Tweetspeak Poetry

  • Home
  • FREE prompts
  • Earth Song
  • Every Day Poems—Subscribe! ✨
  • Teaching Tools
  • Books, Etc.
  • Patron Love

Artist Date: Flying

By Kathryn Neel 6 Comments

The Artist Date is a dream-child of Julia Cameron. We’ve discussed her book, The Artist’s Way,  and highly recommend both the book and the weekly date. It can be life-changing. It can open your creativity like nothing else. This week, we’re dipping and turning in the clouds!

______________________

I love to fly, any kind of flying, so it wouldn’t come as a shock to anyone who knows me well that I would jump at a chance to go up in a jet fighter doing dog fighting maneuvers at an air show.

Now while admitting to having a need for speed and a daredevil’s temperament I should also admit that I probably have the worse tendency toward motion sickness known to man. There is even a joke in my family that as a kid I would get car sick in parked cars. But was I going to let that stop me? Absolutely not.

A handful of Dramamine later and with absolute determination I was not going to embarrass myself by acting like a screaming girl, I slid into the cockpit of the LTV A-7 Corsair II Trainer. The theme from the movie Top Gun started playing in my head. Mike—call sign “Jellyfish”—slid into the seat behind me. He would be doing all the real work on this hop; after all it was his plane. Though when he found out I had flight experience he sort of cocked his head and got that look in his eye that said I might be allowed to touch the stick if I didn’t scream too much.

We were towed out to the flight line to wait our turn to taxi for take off. While we were waiting, Mike tested my procedural knowledge by having me talk to the tower. I hadn’t forgotten my pilot alphabet, though I found the panels in the Corsair II a lot more complicated than any plane I had ever flown. Where was the altimeter again?

Before long we were up for take off. Take-offs and landings are the most difficult parts of flying, so this was all Mike. If you have ever sat in a commercial jet during take-off you, know what it feels like to be pushed back in your seat as the plane climbs, now imagine what it feels like when you are in the sports car category of planes. As I was slammed back into my seat the thought crossed my mind that there wasn’t enough Dramamine on the planet for this.

I barely had time to think much during the next minutes. Actually, time had no meaning. I was caught up in being weightless for microseconds at the peak of parabolic arches and pitched to my left or right as the plane pitched over toward one side then the other. I was either staring up at endless blue sky or watching the ground rushing up to greet me. I don’t think I ever did scream, but I know I was laughing and whooping as one does on an amusement ride.

In the end I did get to touch the stick for a while as we brought the plane in for approach to land and I realized I had totally forgotten to be airsick.

Artist Date airplane

___________________

Photo by ktorster. Creative Commons, via Flickr. Post by Kathryn Neel.

Take an Artist Date? If your blog about it, feel free to share your link in the comment box.
_________

Make it easy to follow our Artist Date posts. Grab a button for your blog.

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Kathryn Neel
Kathryn Neel
Kathryn Neel used to travel the world for her tech job, and she visited restaurants, bakeries, and chocolate makers along the way. She learned a great deal about making chocolate and eventually founded Sappho Chocolates. She is also a Florida Coastal Naturalist at Canaveral National Seashore.
Kathryn Neel
Latest posts by Kathryn Neel (see all)
  • Eating and Drinking Poems: WendellBerry’s “Fall” - October 24, 2014
  • Eating & Drinking Poems: Dorianne Laux’s “A Short History of the Apple” - September 12, 2014
  • Eating and Drinking Poems: May Swenson’s “Strawberrying” - August 8, 2014

Filed Under: Artist Date, Blog

Write with Us

About Kathryn Neel

Kathryn Neel used to travel the world for her tech job, and she visited restaurants, bakeries, and chocolate makers along the way. She learned a great deal about making chocolate and eventually founded Sappho Chocolates. She is also a Florida Coastal Naturalist at Canaveral National Seashore.

Comments

  1. Maureen Doallas says

    April 30, 2013 at 9:26 am

    Love the writing on the side of your plane, Kathryn. Now you just keep on flying. . . higher.

    Reply
  2. Monica Sharman says

    April 30, 2013 at 10:21 am

    Loved the weightlessness at the top of the parabola. Too bad it doesn’t last longer! I was in jr. high when Top Gun came out. Didn’t Navy recruiting skyrocket right after that?

    My favorite part of the instrument panel: the attitude indicator.

    Thanks for taking us with you! Every artist should fly.

    Reply
  3. Kathryn Neel says

    April 30, 2013 at 2:00 pm

    Maureen –

    I hadn’t noticed “The Office” on the plane until you pointed it out, how funny! It is perfect, though.

