brien mysteries. It is such a sorrow to have finished the last book in that series but I was so elated to discover that you have begun a new Artemis Penelope Braxton series! However, I couldn’t find any info. regarding a title for the first book in the new series, so I am assuming that the first book in the new series has not yet been published. I really am hoping this new series will also be set in “Mayo-God-help-us.”
I have visited County Mayo several times. I fell in love with beautiful County Mayo when my mother and I were in search of De Burgos ancestors. Of course, we had already read everything we could find about Granuaile O’Malley, who was married to Richard DeBurgos for a year and a day, legally divorcing him on that day after a year had expired, having successfully taken Rockfleet (on O’Malley land) from him. What a brilliant, clever plot to recover O’Malley territory!!! One just cannot fail to admire such brilliant intelligence!!! Of course we so admire, respect and revere her and everything she fought for and accomplished for her O’Malley clan. We were awestruck by the many sacrifices she made in her continuous fight for the freedom and protection of her clan. We mourned all of her many sorrows, including the tragic deaths of her two sons. Granuaile is an incredibly strong and fascinating role model for Irish women all over the world. Granuaile is the most awesome and the strongest woman I have ever read about. Her trials, tribulations and sacrifices make me weep. It is amazing and miraculous that she continued to find the strength to carry on in the face of such terrible, cruel adversity from her enemies.
While on Clare Island, my mother, grandmother and I arrived to find the O’Malleys very busy dipping sheep. Upon asking one of the men who was dipping sheep about how to get to Granuaile’s chapel, we were told to go to the hotel, have a cuppa and return, so one of them could escort us up to Granuaile’s chapel, because he would be finished with the sheep by the time we returned.
We arrived at the chapel, at which time we were very respectfully left alone to stand in Granuaile’s beautiful, little, white chapel up on the mountain.
This chapel had no glass in the “windows” of the walls. It was open to the winds, all weathers and the salt, sea air. I think the openings in the walls without glass were deliberate and that she wanted it to be open to the sea air. These openings did not have the appearance of ever gaving been “windows.” We knew Granuaile’s coat of arms was on the inside wall of the chapel and we wanted to see it. We wanted to try to feel her presence in the chapel. This was a sacred pilgrimage for us. It was such an honor and a privilege to be able to be standing in the holy place where she would go to pray when she was on Clare Island. I will never, ever forget her and how fiercely she persevered after the many tragic events in her life, so many of which were caused by her enemies. She dedicated her entire life to protecting and helping her clan. I can only be awestruck by her courage, strength, perseverence and ability to never stop fighting to preserve the freedom and territory of her clan. I will never forget the awesome intelligence of her successful plan to take Rockfleet from Richard DeBurgos and thus regain O’Malley land. She worked so tirelessly and successfully to regain a lot of stolen O’Malley land. Granuaile was an extremely selfless, canny, compasionate, caring, fiercely independent woman!!! It’s a sorrow we cannot travel back in time so we could meet and know those true, historical figures we so admire and revere. It is at least comforting to know that Granuaile and all of her successful endeavors for her clan will never be forgotten. Thanks to Granuaile, there will always be O’Malleys to continue to share story. There will always be scholars and authors to continue to share her story with the world as well. Granuaile and her indomitable spirit will never, ever be forgotten!!!
Please let me know when the first book of your new series has been released. I am awaiting the pleasure of reading your new mystery series with much anticipation. One of the great things about your mysteries is that they really make one think and keep one guessing about who the culprit is!!
Thank you for the gift of your incredible writing and wonderful stories!!! Long may you write!!!