come fly[in] with me

what is it about airplanes that is so awe inspiring?

yesterday afternoon, a group of friends and i decided to head to benton, kansas to check out the the stearman field fly-in. within seconds of arriving, we were acting like kids running around checking out the airplanes, and mesmerized by "touch and goes".

does it have something to do with growing up in wichita? with our city being the "air capital" of the world, most of us were taught aircraft was the lifeline of our community. is it the idea and feeling of freedom flight creates. no roads, no traffic, just the endless sky? could it be because our state is so "terrain challenged", flight is the only opportunity for us to look down on ourselves in a new perspective?

kansas might not have miles of coastlines, but our state is filled with limitless skies and endless horizons. like a city by a bay, our sky is our ocean. just as people along beaches can spend hours staring out at the sea, we've all grown up staring at the sky, watching clouds pass, storms roll by, sunsets paint the sky, and starry nights appear. airplanes are the vessels of the mid-west allowing us to interact with this ocean of a sky. an ocean, amazing us one night, and terrifying us the next. an ocean providing jobs and fueling our economy. an ocean allowing us to travel anywhere in the world. an ocean, at times making you feel so insignificant, yet giving you such a sense of community.