    Reply
  4. Kathryn Neel says

    April 30, 2013 at 2:04 pm

    Monica –

    Yeah, when I was in high school one of my dreams was to be an astronaut/science tech so I could try weightlessness, alas the closest I ever got was scuba diving and going to Space Camp with my niece and nephew. I did work as a contractor for NASA for a while, but that was totally ground based.

    Reply
  5. Will Willingham says

    April 30, 2013 at 7:37 pm

    You had me at the dramamine. I spent a lot of time with those nasty yellow pills when I was small. My sister and I were famous for “initiating” every driving relative’s new automobile.

    Okay, and then you had me at not screaming like a girl.

    Sounds like a great time, in any event. 😉

    Reply
  6. laura says

    May 4, 2013 at 10:52 pm

    I think I’m feeling a bit motion-sick…

    🙂 it was the “danger” on the side of the plane that caught my attention. Riveting, Kathryn. You are the bomb.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Cute Comic

😊

The Sadbook Collections

A stick-figure human sure to capture your heart.

Take How to Read a Poem

Get the Introduction, the Billy Collins poem, and Chapter 1

get the sample now

Welcome to Tweetspeak

New to Tweetspeak Poetry? Start here, in The Mischief Café. You're a regular? Check out our June Menu.

Patron Love

❤️

Welcome a little patron love, when you help keep the world poetic.

Your Comments

  • L.L. Barkat on Poet Laura on the Moon
  • Odysseus’ Journey Part 1 | Homer’s Odyssey Summary | #GreekMyths - Helinika on Epic Poetry: Invocation of the Muse Prompt
  • What makes a book go viral? – Just Bae on Ten Surprising Secrets to Make Your Book Go Viral
  • Eating and Drinking Poems: Neruda's Ode to the Onion on Take Your Poet to Work: Pablo Neruda

Get Every Day Poems

Featured In

We're happy to have been featured in...

The Huffington Post

The Paris Review

The New York Observer

Tumblr Book News

Stay in Touch With Us

Categories

Coloring Page Poem Printables!

Get all free coloring page poems now

Learn to Write Form Poems

How to Write an Acrostic

How to Write a Ballad

How to Write a Catalog Poem

How to Write a Ghazal

How to Write a Haiku

How to Write an Ode

How to Write a Pantoum

How to Write a Rondeau

How to Write a Sestina

How to Write a Sonnet

How to Write a Villanelle

5 FREE POETRY PROMPTS

Get 5 FREE inbox poetry prompts from the popular book How to Write a Poem

Shakespeare Resources

Poetry Classroom: Sonnet 18

Common Core Picture Poems: Sonnet 73

Sonnet 104 Annotated

Sonnet 116 Annotated

Character Analysis: Romeo and Juliet

Character Analysis: Was Hamlet Sane or Insane?

Why Does Hamlet Wait to Kill the King?

10 Fun Shakespeare Resources

About Shakespeare: Poet and Playwright

Top 10 Shakespeare Sonnets

See all 154 Shakespeare sonnets in our Shakespeare Library!

Explore Work From Black Poets

About Us

  • • A Blessing for Writers
  • • Annual Theme 2022: Perspective
  • • Annual Theme 2021: Generous
  • • Our Story
  • • Meet Our Team
  • • Literary Citizenship
  • • Poet Laura
  • • Poetry for Life: The 5 Vital Approaches
  • • T. S. Poetry Press – All Books
  • • Contact Us

Write With Us

  • • 5 FREE Poetry Prompts-Inbox Delivery
  • • 30 Days to Richer Writing Workshop
  • • Poetry Prompts
  • • Submissions
  • • The Write to Poetry

Read With Us

  • • All Our Books
  • • Book Club
  • • Every Day Poems—Subscribe! ✨
  • • Literacy Extras
  • • Poems to Listen By: Audio Series
  • • Poet-a-Day
  • • Poets and Poems
  • • 50 States Projects
  • • Charlotte Perkins Gilman Poems Library
  • • Edgar Allan Poe Poems Arts & Experience Library
  • • William Blake Poems Arts & Experience Library
  • • William Shakespeare Sonnet Library

Celebrate With Us

  • • Poem on Your Pillow Day
  • • Poetic Earth Month
  • • Poet in a Cupcake Day
  • • Poetry at Work Day
  • • Random Acts of Poetry Day
  • • Take Your Poet to School Week
  • • Take Your Poet to Work Day

Gift Ideas

  • • Every Day Poems
  • • Our Shop
  • • Everybody Loves a Book!

Connect

  • • Donate
  • • Blog Buttons
  • • By Heart
  • • Shop for Tweetspeak Fun Stuff

Copyright © 2023 Tweetspeak Poetry · FAQ, Disclosure & Privacy Policy

We serve poetry with our cookies. Because that's the way it should be.
We serve poetry with your cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you... accept the cookies with a smile.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
update cookie prefs

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT