I often enjoy reading “cowboy poetry”. It’s down homey stuff that is usually written by common old cowboys who have a sense of humor and a poetic mind set. I always look forward to the short articles in the newspaper submitted by Baxter Black.
But cowboy poetry is no longer just a few literary type punchers here and there, it’s become a whole society of practitioners! They even have conventions!
Waal, I ain’t no cowboy in the traditional sense. I can ride a horse, and if’n my lower anatomy was conditioned properly, I like nothin’ better than a good hard cross country ride. But I don’t claim to be any more than a drugstore cowboy. The boots pinch my toes, and the hat never fits right; it feels more like an umbrella on my head than a hat.
Except for one thing. I have come to the conclusion that the swashbuckling cowboy of the twentieth and the twenty-first century is the aviator. Look at Charles Lindbergh, Jimmy Dolittle, Roscoe Turner, Howard Hughes, Baron Von Richhoffen, Eddie Rickenbacker, Chuch Yeager, Burt Rutan, John Glenn, Orville and Wilbur Wright. Hey, if these guys aren’t real cowboys at heart, then there ain’t nobody that is!
So I think it’s time that these aviator cowboys have their own cowboy aviator poetry society. I’ll arbitrarily dub it as “Puddle Jump Poetry”. Doesn’t sound very romantic, does it? Well, the only aviation poetry I’ve seen so far is just “romantic poetry”. Quotes such as “I seek the lofty skies with able silver wings and soar…..” Arrgg! That stuff is too high brow and too stuffy for me. I want down home stuff just like the actual cowboy poet stuff. So that’s why I pick the humble “Puddle Jump Poetry”. It should come from aviators who simply love to get out there and fly for the pure sake of flying, even if it’s just jumping across a small fishing pond or something. Aviators do have their own form of a society, by the way. You can find them hanging around the coffee pot at just about any country airport. They probably each have a unique story or experience that could be put in verse. I sure do, and I’m going to share a couple of them in this blog. I have several more that I’ll share at times in future blogs. Here’s some examples, and I’ll try to explain the basis and background for each:
Without a doubt, the most memorable and exciting event in an aviator’s life is the first landing and his first solo flight. It is an experience that can never be repeated, because there is only one first time. Many aviators, such as myself, had dreamed for as long as I could remember to learn how to fly. This verse illustrates these emotions:
“My First Landing” By Bernard Ray Tillery
As far back as to remember
I’d carried a dream so deep down,
to take to air and soar over the ground.
I read all the books and magazines so fine
that showed planes and pilots through out all time.
A throb I would hear on up high
found my sight reaching for the sky.
My young mind wandered and thoughts would dwell
of taking her off and setting her down swell.
But one day came as I did always yearn
to give it a shot and come down to learn.
My hand on yoke and throttle to squeeze
to touch her down after treading the breeze.
She bounced a little but not too bad
I let out a holler! Boy, was I glad!
I’m now a pilot, I just can’t believe!
What a wonder it is to love and conceive!
‘
Much of the puddle jump poetry I have written has to do with various experiences I have had in my flying career. I have written on events of poor judgement. I have recalled heart felt memories such as the “My First Landing” shown above. I also get into situations that can make flying interesting, and demonstrate the importance of good emergency training as shown below:
“Emergency Landing Procedure” By Bernard Ray Tillery
Oh, such peace at hand as I fly along
above the world below feels so strong.
Such a pleasure early man could only hope
to join the birds and even more we cope.
It’s all so grand, can one believe our luck?
To challenge cloud on high and not be stuck.
But wait! A stutter, a chatter, and then she quits!
I’m up here alone and she won’t spit!
What was once all peace has now become
a time to panic and a time to run!
Emergency landing procedure to keep my sense,
use your training to lower suspense.
Best rate of glide, then pick a spot
to land this thing, not crash too hot.
Call out Mayday! Check gas and heat,
keep my cool, pretend all’s neat.
To the ground and hope she don’t flop,
she bounces and trembles and finally stops.
Solid ground’s the best it can be,
the plane’s not hurt that I can see.
I touch her and thank her I’m on the ground,
but scold her severely for taking me down.
Was there something I did that I forgot,
something ignored or thought of not?
To cause her to quit and stall and die
just at a time when I expect her to fly?
Emergency landing procedure we check off our list
to pass our check ride the examiner insists.
But sometimes the rules have rhyme and reason,
to make sure we can fly from season to season.
Believe me; things can and do happen at moments least expected. The aviator who comes through such events did so by good training and keeping his cool.
I plan to keep on writing “puddle jump poety”. I’ve send out other stuff I’ve done as time goes by. My hope is that other’s who love aviation, whether they themselves fly or not, will join the fun. I think it would be great to have an aviator’s poet society!