For years, I wanted to fly. Every time I wanted to fly it was either too windy or it was raining or whatever. I couldn’t go.

So, I said, “You know I evidently need to spend my money in other places.” Money wasn’t that prevalent, but I had some. So I didn’t, and we bought a house and so forth and raised four kids.

I came to Findlay and the first few years after I was here there was an art league that was formed. I wasn’t there the night they did the charter but I was a charter member, so to speak, and I’ve been at it ever since. I’ve done lots of things, the whole nine yards, president, everything. I still enter most all the shows.

So, last year I had a one-woman show, last June, and I had an inventory of over 150 things. I didn’t have quite that many things in the show, but those are mostly things I have done in the last five years or maybe even 10 a few things.

But going back…We lived in a nice house and everything. We had a business. My husband retired and we traveled and then he became ill and during that time, the year before he passed away, I walked in the house one day and he was really not feeling well and I made the statement that, “If anything should happen to you I’m going to sell the house and move into an apartment.”

Out of the clear blue I said this and I had no clue why I said it, but a thought in passing and I had my mouth open.

So, sixty seconds or two minutes went by and he said, “Maybe we better do that now.”

I said, “What?”

So, this was on a Monday, but Friday I had a realtor, I had an apartment and I told him if I was going to do it I was going to jump in and do it or I’m not going to do it. So then within three months we were in this apartment.

In the house my studio was in the opposite corner upstairs from where he was in the family room and so I wasn’t where he was and I felt that was important. So, did that, and he passed away a year after that.

So then it’s like, okay is this all there is or do I go on and do something with my life? And you have all kinds of crazy questions in your mind.

One of the things after a year, I guess, the next year or a couple years, I was very busy doing my thing and I went to the Air Force Museum in Dayton with my youngest son in the summer or 2002.

I made a comment to Chris that, “You know I always wanted to fly and I guess I should have. I never did it.”

He said, “Well, do it.”

I said, “Oh yeah, well.” So it just kind of was a thought in passing and a couple months later it came to me and I thought, you know what, why not? You wanted to learn how to fly!

So, my mind is going and was out at the shopping center one day and I said, “You know God, if I am supposed to fly just head me over to Tiffin.” I knew where the airport was over there, and they weren’t doing it here. As I came to that light I just turned left and I went to Tiffin and looked up about flying lessons. I thought, you know what, I’m not telling anyone. I told no one. I didn’t tell my kids, nobody. I came home and I thought, you crazy person! You are doing this!

So, I did. I had to go get my physical and ended up I had to do it in Findlay and I didn’t know the doctor but I went in and it was crazy. It is a crazy story (Laughs). You don’t want to hear it!

Anyway, as I’m having a physical – he has me laid down to check my vital signs, I guess, whatever, and he says, “Your heart is pounding like a gelding horse!”

I said, “You know what? If you were planning on doing what I am your heart would be pounding too!”

He just looked at me and never said a word, and he passed me. He passed me. So, I got into that and I gave myself three months to do this. I was 80 years old and in three months I soloed and I flew by myself.

I came home and I called my kids. They all went crazy. They couldn’t believe I did it and after the first one – I scared the first one when I said what I did, so the next one I didn’t do it quite so bluntly.

I said, “Well I had a gold star day today. I did something special!”

They said, “What did you do?” and my kids – it was just humorous how they reacted to this!

My youngest son, the month before called me one day and he says, “Okay Mom, what are you doing?”

I said, “Lots of stuff, why?”

He said, “Are you getting married?”

I said, “Wrong!”

He said, “Are you flying?”

I said, “Yeah!”

He said, “You are?” and, “Yes!” and he just had a fit.

I said, “Chris you cannot tell anybody. Nobody knows this and you can’t tell anybody!”

When this happened, and I did, he told his wife and she said, “You kept this a secret from me?”

He said, “This is not my secret, this is my mom’s secret.”

So, anyway, he was the only one that knew it was happening. And none of my friends! My friends just all blew away. It was in the paper and everything.

I’m not flying anymore because I couldn’t justify doing it because my kids weren’t interested in buying an airplane. My youngest one has a license; my oldest son does and doesn’t use it. My youngest one does.

I did it on the 17th, which was the Wright Brothers anniversary date. I didn’t know it until I walked in the office and one of the girls said, “Look at this calendar!” and I almost flipped. So she gave me one that was – it was the 99th year that I did this on the anniversary. So then, this was December 17th if I am correct.

On January 1st I went to a lady’s house for a New Year’s Eve party. I had high heels on. After midnight it had gotten icy, cold, and damp. I had a tray of food and I brought my stuff in and then I had this silly idea that I had to put the car away into the garage.

I went out with the keys, got to the end of the sidewalk and I couldn’t see there was ice, black ice, and I slipped and broke my kneecap in three places and shattered it. So, I stood up and nothing happened. I fell right back down, you know? And I couldn’t make it to the apartment, so I backed up, schooched backwards to my car which was about 25 feet and opened the door – oh, I put on my clicker, my emergency clicker.

People came to the window and couldn’t see me. I was in between the cars and they looked at their car and it wasn’t their car so they ignored it. So, I got into the car and I reached in and got my cell phone and called 911 and they came out and picked me up and I went to the hospital. Eight weeks later I was in the Caribbean on a Windjammer Cruise on the Polynesian and we were down in the bottom and I had six short flights of steps to make it up and down from our cabin, so I had my therapy.

I married and now I am Methodist. It has changed from Evangelical to United Bretheren. I belong to that church because I know these people. My faith is maybe a little different than some people but I think everybody’s faith is a little different anyway.

I don’t care where you go to church and if you are broadminded, which I am, I mean you see all things are related, and I don’t judge anybody for their particular title of faith it’s how they live. And, by saying how they live it’s how they practice their faith, you know? And, I’m very active in Eastern Star. My husband was a Mason and very active in Masonry. So, I am active in Eastern Star. Some religions might not approve of that, perhaps? I don’t know why they aren’t Eastern Star. They would approve because it’s a character building. So that’s good. So, I’m still active.