I was born in Maryland and spent my first thirty years living there, first in the Appalachian Mountains, then on the Eastern Shore, and later in suburban Washington. After a year in South Carolina, I moved to Georgia in 1977. I soon met another park ranger who worked in Florida. She was a wonderful woman who became my best friend. then my wife, and soon the mother of our three children. I spent over eleven years working in the historic city of Savannah, Georgia, and on the moss-draped sea islands nearby before moving to Atlanta.. In 2007, I retired from the National Park Service and a career dedicated to preserving and interpreting resources and themes in the cultural and natural history of the United States. It was a most rewarding experience. Today, I enjoy living in the rolling hills and woods of the Appalachian Piedmont east of Atlanta.
OTR grew up around airplanes. He was up close to the surplus Cubs from World War II and the small home-builts at the air park across the road from his family's summer cottage. He recalls how odd it was that he never flew in those planes. As for the larger aircraft, he had to settle for running out of the kitchen on hearing the roar of multi-engines at low altitude and looking up, astounded, at the B-36 Peacemaker cruising above the puffy cumulus. Wonderful. He so appreciated the endless aviation themed films about World War II and the new U.S. Air Force. In time, his interests broadened, but he never lost enthusiasm for movies about flying. Here's a brief scene from one of his favorites, Flying Down to Rio (1933), discovered long after childhood's end:
Hooray for Hollywood!
N.B. This film features Fred Astaire paired with Ginger Rogers for the first time, and is notable for its cast and music as well as the flying sequence.
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