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Oh Good, You Got Sharky
April 28th, 2009 | Stephen Bailey
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Bucket lists. They've become all the rage since that movie came out last year. Truth is, these lists have existed for as long as men have dreamed dreams. They used to have the less Hollywood-friendly names like 'Things You Should Do Before You Die' or 'Things Every Man Should Do At Least Once'. I prefer the latter since it implies the importance of life rather than the threat of death.
A shorter name is simply My To-Do List.
Why do I bring all that up? Because I got to add and check off something to my list in a mere few moments. As I set off to Key West, I had absolutely no idea what to expect. Sure I knew of the legendary nightlife, the key lime pies, the Jimmy Buffet, but no plans were set other than my flight and hotel reservations. That all began to change after a three-hour layover in Ft. Meyers, FL.
"Oh good, you got Sharky," said the woman at the desk with a big smile.
Rolling on the tarmac was a nine-passenger, funky little twin-prop plane, painted all sorts of colors. There's a bit of Hemingway, a parrot, a conch shell and — as the name implies — the face of a fierce shark. As our body and luggage weights were checked for balance purposes, the tininess of the plane became even more real.
"Who would like to sit up front with the pilot?" asked the woman. No one took up the offer. I felt my knees start to shake and, as I took a few photos of the plane, a little voice said, "Why not? Just go for it. When will you have this chance again?"
"I'll sit up front," I said finally. I was shocked to hear the words come out of my mouth, but before I knew it, there I was.
Was I scared? Not really. I thought I would be, but the feeling was more of an exited anxiousness. As we rumbled down the runway and roared off to the sky, I realized the advantage I had that my fellow passengers did not.
The pilot was taller than me. He was hunched in his seat with the wheel between his knees looking like a big kid in a very small go cart. I could watch his every move. I could see if he got flustered. I could see if he stayed calm. As I pondered this, the wheel in front of me hit my knee.
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Stephen Bailey | Comments Off
Oh Good, You Got Sharky
(via Facebook, MySpace, Digg, email and more)
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