I’m happiest in the sky

Old planes, new planes.

Fast planes, slow planes.

Big planes, small planes.

I’ve seen all of ’em, flown in all of ’em and love all of ’em.

I don’t care who made it, who bought it, who owns it or who flies it—I love airplanes. I love the places they take me and the “real world” they take me away from. Simply put: I’m happiest in the sky.

Of course, I’m partial to Boeing. For one, I work there… but I’m truly fascinated by the company, its people and its products. It’s a remarkable, beautiful story of determination, perseverance, passion and innovation; and I’m humbled to be able to help keep that history alive.

This passion of mine has really taken me places, both figuratively and literally, and I’m truly grateful for that. Because, believe it or not, that very passion was just sitting dormant inside of me for a long, long time. It was gathering dust somewhere in a deep, dark corner of my mind, for more than a decade. But several years ago, a chance encounter with a metal bird that soared right over my head, just seconds after departing on MSP’s runway 17, was my “aha” moment. I was hooked.

I’m now officially three weeks into working in communications for our company’s historical archives. To say that being in this role is an honor would be an understatement. I am still brand new to this team and to the city of St. Louis, but I have never, ever, ever felt such an intense drive and such determination to do my best. And I love that.

Boeing’s story is one that needs to be kept alive… it needs to be told and retold. It needs to be heard and read, appreciated and understood. I myself understand and respect that all people don’t feel so drawn to these flying machines… but they do—and always will—touch all of our lives.

So, if I could ask anything of you, reading this right now, it would be… take a minute and “Google” William Boeing. Do the same for Donald Douglas, James McDonnell and James “Dutch” Kindelberger. Those men were the true pioneers of aviation—they saw promise in aviation, they believed they could build better airplanes and they stood up and grew these INCREDIBLE companies that today are all part of the Boeing family.

This afternoon, I was fortunate to visit the Greater St. Louis Air and Space Museum. Located at the St. Louis Downtown Airport (CPS), it is chock full of photographs, film, models and other artifacts that bring you right back to the golden age of flight. And, outside the hangars that the museum is housed in (which are on the National Register of Historic Places), you’ll find a stunning 1943 Douglas DC-3 (arguably the greatest airplane of all time), a Convair 440 that started its life with FinnAir in 1957, and a 1969 Lockheed JetStar once owned by none other than Howard Hughes.

I’ll leave you with a few photos from this afternoon, and there’ll be many, many more to come. I’m on a big adventure, I mean a big, BIG adventure, and I’m really lucky to share in that adventure with all of you.

Thanks for the love and the support.