Heading West

On Thursday, I keep the car again and spend some hours on the computer catching up. Gene had three or four more guys to check out in the plane. They were to go to Nashville to shoot approaches and off load a few of them to catch flights home. There has been a power outage around Peggy's hotel so she has gone to the airport unwashed to use the computer. We decide to meet at the airport at 1PM and go to lunch. We plan to go to Franklin on Friday as it is a charming town and her friend will meet us.
It is 2:01 when we walk into Midway Diner, which closes at 2, but they are so friendly and gracious and say of course they will feed us. The guys are also about to break for lunch, and opt for an Italian place downtown. When we finish we head down there to meet up with them. Everyone has their iphones out (yes, everyone has an iphone) checking the weather and then they announce that we are leaving tomorrow...ok, bye, bye Franklin. Back at the airport, Gene has three more guys to check out, Peggy gets me on her buddy pass list for the eventual flight home and although they say they are headed to the hotel, we spend the next few hours talking as the plane goes by the windows, landing, taking off, landing, taking off. It is 7PM when the guys finally get into the terminal, but they have fueled and oiled the plane so it is ready for departure. Gene is really beat and some of the others complain of sore legs and knees. This plane is not easy to fly and has to be manhandled. And Gene has to be constantly alert in teaching mode, and vigilant to catch any potentially dangerous errors. The night is pretty chilly and there is a chance of frost.
Since Legends seemed to be out of everything, we opt for Ruby Tuesdays. The crowd has gotten smaller, there are only 8 of us. Our waiter, Tom, is a trip, he flits around assuring us of how well he will take care of us. Still, they are out of the beer that Steve and Peggy choose and out of baked potatoes...really??? George says there was a really big horse show there the last weekend and the restaurants probably have not received new supplies. Flying stories are being told all around the table, these guys never run out.
Friday morning we are back at Midway for breakfast where the cute blond is calling all the guys, "darling." The cockpit crew for Fort Worth are Capt. Gene Christian, Capt. Steve Jacobson, Capt. Dave Buffington and Capt. Fred Gorrell. Flight attendents: Peggy Fairchild and Sheryl Christian. It is really cold and we have all dressed as warmly as we could. There is a frost, but by the time we get to the airport, the wings are clear. Dave says he can leave his suitcase as he is wearing everything he brought. George's wife, Kay, is at the airport with him, she had been out of town. We are trying to get Fred to the airport in Dallas to catch a flight to Phoenix, but first we are about 30 min late leaving and then encounter a strong head wind. It is cold, cold, cold on the plane, but Peggy and I have the blankets I brought to huddle under and at one point Gene comes back and shares mine for about an hour. The wind causes our flight to be an hour longer than anticipated. We are flying low and it is pretty turbulent, but the head wind is worse the higher you go. Peggy is feeling the movement and she and I sing songs to take her mind off it. Gene rolls his eyes but Dave joins us in a few. The other two guys thankfully never knew cause they were wearing head sets. It has gradually gottn warmer as we traveled west but about an hour from Ft. Worth, the plane suddenly looks like a strip club as layers of clothes are being shed all over. It is in the high 80's here. On the way in we go right over DFW. That place is so huge and we see the "toy" planes taking off and landing below us.
At long last we reach Meachum field in Ft. Worth. In the old days Steve's parents flew for American Airlines out of this airport. Steve and Peggy and their luggage get off. They will take a cab to his nearby condo, collect his car and come to Alliance for us. Alliance is only 10 min by air. I move to the jump seat for a better view. Soon we are on the ground and taxi up to the AA maintenance hanger. In no time, Jeff Selby, who works here, shows up with a tug. Dave had forgotten to call him from Meachum, but he had heard the distinctive sound of our engines. Dave's wife has come to meet him and take Fred to DFW, where his chances of getting home today are slim. There are only two more flights he might get on.
Now there is just Gene and me. Jeff tows the plane into the hanger, gets a golf cart and takes us to the front to meet our ride. On the way we detour through the engine repair shop, a really awesome place. To get in and out there is a double lock door, like one has to close before the other one will open. The engines are huge. The blades on the jet engines are titanium and one blade costs $250,000. I cannot count how many there are. Steve and Peggy are in rush hour traffic so we sit on the steps out front of the facility with our luggage piled around us. People driving to and from the parking lot give us long looks.
Finally our ride arrives and we thirstily head off to a Mexican restaurant. Although we ate a salty snack or two on the plane, none of us have had anything to drink since breakfast due to the lack of bathroom facilities on the plane. (We do have portable johns on board and most of us did use them, but the turbulence is worse in the rear where the bathroom is and it would be really hard to accomplish the act.)
The term Cow Town is appropriate as we enter Ft. Worth via the old town and by the stockyards. We see several real looking cowboys and saloons etc. But as we near Steve's condo, we are definately in an urban setting with plenty of tall buildings. He lives on the 32nd floor of what was a Bank One building. The windows in his place are floor to ceiling and the vista is breathtaking at night. Peggys says that ESPN was set up in a parking lot just below us for the Super Bowl and they alternated looking down on them and turning to the TV for the close up. We look forward to exploring tomorrow but tonight we are dead tired.