A PILOT’S WIFE
Here we are at an Outlaws 4H Horse and Pony Club party. It appears this was a “come as you are” party.
A Pilot’s Wife
A Pilot’s Wife Should
Look Like a Girl
Act Like a Lady
Think Like a Man
Work Like a Dog
My wife Marsha kept a plaque with those words in our house for decades. And there is a lot of truth in that message.
We pilots like to think we are a pretty big deal, but in reality we are no better than the support we get. Not just from the people who maintain and service the airplanes, but also from our spouses, who take care of virtually everything when we are gone.
I had a bad habit of trying to take charge at home on my days off. And there were some things, especially when we lived on our mini-farm, that were up to me to get done, such as making hay, building and repairing fences, and mowing with the bush hog.
But Marsha was pretty good about letting me know when I needed to back off and let her do things her way. She’d drop subtle little hints like, “When do you go back to work?”
When we first moved to the country, I was the only one who could hitch the horse trailer to the truck. The only one who could back it up. By the time we moved away from the farm, Marsha could do all that and more. Basically, she had to learn how to keep the place going on her own because I was gone flying so much of the time.
There was one time when she hooked up the trailer and went to town to get some horse feed. At the CO-OP the told her it was sacked and stored in a space that was at the end of a narrow opening, similar to an alley. An old farmer in bib overalls informed her she should get a man to back that trailer in there for her. No woman could do that.
He obviously didn’t know who he was talking to. Had he simply offered to help, I’m sure Marsha would have gladly accepted and would have been grateful. But the way he said it made her mad. She got in the truck and backed that trailer down the narrow alley like she had been doing it all her life.
Marsha was handy, more mechanically inclined than me. For a town girl, she quickly adapted to life in the country. There wasn’t much she couldn’t or wouldn’t do.
Pilots wives have to manage the household, pay the bills, run the kids here and there, deal with emergencies both major and minor, all on their own. In our case, I tried to check in by phone every day. Quite often by the time I called, Marsha had already dealt with everything that had come up, and she would just tell me what happened and how she’d dealt with it.
There were a few times, though, when she dealt with something major and didn’t let me know about it until I got home a few days later. I appreciated that she was trying to keep me from worrying, but at the same time it made me apprehensive when I’d call home and ask how things were and be told everything was okay. Was it really?
So as we are acknowledging women in aviation this month, I want to take this opportunity to thank those who make it possible for us to pursue our flying careers.
I also extend that thanks to men whose wives are flying for their support as well.
Thank you all!