Most of you know that my 87 year old dad plowed through a heart attack, triple bypass, and aortic valve replacement in January. He came through like a champ. Now he feels better than he has in a long time, and the doctors remain in awe. This summer, he even resurrected his vegetable garden and the rest of us have been happy, satiated benefactors.

He turned 87 last week and we had no idea what to buy him for his birthday. When someone has lived that many years, they have acquired pretty much whatever they want or need. Seems to me that the older we get, the less we require at all. But I digress…

My dad loves airplanes. He marvels at how they work (me, too!) He and his brothers were raised on other people’s farms – sharecroppers – so they learned manual labor at childhood. Their dreams of flying were just that: sky high dreams. John had the idea to fly him to a mountain airport where we could have lunch and they could visit the Airplane Museum.

It was a wonderful day. He said it was the best birthday he’s ever had.

That goes for me, too.

By the way, if you are in the Baltimore/Hagerstown area, we would love to see you at the Potomac Park Retreat Center on Sunday, September 1. Here’s the info: