The Biplane

First, thank you to all who've commented recently, and to the silent readers, too. Second, in answer to Jodi's question about the pronunciation of Yuengling, it's as simple as "Ying-Ling;" Yuengling is an anglicized version of the German Jüngling (sort of like deriving Yeager or Hunter from Jäger -- many adult Detroiters will be familiar, one way or another, with Jägermeister). For more, you can always see the D. G. Yuengling & Son website: http://www.yuengling.com/

and blog: http://yuenglingbrewery.blogspot.com/

Now, to the above snapshot. Eugene Shaffer, my (maternal) grandfather, told me a long time ago that he'd flown in a biplane when he was young. Other things I know about him include: he never learned how to drive a car. He walked a lot, fished and hunted small game all around Stroudsburg and East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, and the Poconos; and he never lived outside of the area. He was a mill worker. He had four kids (one of them, my mother). And he was a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles (FDR and boxer Max Baer were prominent members around the time of The Great Depression).

Above is additional evidence that he did indeed fly in a biplane. I was looking through an old family notebook that stops in 1935 and came across the photo. On the back is written in what looks like his handwriting: Took a ride in this plane at Snydersville Summer of 1927 with Paul Meisell. Underneath in the notebook proper: First Airplane ride at Snydersville with my pal Paul Meisell in the summer of 1927. And: Second ride at Pipher's airport in the summer of 1928.

He may have been inspired to try it by the example of Charles Lindbergh, who'd flown his Spirit of St. Louis monoplane across the Atlantic in May of 1927.

In any case, he married my grandmother (still alive at 94) in 1934 and moved from Stroudsburg to East Stroudsburg, across Broadhead Creek, in 1940 -- and he did fly again eventually, in jet planes, as late as the 1980s.

Happy Groundhog Day, and Happy Birthday to James Joyce, Denise DeVivo, and Donald Delbert France, my Dad, who turned 75 yesterday!

Today's Rune: Movement.