Heaven in the Skies

[Manuel Tavares]

Heaven in the Skies
By Catherine Viel
+https://rayviolet.blogspot.com/2022/05/heaven-in-skies.html

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings…
Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark nor ever eagle flew—
And, while with silent lifting mind I’ve trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.
~John Gillespie Magee, Jr., High Flight

I was chatting with my neighbor yesterday and I kept trying to figure out what was different about him. Thinking about it later, I realized: his face was relaxed and open in a way I’ve never noticed before.

It must be because he got his heart’s desire. He finished his pilot’s training and passed all tests so he could become a certified instructor. Now he’s teaching at the local flight school, which has been his goal for a couple of years.

So that’s what happiness looks like. When he smiled before, there was always a faint cynicism to it. As if he were operating under a perpetual state of, “Yeah, right.“ It seems that’s a smile he can retire, now.​+++https://rayviolet.blogspot.com/2022/05/heaven-in-skies.html