Next weekend our Convention of States Georgia state leadership will meet in Warner Robins for our annual state meeting (Feb. 20-21). On the agenda, we plan to visit the Museum of Aviation.
My home office and library sit in the northern suburbs of Atlanta in Dunwoody. At my desk, I can hear the sounds of overflight from three different major airports: one military, one private, and one the largest international airport in the world (Dobbins, Peachtree Dekalb (PDK), and Atlanta International).
Some people say the planes and jets are too noisy. That may depend on how close you are standing and where you are.
I take a different view. I was once talking with a Delta pilot, as we stood outside his house. We both looked up when we heard the distinctive sound of an F-18 fighter flying over at a fairly low altitude. As we watched the jet move off into the distance, we both looked back down.
He smiled and said, “That, my friend, is the sound of freedom.”
I am not a pilot, although I always aspired to be. I had a love of planes as a young boy. It has stayed with me, probably because I never really grew up.
Sitting in my library, I can tell you the difference between the sound of a B-17 Flying Fortress from World War II and a C-130, our modern-day military transport workhorse, as they pass overhead.
Each is very distinctive. Both bring a smile and chills, thinking about where they have been and where are they going. The museum has both, although the B-17 may be under restoration and not on display.
If you have never seen or heard a B-17, here is a video clip of one that flew over my house and landed at PDK in Brookhaven for their annual Good Neighbor Day Air Show. I passed up the chance to take a ride on it but did get to go onboard and look around.
So, if you are visiting the museum, maybe you will think about the sound of the B-17 starting up in the video. Maybe you will envision it leaving on a mission from England to fly into the heart of Europe and Germany.
And, remember most, when you are meeting together and someone says the words “Convention of States,” that is the sound of freedom.
