Methuselah's Daughter, Part 2, Chapter 21
J.A. Eddy
Ann Arbor, March 2005
[—begin Journal entry—]
It is not often that people manage to surprise me, but Edna has been doing so almost from the day we met. I was wary of her at first, then fascinated by her as I learned more and more of her life.
She once was a pilot, learning to fly when she was barely twenty years old, and she and her husband pursued that with a passion, barnstorming across Pennsylvania in an old Jenny bi-plane. She flew aerobatics and did wing walking in daredevil shows, always describing those as some of the best days of her life.
Eventually she settled down and had three children, Joshua the youngest having been born in 1940. When World War II enveloped the United States her husband enlisted immediately, being selected as a trainer for the Army Air Corps due to his extensive piloting experience. Not to be outdone, Edna dropped her children with her mother and sought out an opportunity to do her part, eventually becoming a member of the Women’s Air Service Pilots ferrying bombers and fighters for the Army. She once confided to me that flying the twin-engine P-38 fighter was the “the most fun I ever had with my knickers on.” More than once she was reprimanded for tearing up airfields to the delight of onlookers before bringing her plane in for delivery.
I wish I had known her back then. We would have had much fun together. Throughout her life she always faced things head-on and never looked back in regret, and it is to that she credits her long life. Battles are to be fought and won: that is her belief and her motto. Her son Joshua was learning just what that meant firsthand.
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Of course we all lose our tempers now and then. Dean freely admits to being imperfect in this regard, which is why regulars to this establishment will generally be cut more slack than people who we don't know very well.
Still: behave like an adult, or go find somewhere else to play. Thanks.