Cornershot

To submit a CornerShot

The Roanoke Times welcomes CornerShot submissions from its readers. Here are the guidelines:

Length: about 200 words
Topic: CornerShots can run the gamut, but we generally prefer unique and clever observations on the human experience.
No poetry, please.
Email your submission to extra@roanoke.com with your full name and hometown and “CornerShot” in the subject line. You can also mail submissions to Kathy Lu, CornerShot, The Roanoke Times, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke, VA 24010.
Submissions are subject to editing.

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J. Ed Harris | A reader in Roanoke

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

I have fond childhood memories of family picnics on Sunday afternoons.

My dad’s favorite getaway spot for us was a park adjacent to our hometown airport. This is where I first learned to love airplanes, airports, travel and all things aeronautical.

This airport had a lot to attract my youthful attention: commercial flights, private planes, and corporate, cargo and military jets. It always seemed to be bustling with activity.

At our picnics, my siblings and I would naturally play games and sports. But I was happy just to watch the planes come and go, always curious as to where they were headed to or coming from.

Fast forward 25 years and I’m taking my son to the same airport for the same reason. To me, there was no better way to share with him my passion for flight.

I’d pack a light lunch , and, in between takeoffs and landings, I taught him to throw a football and to play baseball. It was a blissful time.

I have high hopes that my son and I will be able to visit our hometown airport together at least one more time.

He and I will be watching planes just as before, but this time with his own child in tow. The legacy would continue.

I’ve often wondered if my dad had any underlying motives for taking his family to picnics at our airport. I would guess not.

But I know I did . Right from the start, I wanted my son to know that when it comes to dreaming big dreams … the sky’s the limit.

Saturday, September 14, 2013