Waving Hello

 
10/10/02

I said hello to a crop-dusting plane out on the Rez early this morning.

I was transporting boxes of fruit, breakfast bars and gallon water containers to a food bank on the west side of town - about 35 miles away. The truck bed of food was left over from a local event. After the event, I volunteered to take the remaining food items to a food bank later in the week. So, there I was driving my truck in the dark at 6:00 am.    

As I drove through the Rez to reach the I-10 to Phoenix, I saw a crop-dusting plane doing its acrobatics over the road. I timed him as he completed two passes. The pilot was really good. The wheels appeared to walk on the tops of the soon-to-be harvested cotton plants. He was applying plant killer so the harvesting could begin in a few weeks.  

The road was empty for a mile both ways. I watched him do the first pass and make his quick turn. I eased my speed up a bit (grin) to position my axis with his in the coming seconds. I turned on the interior light, lowered my front windows and waved at him outside the driver's window. When he was a second away, I turned on my lights and flickered the brights.  

As he flew over our axis, he waved hello with his wings by rolling the plane back and forth. I honked the horn, waved back and continued on to the I-10.

I had a smile a mile wide.

My Inheritance - Life in This Order

It was given to me at birth. It's been in my family for many years. My great grandfather brought it with him to America in the late 1880's.

Great grandpop Foretich (Foretic in the old country) was a shipwright (shipbuilder) who built 100-foot long ships without plans. They were all in his head. He built them in his homeland (Dalmation Islands, Korcula), in France and parts of Central America. He even spent a few years helping build the Panama Canal. He gave it to his son.

My grandfather was an shipyard engineer without a degree. He was a whiz with numbers. He gave it to his son.

My dad was a shipyard machinist & draftsman who could make things and draft shipbuilding plans like nobody's business. He gave it to his son.

I'm a data base geek who loves programming and the net. I shared it with my daughter.

My inheritance has driven me all of my life as it did my predecessors. It's also driven my daughter's life.

I have ADHD.

Unlike my predecessors, I was diagnosed and received treatment. That was seven years ago. I was 43 years old.

My doctor prescribed Adderall. Within a week, my life changed. I still remember the morning I woke-up to the "normal" side of life.

I was shaving and looked into the mirror. Something had changed. I had changed. I had crossed the river.

It was a good feeling.

I 'bout cut myself from smiling.

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