"Living Every Girl's Dream,
She Married a Helicopter Pilot!"
As a helicopter pilot, I chuckled when I first saw the caption above. In keeping with the Cinderella quality of the Royal Wedding, it should have read "She Married a Prince". Except, I know from personal experience that being a helicopter pilot makes one more princely than any prince.
In the photo, the girl has married a prince who also happens to be a helicopter pilot. In a strange twist of fate, I happen to be a helicopter pilot who married a princess.
I was not always a helicopter pilot. I was first a farm boy, then a machinist, then a student, and finally an artilleryman and flight student before pinning on the wings that entitle me to call myself a helicopter pilot. It took a very nasty war in a semi-exotic place to teach me what being a helicopter pilot really meant.
My wife, on the other hand, has always been a princess. She was a princess when we met, a princess during the time we dated and a princess when we married, long before I ever considered being a helicopter pilot. She remains a princess to this day, as do our two daughters. It is in part because my wife is a princess that I was able to become a helicopter pilot and all of the other things I have become through the years.
I have a thing for princesses. Princesses are special. Princesses are warm and caring. Princesses are strong and determined. Princesses are fiercely loyal. Princesses speak with special authority. And, because of who they are, princesses are worthy of special respect and deference.
Being married to a princess, demonstrating the special loyalty, care and respect to which a princess is entitled is a high calling. Lived out, such a calling has been shown able to transform many a lowly commoner, even a helicopter pilot into a prince.
Everyone knows that princes and princesses are to live happily ever after. And to live happily ever after as a prince is almost as good or maybe even better than to be a helicopter pilot.
What are you doing to live happily ever after?
I love you, Dad. Some of our "princess" mentality definitely comes from the special helicopter pilot in our lives. Thanks for that!
ReplyDeleteBrits have better uniforms...
ReplyDeleteI am so honored. You have made me feel like a princess, when all I am is wife and mother! Thank you for all the wonderful years! Besides Helicopter Pilots are true heroes...at least the ones I know!
ReplyDeleteThese are such lovely sentiments. Though of course you are known to express them in person as well as via the written word! Thanks so much for sharing them. :-)- Iris
ReplyDeleteThis basic license allows you to fly single-engine aircraft and carry passengers; it is the foundation for more advanced instrument, commercial and professional pilot licenses. Many people do not know all the steps or realize that that they have options to fit many different approaches, learning styles and goals. You must be at least 17 years old and read, speak and understand English. Meet these criteria, and you´re ready to start. Beyond that, follow these 10 easy steps to a Private Pilot License:
ReplyDelete1. Set a goal for yourself. Maybe you want to finish during a long vacation. Maybe you want to spread your training and the costs out over a few months, a year or longer. Either way, it is important to be honest with yourself. Investigate alternatives. You can work with an instructor privately, with clubs that offer training, or with a formal flight school. Since the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulates all of these alternatives, you can feel comfortable that each meets the same high standards. Most advertisements you see will be for formal flight schools. If you are in a hurry, can meet their schedules, and cost is not a concern, these may be your best option. If not, find a program with policies, costs and instructors that can meet your specific needs.
becoming a pilot