Since I was a kid, I wanted to be a pilot. As a kid, I wanted to be a Japan Airlines pilot. In college I instead wanted to be a Marine Corps pilot. I got close when I was a Flight Equipment Marine but it was not real. Unfortunately, my military injuries kept me from achieving both goals.
I forgot about flying. It slipped my mind then in 1995, I decided to take a short introductory flight at Boeing Field. It was fun, I continued to take lessons.
When I soloed, I performed several forward slips which impressed my flight instructor. He put three shapes of birds diagonally on my t-shirt to represent the 3 forward slips that I performed. I knew then I loved to fly but I would not be able to finish my private pilot lessons since I joined the Peace Corps. Now it is a goal to fly. The photo below is a memory of my forward slipping days.
