May 2020

Spring.

It’s a beautiful May night in Chicago. It’s nearly 70ºF, the air is calm, the vibe is the closest to contentment I’ve felt in a while.

It’s nice to have spring here in The Windy City.

I haven’t really been too worked up about the lingering rain and cold we’ve been experiencing during this quarantine; there isn’t much we can do outside so why worry about what it’s doing outside, right? But the temperatures zoomed up to nearly 80ºF today and more importantly, I was able to get some time in the Cessna 182 RG with an instructor and continue my training for my high performance and complex endorsements. After not flying for over six weeks I didn’t do too bad today. I still need to work on the landings and do some stalls up there but overall I’m happy with today’s flight and I’m looking forward to going up again next weekend.

Flying with a mask on is weird and very confining, but I’m willing to do that if it gives me access to an airplane.

Now to do something about foggy sunglasses.

Changes.

The view from our condo on the north side of Chicago gives me the opportunity to see flights on approach to both O’Hare and Midway Airports. The night view is especially compelling; I can easily see flights on approach to Midway. However, the skies over Chicago have been noticeably quiet since the Coronavirus concerns began. Midway doesn’t seem to have much night traffic at all and the flight going into O’Hare have no need to get in line over Lake Michigan, so they’re using closer fixes to the airport to make their final approach.

It’s interesting, but it’s sad at the same time. It’s a sign of the times.

We are on the front line of history right now. Generations to come will read about what we’re doing right now. How did we respond to the pandemic of 2020?

I know what I want history books to say. I fear not enough people think the way I do.

Boy, I sure miss watching the regular flights in Midway and O’Hare.