Puddle Jumping Again

Part III – puddle jumping again

From The Business Travel Log

From my vantage point, the top of the airplane looked fine. Can you just picture me standing at the doorway of the small regional jet, taller than the door, my head jutting above the door and the top of the airplane. Stop laughing. I’m puddle jumping again. Haha, if you are laughing that’s great and I’m happy that I made you laugh.

The flight attendant greets me as I bend way down to walk through the door. I am six feet, four inches tall. Small aircraft, AKA puddle jumpers, weren’t built for me. Nonetheless, I have been riding them most of my adult life. Passengers stare as I walk bent down from the entrance to my seat. It’s a long walk to row twenty on a twenty-five row airplane. Smiles glow from row to row.

I put my coat away, I’d left my roller bag at gate check baggage, then I squeeze into my narrow seat. Hmm, i need to get back to the gym, I think.

As I fasten my seatbelt, I think about a few of the puddle jumpers from past years. My first looked like a gooney bird: Columbia, South Carolina to Charlotte, North Carolina — a ninety mile ride. The big propellers are what scared me the most.

My girlfriend, who dropped me off at the airport, asked “Is your insurance all paid up?”

“Health or life”, I asked her.

“Both”, she replied.

Back to my current moment, I smile as I think about the gooney bird. I raise my window flap. I stare at the terminal. My mind moves towards another memory.

“Good Morning passengers welcome to USAmer flight 49 to Pittsburgh. The aircraft door is closed. Please put away all laptops and transmitting devices and put your smartphones in airplane mode.”

The flight attendant’s announcement pulls me back to my current moment. I’ll think about the other memory later, I say to myself. I leave the window flap open and wait for lift off.

#travellogforatravelblog

jtjohnpoet.com

Reaching a Hilltop

i reached a hilltop today
during my journey
towards dreams realized
during my journey
towards dreams fulfilled

it was a place of reward
for all the hard work
of treading trails led
by visionaries, patriarchs,
and pioneers

it was a place of rest
for strained muscle
a place of escape
for stressed nerves

a relief for all the headaches
a solace for all the heartaches
a band for the breaks
and ice for the burns

it was a cool, calm place
where i wiped away my sweat
a room of silence
where i quieted my fears

a spot caressed by winds
where i soothed my tension
a place warmed by sunlight
where i dried my tears

as i gaze on past paths
i remember friends,
i remember family
some no longer here

i smile as i reflect
on those pleasant times
that helped me through the hard days
year after year

so i stand on this hilltop
and i peer ahead
surveying landscapes
planning paths for tomorrow

off to my next daring pursuit
off to my next phase
off to my next adventure
off to my next dream to fulfill

towards my next hilltop

i will follow

“Reaching a Hilltop” and many other poems can be read in “Good Morning New Year”

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My Journey as a Poet

The Beginning of My Journey as a Poet – part 1

I took writing poetry seriously in the summer of 1992 and by early fall one of my poems, “I Be a Bad Dude” was published by Catalyst Literary magazine.

The writing and the preparation prior to receiving the acceptance letter marked the beginning of my journey as a poet.

During that summer of ’92, I wrote and wrote and wrote poetry. One of those summer nights I walked into my little apartment in the throes of rage. I’d just finished confronting a young man who was disrespecting his parents by cussing in their presence and threatening violence towards them. I intervened and we went to blows. No one lost. No one won but after we both rose up from the floor, he walked away just like a bully does when confronted.

(to be continued next post..,)

“My Journey as a Poet” is the series I plan to blog about during this Summer’s posting season,