An e-mail arrived in my website inbox yesterday. I was happy to see it was from the flight instructor who trained me for my instrument rating back about 20 years ago. His name is Stirling and he asked if I might be his "prized student who also taught karate". I'd lost touch with him many years ago when he went off to fly for American Airlines. He's back in Chicago and flying routes to the Orient on a Boeing 777.
When I was a new private pilot and working on my instrument rating Stirling would jump in the airplane with me and give me the dual instruction needed and never charged me a dime. After I passed the test I gave him a token gift as a thank you. He says he keeps it in his office, reminding him of "Something I did right in my life long ago" and that it inspires him today.
You just never know when something "small" you do will have such impact on a life. I occured to me that with all the volunteer time I give today as a flight instructor, it's a return on the investment Stirling made in me. Today I am providing volunteer instruction a man with the Naples squadron of the Civil Air Patrol who will be an instrument instructor.
What goes around, comes around.
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