A Year of Blogging: August 19, 2011

August 19 is 'National Aviation Day'. When I first read that, I was a little discouraged. It just didn't seem that interesting. Then I found out why today is National Aviation Day. On August 19, 1871 Orville Wright was born. And do you know where he was born? In Dayton, Ohio. In case you are wondering why Orville's birthday was chosen for National Aviation Day, I would guess it is because he was the one who manned the Wright Brothers' first flight. I have to say, growing up, we didn't learn an awful lot about the Wright Brothers. We learned about the first flight at Kitty Hawk in North Carolina in 1903. I always figured the Wright Brothers were from North Carolina. North Carolina's license plates used to say 'First in Flight'. I was shocked when I came to the Midwest and learned the Wright Brothers were really the pride of Dayton, Ohio. It is something that Ohio has not marketed very well until recently. Sure, our license plates used to say 'Birthplace of Aviation'. You can tour historic sites associated with them. And the Wright Brother's Airport is in Dayton- sort of. The Dayton International Airport is known as the James M. Cox International Airport. James Cox was the 46th and 48th Governor of Ohio, and a Democratic candidate for the US Presidency in 1920. He was actually born not far from Middletown, where I live. I'm sure he was a great Ohioan, but I don't understand why Dayton's airport is named for him. The Wright Brother's airport is actually in Miamisburg, a suburb south of Dayton. It is for small planes like Cessnas. When Sydney and Drew start learning about the Wright Brothers in school, I will take them to Dayton. We'll go to Huffman Prairie, where the Wright Brothers conducted many of their test flights and visit the Wright Cycle Shop. I'm hoping they will think it's as cool as I do that Dayton is home to such influential people. I hate flying. I really do. But the Wright Brothers amaze me. When I think of how they changed the world, it is incredible. The 725 mile trip between my house and my mother's used to take weeks by horse & wagon. Maybe even months. Now, I can hop on a 7am flight and be in NY for lunch. Our world has become so much smaller, and what was once considered impossible has become part of our every day life. We have two brothers from Dayton, Ohio to thank for that. Today is another special birthday- my Mom's. Mom has always been my biggest cheerleader. She believes in me when no one else does. She always told us we could do anything, and she believed it. She patiently answers our silly questions about cooking or laundry. Even now, there are times I just want to talk to my mom about something, and she's there. We do a lot of our communicating by email lately, but we can still talk up a storm on the phone. Mom taught me many things: how to cook, how to do laundry, how to be kind and compassionate, to give it your all, to stand up for yourself and what you believe in, and that shopping is better when you get a great deal. She is a hero to me. She is an incredible woman; if I am half the woman she is then I am doing well. I'm sure Mom would think it's neat that she shares a birthday with Orville Wright, although she'll cuff the first person who makes a comment about them being the same age. She always rolled her eyes when she heard it was also Bill Clinton's birthday. But perhaps most fitting, it is also the birthday of Coco Chanel (August 19, 1883). Mom's favorite fragrance is Chanel No. 5. In many ways, Mom is like a Chanel suit or a Chanel little black dress. She is casual, but can be elegant, classic, and everyone should have one!