Our Father's Generation. F. M. Worden
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came home on a Saturday. Sunday I announced I was gonna do a few stunts in the plane. Somehow I attracted a crowd. Louise, Mother, Popie, Pop, my brothers, Helen and Uncle Bob were there and about half our town.
I really had rung the ship out doing loops and rolls. For a final, I came across the runway on her back upside down about forty feet off the ground. Mother had a few words to tell me about my flying. I don’t think she was thrilled at all, just mad I would do that. She said the whole thing was silly to fly that way. “You could be killed. Do you know that?”
I told her not to worry, It was safe as riding a horse. She just shook her head at me. Everyone else told me it was great the way I handled the plane.
That evening we all had dinner at Uncle Bob’s and I stayed the night with Frank in his room. Frank worked the summer in Uncle Bob’s office. We had a nice brother to brother talk, he went on and on about his girlfriend Gloria. He kept asking how I liked her. I never told him I was married, but I told him I had a girl in California who would make Gloria look like a skinny boy. That shut him up about Gloria.
The next day was Monday, I took off early and arrived at Jack’s Airport early in the afternoon. I could see the other Eagle Rock tied down outside the hangar. Of course, I had to buzz the hangar, took her up and did a roll or two then higher up, I put her in a flat spin. What a ship she was to handle. I sat her down easy and taxied to the hangar. Allie, Jack and the whole bunch were there to meet me, Jack didn’t say anything then, but when we were alone he gave me holy-hell for doing stunts without his OK. He told me in no uncertain terms not to do that again. I said I would respect his wishes.
The next morning Allie and I began our synchronized flying. Jack would lay it out on the ground and we would go up and do it. I’m telling ya, Smiling Jack can chew butts and in a way to make ya like it, he chewed on the two of us every time we got back on the ground. He kept saying, “Little mistakes can kill ya.”
I was trying my best to please him. We flew eight hours a day, seven days a week. By the time we finished I could do the routine in my sleep. When we told Jack that he said, “That’s just what I wanted you two to say.” Allie and I were ready.
Most nights, Allie and I would take off and spend the night together. Jack never said a word, but I knew he was suspecting something was going on between us, he never said anything.
We spent several weeks getting the planes ship shape. We were taking four Jennys, a Ford Tri-motor plus the Eagle Rocks on the tour. The Tri-motor carried our mechanics and equipment.
We had two parachutists from France join our company. They do what is called skydiving, that is, they don’t open the chute until about one thousand feet from the ground. It was a new technique developed in Europe. Jack said it was as close as man could fly without an airplane, I was anxious to see that myself.
I did a few days later, the two went up in the tri-motor and leaped into space like nothing I had never seen before. They flew down and landed on the runway, I was impressed.
Our first show was in Salt Lake City, Utah. I must admit I was a bit nervous the first time I had to fly before a crowd. Allie could see my anxiety, she got me aside and said, “Tommy, I can see you’re the same way you were the first time we made love, I told you then all would be okay and, Tommy, I want-a tell ya, you were great then, you’ll be great now.”
Boy, oh boy, did she make me feel better, what a gal I have. We did do a good job, Jack made a few changes, but he said on the whole it was a good show.
The next three stops were on the northern cities along the west coast. The only problem we had was the wind coming off the ocean. Everybody adjusted to it and we did have big crowds. We got super write ups in the local papers, Allie and I got big hands everywhere we went even to cafes and all. She really took the attention in stride, me, I kind of liked the way people made over Allie and me.
After the west coast we headed inland to Denver, Colorado. Allie talked me into spending the night together in the back of the tri-motor. We were in blankets and getting it on, when a light lit up the place. It was Jack and he was mad as hell, he had me by an arm and with a fist doubled up he was about to pop me in the face. Allie started screaming, “NO! NO, Daddy! We’re married, we’re married!”
I was damn glad she stopped him or I may not be here now. Her words took the air right out of him, he kind of fell back and sat down. For a minute I thought he was gonna cry.
“God dammit,” he said, “I can’t trust you two at all.” He covered his face and said, “You can get us in a hell-of-a mess. What if you get knocked up Allie? How you gonna fly then?”
“How long is the season gonna last?” she asked.
“We’ll be through the last of September.”
“That’s great, daddy,” she said, “I won’t even be showing by then.”
I looked to Jack, he looked to me and we both looked to a smiling Allie.
“Showing?” I asked.
“Yeah,” she said. “You got me a month ago, you’re going to be a daddy.”
I had no idea she was pregnant. “How long have you known?”
“About two weeks, I went to a doctor last week, he said I been had a couple weeks.”
I didn’t know what to say. I jumped up, pulled on my pants and hustled out the door of the plane. On the ground I was feeling sick. Me, a father? I could hardly believe it. Then it hit me; me, a daddy! I started dancing and singing at the top of my voice. I looked to Allie and Jack standing in the door of the plane, both laughing and singing, too.
I heard Jack tell Allie, “Baby, you’re gonna be a special Mom.”
She told him, “You’ll be a wonderful Grandpa.”
Allie and I got dressed and Jack took us to the best hotel in Denver. I was so happy our marriage was out in the open. Jack said he was overjoyed for the two of us, he even called me “Son.”
After breakfast, I called home and got Grandma Michelle. All the folks were out working. In her broken English she told me how happy she was I was married and had a child on the way. “Your Mommy will be so happy, we all knowed you’s different. Tommy, we all love you and your new wife. Your brother Frank is on the way to Europe to study architecture. Your Uncle Bob is sending him, come home as soon as you can, we want to meet your Mrs.” I told her I would and to tell the folks I’ll come soon.
After Denver we went to the mid-west and toured all the big cities. Allie and I were being billed as the youngest stunt flying married couple in the world; the people came out in droves. Allie loved every minute of the attention she was getting. We made radio appearances and were interviewed by newspapers everywhere we went. Jack was so happy he was almost beside himself, the money was pouring in.
We did a show a few miles from the Great Lakes Naval Training Station. A squadron of Grumman F3F1's flew in and landed just before our show got under way. These were the Navy on line fighters at the time, a biplane with closed cockpit, I got to look one over. The Navy guys were friendly and informative, I even talked the commander into letting me fly one. What a nice guy he is, I took her up and she seemed awfully slow to me. Back on the ground I was informed I had forgotten to raise the landing gear that was the first time I had flown a retractable gear. All the Navy pilots got a big kick out-of-that.
Our whole company was invited to dinner on the Navy. All the guys paid a lot of attention to Allie and why not, she was the best looking woman in the world.
After our swing through the mid-west we went south into Texas. At one of our shows the Army Air Corps made a fly in visit. They were flying a squadron of Boeing P26C’s. This Fighter is known as a pea-shooter, it’s an open cockpit, fixed gear, and dumb looking airplane.
Yeah, the commanding officer let me have a go with one. On the ground I complained the craft was a bear to handle. He agreed and told me all the pea-shooters were going to be sent to China to fight the Japanese. I told him, “I hope the Chinese can