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A labour of love\\u200a\\u2014\\u200aand hate\\u200a\\u2014\\u200a23 years in the making.

\\u201cThe baby is on the roof with an umbrella and he looks like he is about to jump.\\u201d My mother tells this story\\u200a\\u2014\\u200aundoubtedly embellished over the years\\u200a\\u2014\\u200aabout a chillingly calm call she took from a neighbour to warn of the seemingly imminent, tragic death of her younger son. I don\\u2019t remember the event myself but if it worked for Mary Poppins, I must have reasoned, surely it would work for me. Besides, I had a backup plan: my satin-edged security blanket tied, Superman-style, around my neck. If Poppins didn\\u2019t come through then surely Superman wouldn\\u2019t let me down, would he?

Then, in my pre-teen years, there was the control surface from a full-sized aircraft\\u200a\\u2014\\u200ait was an aileron, I think\\u200a\\u2014\\u200awhich somehow came into my brother\\u2019s and my possession. After evaluating a few alternatives, we ended up duct taping it to the crossbar of my mustang bike...

Listen to the rest by clicking the play button, above. The text version of this essay can be found on Medium where it was published contemporaneously. The key image for this episode the RV-6 which is the star of the episode, when it was at Delta Heritage Air Park, in September of 2018. (image: author)