John and Lisa's Blue Skies Blog – Soaring with God

I wrote this in November 1959 (age 16).  Found it while sifting through a collection of old papers and junk:

A flight in an airplane, especially one’s first flight, can be a very thrilling experience.  It gives a person the feeling that he is separated from the world and its problems, but it creates a deeper appreciation for nature.  My first experience of this type came when the United States Air Force entertained a group of Boy Scouts and me at one of their large bases.  As the twin-engined Douglas C-47 roared down the runway, each of us felt he was embarking on one of the most thrilling experiences of his life.  In no time at all, the runway slipped away far below us and the checkerboard pattern of fields, towns, roads, farms, lakes and woods began to appear as though upon a movie screen.  This to me was and is the most thrilling moment of the flight, for it seems as if the whole world is in sight at one time.  Along with the panorama below the great wings, one could see the distant horizon with the rain clouds and sunshine above it.  A person cannot realize fully the vast and beautiful greatness of his domain and the perfection of its Creator until he can view it from the heights.