So it was finally the weekend of the Boss’s wedding. It was held on May 14th, just outside of Eufaula, Alabama on a grand old plantation owned by the bride’s family. Very nice. Very Gatsbyesque…and I felt like Nick Carraway.
The ceremony was held outdoors under a huge magnolia tree. It was brief; knowing my boss, I was not surprised. A line of really bad weather had moved through the day before, leaving Saturday cool, dry and sunny; a perfect day for a wedding. I estimated that there were some 400+ attendees. Oh, it was quite the event!
You may now kiss the bride
The happy couple
The house
One of the gazebosAfter the ceremony we all hung around for a reception on the grounds. It was awesome. My boss and the bride’s family must have dropped a phenomenal amount of money on the whole thing. I hesitate to even guess. The food was unbelievable, if perhaps a trifle rich for my less-refined taste. (What, no deviled eggs? Unthinkable!) There was TONS of alcohol – I mean that literally: The amount of booze at this party was incredible. I could touch none of it, of course…OF COURSE…since I was scheduled to fly the newlyweds later that evening. And I’ll tell ya, me being around alcohol and not being able to drink is like Charlie Bucket trapped in the Chocolate Factory with his hands tied behind his back and duct tape over his mouth. So I made the bartenders put a slice of lime in my virgin Rum and Cokes to make it look like I wasn’t the only geek at the place.
The helicopter was parked out of sight behind a barn. At the appropriate time I fired it up and repositioned closer to the house. Amid tossed flowers (no rice for this bunch!) and a bunch of camera flashes that would do Lady Gaga proud, the Boss and his new bride made their way over to me. They climbed aboard and I hopped them over to the nearby airport where they were whisked away on a romantic Caribbean honeymoon in their own private jet. Now that is the way to depart from a wedding!
And so ended my nearly four years of employment with this company. The next morning, the new pilot (who was there at the wedding too) flew us back to Brewton, Alabama. After we landed I handed over the keys, logbooks and…most importantly…the cell phone. He’s the man now.
It has been an interesting stretch with this company. But every job runs its course, and it was time for this one to end. I’m not really sure what the long-term future will bring. I really, really wanted to not fly helicopters anymore, but I've said that before and it hasn't worked out. Seems that flying helicopters is what I do - and it looks like that trend might continue for a while. In any case I have confidence and faith that it will all work out for the best. For me it always has.
5 comments:
Geez. It's been four years? Doesn't seem possible. Weren't you still on the island just a couple of years ago?
I know, right? Time flies. I came back from Honduras in May of 2007 and almost immediately went to work my now-former boss. But that's what happens when you get older: Time speeds up. I know my resignation from my last company must have seemed protracted ("Won't he EVER quit already??) but now it seems that it was the blink of an eye from when I told my boss I was quitting (in February) to my actual last day (in May).
Well you run and you run
To catch up with the sun
But it's sinking
Racing around
To come up behind you again.
The sun is the same in a relative way
But you're older
Shorter of breath
And one day closer to death.
Gotta go. There's adventure to be had...somewhere.
Looks like quite a lavish wedding. Would love to hear more about this (former) boss of yours someday. You have done well protecting his privacy.
Congrats on four years and I know he hates to lose you. Look forward to seeing what the future holds.
You read The Great Gatsby?
We helicopter pilots do sometimes read things other than our flight manuals ;)
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