a white horse

10/7/07 'A WHITE HORSE'

I HAVE WRITTEN ABOUT THIS BEFORE MANY YEARS AGO--SO HERE IS THE UPDATED VERSION-

AT JUST 17 YEARS OLD I WAS WORKING AT THE LAKE CHARLES ARMY AIR BASE--GOING TO SCHOOL 1/2 DAY AND 1/2 DAY AT THE AIR BASE--THEN FULL TIME AFTER I GRADUATED FROM HIGH SCHOOL--A CIVILIAN DEFENSE JOB FOR WORLD WAR TWO--I HAD BEEN ASSIGNED TO THE ENGINE INSTALLATION DEPARTMENT--THE THRILL OF THIS IS MORE THAN I COULD EVER PUT INTO WORDS--

I WAS IN THE LEARNER CLASSIFICATION--ONE OF THE JOURNEYMAN MECHANICS--JERRY WATSON--SORTA TOOK ME UNDER HIS WING AND HELPED ME THROUGH OUT THE 33 MONTHS I WORKED THERE--

I GRADUALLY ADVANCED TO FULL JOURNEYMAN STATUS--

I KNOW JERRY HAD A LOT TO DO WITH THIS--A GOOD FRIEND--A SPECIAL TYPE FRIEND--

DURING MY TIME OF WORKING AT THE AIR BASE--I DECIDED TO TAKE FLYING LESSONS AT A SMALL GRASS AIRPORT ON COUNTRY CLUB ROAD SOUTH OF LAKE CHARLES--A MR. EARL WEST WAS MY INSTRUCTOR--AFTER ABOUT 4 HOURS INSTRUCTION--I FELT MY DIFFICULTY IN LANDING DISCOURAGED ME AND I STOPPED TAKING INSTRUCTION--

AFTER ABOUT 4 MONTHS I GOT THE NERVE TO TRY AGAIN-

MR. EARL WEST CALLED ME CHICKEN BUT WAS GLAD TO TAKE MY $8 DOLLARS AN HOUR AND CONTINUE ON WITH ME--I SOLOED AT 8 HOURS INSTRUCTION--AND CONTINUED ON TO GET TO 32 HOURS FLYING TIME--PART OF THAT WAS INSTRUCTOR TIME--SO I COULD GET A PRIVATE LICENSE--WHICH GAVE ME THE RIGHT TO TAKE UP A PASSENGER--MR. EARL WEST CHECKED ME OUT FOR THE PRIVATE LICENSE AT AN AIRPORT JUST WEST OF BEAUMONT , TEXAS--I THINK THE AIRPORT IS STILL THERE-(MUCH IMPROVED)

THE AIR BASE CLOSED WHEN THE WAR WAS OVER--AND JERRY AND I BOTH HAD TO SERVE SOME TIME IN THE ARMY--

PERHAPS IT WAS THE FALL OF 1947--JERRY HAD A WHITE HORSE OUT ON PRIEN LAKE ROAD AND IT HAD DISAPPEARED--JERRY ASKED ME TO FLY HIM AROUND SOUTH OF LAKE CHARLES AND TRY TO FIND HIS WHITE HORSE--WHEN I MET JERRY IN 1943--I COULD NEVER HAVE IMAGINED I WOULD GET A PILOTS LICENSE AND BE TAKING JERRY UP IN A J-3 PIPER CUB --TO LOOK FOR HIS HORSE--UNBELIEVEABE IT SEEMS TO ME--

WE FLEW A LARGE AREA AROUND NEAR HIS HOME ON PRIEN LAKE ROAD--NO LUCK------JERRY SUGGESTED TO ME TO GO TO HIGHWAY 14 ( EAST OF HIS HOME)-AND SEARCH A FAMOUS RANCH THERE THAT BELONGED TO RALH PAYTON--FROM A DISTANCE WE COULD SEE HORSES AND CATTLE IN THE PRAIRE OF PAYTON'S HOME--

YOU GUESSED IT -A SINGLE WHITE HORSE WAS IN VIEW--I FLEW AS LOW AS SAFETY DEMANDED AND JERRY QUICKLY SAID THAT WAS HIS HORSE--THIS WAS AT LEAST 10 MILES OR MORE FROM WHERE THE HORSE BELONGED--HOW DID IT GET THROUGH HIGHWAYS -TRAFFIC-ETC. TO THIS PLACE--OF COURSE THIS HORSE HAD BEEN TO THIS FARM AT ONE TIME AND SURELY KNEW WHERE HE WAS GOING--

WE RETURNED TO THE SMALL AIRPORT SAFELY--THE AMAZING PART TO ME --THAT AS A HIGH SCHOOL KID I HAD MET JERRY AND NOW HAD FLOWN HIM TO SEARCH FOR HIS HORSE--

SORRY--BUT I JUST CANNOT FORGET THIS EVENT--JERRY AND HIS WIFE ARE NOW DECEASED--HOW FORTUNATE I WAS TO HAVE KNOWN THEM--

WRITTEN BY OTIS ENGLISH