There are certain things or events from my childhood that I remember clearly to this day. For instance, I still have vivid images of the first time I saw a milksnake, or the Eastern Milksnake as the experts would call it.
I couldn’t have been more than four years old and was gathering pinecones near an old barn on the property where we lived in Anderson County.
I was stunned for a minute as it crawled up beside me, and then panic set in as I leaped to my feet and ran for the shelter of our home.
To this day, I’m still a little shaken at the site of a snake and the memory of the incident is as clear today as it was 60 years ago.
Thank goodness, most of my childhood memories are from happy occasions or events. The snake-like occurrences were few and far between.
During a recent mini-vacation, my wife and I took to the beach, we stayed in a condominium that was very near the area’s local airport and void of snakes.
But we didn’t realize how close we would be to the facility when we booked the stay. And while most folks would have been disappointed to hear the planes land and takeoff throughout the day and night, it had a special meaning to me.
You see, there was a small airport located not far from where I grew up, and occasionally my dad would take the family over to watch the planes from an observation deck located there.
Getting in and out of an airport in the 1960s was much different than it is today, and it was as simple as opening the main lobby door and walking in.
I clearly remember standing in the warm sunshine watching each plane and wondering where they had come from or where they were going.
I’m not sure why this particular memory is still so clear, but it must have given me a love for aviation even though I get a little nervous when flying.
However, I’m still mesmerized by the sight of planes, big and small, flying gracefully through the air. Their site always takes me back to those airport visits with my family.
During our time in the condo, I sat on the balcony for long periods just watching, listening, and remembering.
Truth be known, I could have spent the whole vacation from my “observation deck” wondering where all those planes, big and small, were going or where they had been.
While you may be wondering what snakes have to do with airplanes, other than a movie that came out several years ago, I’ve come to realize that each of us likely have those special memories that are as vivid today as when they occurred no matter how long ago it’s been.
The vacation came to an end all too soon but recalling a happy time from long ago is a gift I won’t soon forget.
No matter where I go, I hope I always look to the sky for airplanes that come my way, of course still checking the ground for milksnakes, as I travel down the backroads.