Jack...Uncle...Mon Capitan...My Brother...My Friend...
You were there for the ups and downs...always with a smile, that laugh or a helping hand that you extended without asking, to so many people. Always putting them before yourself.
With you, it was always "all in" before the term came to be. The BBQ's, crab feasts, the road trips...the quiet times talking about our careers and the future...
Rolling out of your dock on a Saturday morning with the DNR boat to go to work and coming back to find you both, my wife and daughter, Frank and his wife ...and you with enough to feed half the county will always be a cherished memory.
The cheers from you when I got back into the cockpit...meant so much. And even more, the honor of showing up to surprise you and join you on your flight deck for your retirement flight just a year ago...and the laughing as the passengers all blew those kazoos for your landing.
How you loved the view on Winchester Creek and the water. Fitting that it called you.
Air and water. Time, Tides, winds and currents wait for none of us. The Final Flight west is one we all must take. You just took it too soon, my friend.
For you, Captain Jack...you were never a mere pilot, you were a FLYER. And this prayer fits you so well.
With heavy hearts,
John & Muffy
The Flyer's Prayer
When this life I'm in is done,
And at the gates I stand,
My hope is that I answer all
His questions on command.
I doubt He'll ask me of my fame,
Or all the things I knew,
Instead, He'll ask of rainbows sent
On rainy days I flew.
The hours logged, the status reached,
The ratings will not matter,
He'll ask me if I saw the rays
And how He made them scatter.
Or what about the droplets clear,
I spread across your screen?
And did you see the twinkling eyes,
Of student pilots keen?
The way your heart jumped in your chest,
That special solo day -
Did you take time to thank the ones
Who fell along the way?
Remember how the runway lights
Looked one night long ago
When you were lost and found your way,
And how - you still don't know?
How fast, how far, how much, how high?
He'll ask me not these things
But did I take the time to watch
The moonbeams wash my wings?
And did you see the patchwork fields
And mountains I did mold,
The mirrored lakes and velvet hills,
Of these did I behold?
The wind he flung along my wings,
On final almost stalled,
And did I know it was His name,
That I so fearfully called?
And when the goals are reached at last,
When all the flying's done,
I'll answer Him with no regret -
Indeed, I had some fun.
So when these things are asked of me,
And I can reach no higher,
My prayer this day - His hand extends
To welcome home a Flyer.