Airborne

The other day I was pissing in a ditch out on Oxford Road.  An hour and a half into the ride and things were flowing.  Dirt, mud, hardpack snow, worked together to set the adrenaline free.

Out of the corner of my eye an orange flash in the sky and some smoke.  A parachute falls with a trail of smoke behind.  I never even think plane crash.  I thought it was some kind of skydiving stunt over the rez.  Then balloon boy came to mind.  But for some reason I never though about a mid air collision.

I stopped at the market in Hygene for some powdered donuts later.

When my wife got home that night after work,  "did you hear about the plane....?"  before she finished I had goose bumps and finished the sentence for her.....Crash?"

She told me the details and I took a seat as I thought about it.  I had watched this thing happen.

The randomness of life is constantly amazing.  It's even more amazing when witnessed from the saddle of your bike.

Two days later I got a call to shoot a couple of real estate properties from the air.  Never been up in a helicopter before.

What I had seen the other day was on my mind, but I know driving on the freeways in LA is way more dangerous than flying in a helicopter.  It was a small four seater with the door removed so I could shoot freely.  What a killer  feeling!  Like surfing through the air.

Seeing things from the air like that is something else.  I wish I had the cash to hire a chopper for an hour or two.  The visual patterns created by both natural and man made are captivating.  Hopefully I'll get the chance to go up again.