Orestes Jose Aragon
Friday afternoon, Dancito Fitzpatrick was washing his Piper Super Cub outside its hangar in the southwestern outskirts of Esteli, and noticed a man off in the distance standing at the fence that kept cattle off his airfield. The man seemed to be watching him. Dancito paid little attention to him and went on with the washing, then made sure the tires were inflated to the right pressure. He was about to put his airplane into the hangar when he was startled by the man at the fence who had, unnoticed by Dancito, walked all the way over to the hangar.
“Adios!” he called out to the man, more to let him know he was aware of his presence just in case he had some malicious intent that had required him to sneak up on Dancito.
The man rather shyly said back, “Buenas,” and simply stood there looking at the Super Cub. Dancito sensed that there was no cause for alarm. This man seemed merely to be curious about the airplane.
The man seemed to want to say something, but was hesitant. He finally spoke. “I’ve seen you flying over my farm,” he said.
Dancito said, “Yes, I’m the one. No one else seems to fly here.” He held out his hand. “Daniel Fitzpatrick,” he said. “They call me Dancito.”
“Orestes José Aragón,” he offered. They shook hands. A little emboldened, Orestes said, “I’ve always wanted to see your airplane up close.”
“Please look all you want.”
Orestes drank in all the detail he saw, the way the painted fabric was tightly draped over the wing ribs, the large black tires, the control cable that protruded from the wing and bolted to the aileron, the way the aileron had a gap between it and the rest of the wing, the metal hinges that the aileron attached to. He reached out to touch the flap next to the aileron, and it moved downward when he touched it. He looked at Dancito to see if he had done something bad and Dancito said, “It’s fine; it’s supposed to move like that.” Orestes walked around the tail of the plane and took note of the thin metal brace wires that kept the horizontal stabilizers and rudder straight. He saw how the tail seemed to be made from pieces of round tubing, bent into elegant curves with their form visible through the fabric just as on the wings. He walked slowly toward the cabin, on the plane’s right side. The cabin door was still open, and Orestes bent down a little to look inside. This seemed to fascinate him the most. The two seats, one in front of the other, the control sticks, the instrument panel with it’s mysterious dials and switches.
Dancito sensed Orestes’ interest and asked if he would like to sit inside. “Yes!” he replied. Dancito showed him where to step, what part of the airplane to grab with his hands, and which leg to put into the cabin first. With tentative awkwardness, he managed to climb into the rear passenger seat and made himself comfortable. The afternoon was bright and there were few clouds in the sky, and Dancito had nowhere he needed to be at the moment.
He asked Orestes, “Would you like to for a short flight?”
“Are you sure?” Orestes said with the excitement of a child.
“Yes, of course!” Dancito said. He showed him how to fasten and unfasten the seat belt and shoulder harness, and handed him the headset to protect his ears and allow them to talk to each other. Then climbed into the front seat and put on his own seat belt and shoulder harness. Running through the relatively simple engine starting procedure of the Super Cub, he looked around outside for anything the propeller might hit when it started to swing furiously around, and turned the ignition key. The engine cranked eagerly to life, and he taxied to the end of the runway.
Dancito ran the engine up to check the magnetos and carburetor heat, the oil temperature and pressure, and the electrical system, then asked Orestes over the electrical intercom, “Are you ready?”
“Yes! I’m very ready,” he shouted back. He had never experienced anything like this before, having spent his entire life on his small farm tending cattle, chickens, and goats, and riding the occasional bus into town, and this to him was as strange as a trip to the moon. Dancito moved the throttle forward and the engine roared to full power. They accelerated down the runway, Dancito pushing the stick forward just enough to raise the tail off the ground while gently tapping the rudder pedals to keep the nose straight. In no time at all he coaxed the stick gently back and the nose came up and they were free from the ground.
Dancito maneuvered the airplane in a climbing turn so they could fly over the city. He took them to a thousand feet over the rooftops, and Orestes’ eyes were glued to the outside world. He had never even conceived of what his world would look like from above, and he was enthralled. Dancito brought the engine power down so they could fly at a leisurely speed and see the town. The sun shone on the red roofs below and the busy streets seemed a world away. The mountains all around this valley glowed with the vibrant green of the high summer. The farms below were green patchwork separated by stone walls and dirt roads. Here in the sky, the problems of men vanished. There was only the earth, the sky, and the machine.
They turned to follow the Pan American highway back toward town. One pickup truck was making its way in the same direction, and Dancito descended to get closer. It was not quite possible to slow the airplane down enough to stay with the truck, but Dancito and Orestes saw the faces of the boys in the back of the truck look up at them for a brief moment. To their right, cows and horses grazed in the fields. Ahead, the city lay spread before them. Again, they passed over the city, this time lower than before. A game of baseball was going on at the baseball field, the plaza looked full of people. The market street was quiet in the late afternoon, and there was little traffic waiting at the stop light at the banking corner.
Divorced from the human element, these activities went on below the two men in the plane with a detached objectivity. From the air, there were buildings and cars, not homes and commuters; a ball game was not one team scoring runs, stealing bases, and calling pitches, it was two groups of anonymous players and nothing more. No roar of the crowd, no crack of the bat. The ordinary human passions of everyday life did not exist in this machine of the sky. Flying above the town put them in a separate world where one could feel a fleeting notion of divinity – not a notion of controlling the world below, but of noticing its beauty as if for the first time and feeling adoration.
Dancito headed for his airfield, aligned the Super Cub with the runway, and gently touched down. He brought the three of them - the airplane, Orestes, and himself - up to the hangar and shut off the engine. In the sudden silence they sat for a brief moment, and Dancito undid his seat belt and shoulder harness and turned to look at Orestes.
Orestes was gazing out the window still, with a look of rapture on his face. He noticed Dancito and snapped out of it, saying, “That was beautiful.” Dancito smiled and climbed out of the plane.
“Thank you. I saw things I never knew existed. I will remember this the rest of my life,” said Orestes.
Unprepared for the weight of Orestes’ reaction, Dancito had to set aside the light and small talk he typically used when a passenger disembarked. “You’re welcome, Orestes. If you want to go up again and I’m here, just let me know.”
“How much do I owe you for the ride?” Orestes asked.
Never intending to charge this man money, Dancito said, “Nothing at all.”
“Thank you. I have to go and tell my wife what I saw. I don’t even know how to describe it!”
“You’ll find a way, Orestes,” Dancito said as Orestes walked to the fence, to the spot from which he had appeared earlier, and Dancito pushed his Super Cub into the hangar.
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Originally Posted by John
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