Piper Cub

I had absolutely no idea what a Piper Cub was when I first met "M".  To me, it could have been a type of bear.  Some unusually rare species that was just discovered on the National Geographic Channel and needs support because it is near extinction.

 

Wrong!  As I'm sure many of you already know, it is a type of plane.  According to Wikipedia, it's a "small, simple, light aircraft that was built between 1937 and 1947 by Piper Aircraft."  Equipped with tandem seating, it was perfectly designed as a teaching vehicle.  And not surprisingly, it is the exact type of aircraft that "M" used for her flight training in the early 1940's.

 

In the home that she and her late husband shared for five decades, "M" had many photographs and flight-related displays that allowed her to recall her days as a trainer, thus bringing her back to a time when she was perhaps the most happy.  She and I would often walk around her house looking at particular items which would prompt "M" to share a wonderful story from her past.

 

When she moved to Florida last November, however, most of this memorabilia was left behind.  The family's plan was for "M" to stay in a warm, comfortable environment for at least six months, after which she would return to an unfrozen Northeast.  But since the move happened so quickly, there was no time to gather photographs and other treasured trinkets.

 

I arrived in Florida five days after "M" was moved there.  Her family flew me down so that I could assist her in getting oriented to her new environment.  Even though "M" didn't always know my name, or even where she knew me from (often I was a girlfriend from her school days), she always recognized my face!  As soon as I arrived in the new home, "M" clapped her hands and exclaimed with delight, "It's so good to see you!"  Believe me, the feeling was quite mutual, as I missed "M" terribly during the months that I did not see her.

 

The house was expansive and stark, very difficult for someone with Dementia to get accustomed to.  Knowing it was a new living arrangement, I put together a photo album for "M" that I brought with me on my trip.  In it were pictures of the previous summer we had all spent in The Woods, the family's camp in upstate New York.  "M" was thrilled to look at the photos, and it helped her to remember faces and names. 

 

Along with the little album, I brought a framed 5 x 7 photo of a photo.  One I had taken at "M"s home because it was, and still is, my favorite picture of her.  In it, "M" is teaching a young student, another woman, how to fly.  Although she was about seventy years younger in the photo (give or take a few years), "M" was completely recognizable by her brilliant smile and bright eyes.  They were the same smile and eyes that I had grown to care for tremendously over the past few years, and I knew she would beam at the site of the old black and white photograph.

 

My instincts were right.  "That's me!" she declared, her voice filled with pride, but also a bit of longing.  It was as if she was saying, "That used to be me."  That particular photograph always sparked a conversation about "M"s days as a flight instructor.   Although she would tell some of the same stories over and over again, especially about how she was able to teach the "boys" that none of the men were able to teach, I never grew tired of hearing them. 

 

Sometimes, when I was out of "M"s line of sight, I would catch her holding the framed photo, cradling it in her hands.  Her expression was usually one of joy, and I knew I had done the right thing by bringing the picture down to her new home.

 

But I couldn't help but feel that something else was needed, and with the holiday season just around the corner, I happened to stumble upon the perfect gift at a nearby thrift store.  I ran the idea by "M"s son, who thought the price was a bit too high, but my heart told me to go ahead with the purchase anyway.  It would be my Christmas gift to "M".  With her son returning to the Northeast for the holiday, "M" and I would be sharing Christmas alone together.  I wanted her to have something special... something that would remind her of her glorious past.

 

It was bright yellow, wooden, and exquisitely displayed.  Although I thought I knew what it was when I first saw it, I asked the lady behind the counter to confirm my suspicion.  "It's a Piper Cub," she explained.  I knew it!  Piper Cubs were painted yellow, and this one was an exact replica.  I had to have it, and so I purchased it as my Christmas present for "M". 

 

Now wrapping it was another matter indeed!  Not quite that simple a project.  After several failed attempts involving tissue paper and ribbons, I decided simply to display the plane on one of the empty shelves in the living room.  Being white, the shelf was a perfect backdrop for the plane.  It took every ounce of restraint I had to not reveal the present before Christmas morning, so I hid it in my bedroom, where "M" never went.   I couldn't wait to see the look on her beautifully wrinkled face when she saw it!

 

The wait was well worth it.  When Christmas morning arrived, I had "M" sit in her favorite seat, a light blue swivel lounge chair.  Actually, it was one of the only chairs, as the family had yet to buy furniture for the new house.  From this seat, "M" could look out at the water and watch the many Gulf Coast birds fly by.  Once, shortly after my arrival in Florida, a Great Snowy Egret landed on the roof of the patio, but that's a story for another day!

 

I had gotten a bunch of dollar store trinkets as gifts to fill "M"s stocking, as well as a small tree, complete with tiny ornaments.  Her daughter had sent a big box full of gifts from her side of the family, and I took them out and displayed them around our tree on Christmas Eve.  Gathered together, all of these items made for a very merry little Christmas display, and "M" enjoyed looking at it as we listened to holiday carols on a local radio station.

 

Back to Christmas Morning!  After opening all of the other gifts first, "M" needed to use the restroom.  This was perfect timing, as the Piper Cub was on a shelf that was en route to the bathroom.  Slowly, we started walking towards the back end of the house.  Then she saw it.  The yellow Piper Cub.  "Look at that!" she exclaimed.  "I used to fly one of them!  And I taught Naval cadets how to fly in them!"

 

I knew she would say that.  And I also knew that when she was done with the bathroom, she would again share the story of how she was able to instruct the students that none of the male teachers could.  Because she listened to their problems, which allowed them to free themselves of whatever was bothering them and focus more on flying. 

 

She shared the story many times during my stay, often holding the Piper Cub in her lap as she talked.  And not once did I grow tired of listening to "M".