old, beat up leather jacket. She took one look at him and thought, Looks like he’s been flying about a hundred years.
An attractive older man in his sixties, Hank had a full set of dark brown hair with only a slight frosting of gray. His face was painted with light blue eyes and a friendly smile. After doing some paperwork, he walked over to Christina and explained that he planned to take his grandson, Billy, to do some fishing on the islands.
Billy, a nice looking teenager, was obviously caught in the awkward transformation from boy and man. The smooth skin on his face was dotted with freckles, accented with bright red hair. Christina snickered at his appearance. He was visibly taken aback by the Three Amigos, and he studied the floor in bashful silence. The girls ate lunch with their flight crew in the FBO diner just before departure, and Christina took an immediate liking to both Hank and Billy.
She walked into the lobby and noticed a female pilot filling out her logbook. A plain looking woman and a little overweight, she appeared to be about thirty. Christina wondered how long she’d been flying and decided to strike up a conversation.
“ Hi, my name is Christina Matthews. I noticed your wings, and I was just wondering what the job market for female pilots is like these days.”
“ Nice to meet you. I’m Barbara Gilmore. You, a pilot?”
“ Just getting started. How long have you been flying?”
“ Don’t think I want to answer that one,” she said with a chuckle. “I took my first lessons when I was a teenager in California, after I got out of high school.”
“ So, did you major in aeronautical engineering?”
“ No, as a matter of fact, I majored in Psychology at the University of Georgia.”
“ What a coincidence. My friend, Heather, is a Psych major there. Would you happen to know a Dr. Weston?”
Gilmore’s face turned bright red, and she coughed loudly, quickly looking away. Turning back to Christina she said, “Uh. . .hey, listen, I’m busy here. Only got a couple of minutes. Got to take a charter to the Exumas in less than an hour.”
“ Where are your passengers?”
“ I don’t know, my clients seem to be running late. Let me ask, how far along is your flight training then?”
“ Just soloed.”
“ So you want to be a commercial pilot?”
“ Well, my long-term goal is to be an astronaut.”
“ Astronaut?” Gilmore snorted in her face, rudely. “You’re kidding right? Why don’t you just go for President? Your chances would be better. Don’t you know those two words ‘female’ and ‘astronaut’ don’t mix?”
“ Thanks for the encouragement.”
“ Hey, I know some people at NASA. I tried to apply once myself, and they just laughed. The general policy at JSC is that women don’t have the Right Stuff.”
“ Are you sure? But. . .”
“ Grow up kid. Of over three-hundred astronauts selected, only three females, and only one ever made it off the ground.”
“ But. . .”
“ Hey listen. If you want to build your hours without breaking the bank, your best route would be the military. If you qualify, they pay for the training and keep you in the air. Only other way to get the time without spending a fortune is to work as a flight instructor.”
Christina couldn’t figure. Surely she knows about the most famous female Astronaut Commander. “Guess you’re right,” Christina said, “I understand Eileen Collins did both. She was a T-38 instructor in the Air For. . .”
“ Eileen Collins? Are you kidding me? What a joke! NASA needed a female commander so they manufactured one.” Gilmore stomped back to her office before she could reply.
Christina was irate. She wanted to go after that woman and claw her eyes out. The bitch had seriously degraded her idol with a terrible lie. Lt. Col. Eileen Collins is no joke! She made history in space. She wasn’t
An attractive older man in his sixties, Hank had a full set of dark brown hair with only a slight frosting of gray. His face was painted with light blue eyes and a friendly smile. After doing some paperwork, he walked over to Christina and explained that he planned to take his grandson, Billy, to do some fishing on the islands.
Billy, a nice looking teenager, was obviously caught in the awkward transformation from boy and man. The smooth skin on his face was dotted with freckles, accented with bright red hair. Christina snickered at his appearance. He was visibly taken aback by the Three Amigos, and he studied the floor in bashful silence. The girls ate lunch with their flight crew in the FBO diner just before departure, and Christina took an immediate liking to both Hank and Billy.
She walked into the lobby and noticed a female pilot filling out her logbook. A plain looking woman and a little overweight, she appeared to be about thirty. Christina wondered how long she’d been flying and decided to strike up a conversation.
“ Hi, my name is Christina Matthews. I noticed your wings, and I was just wondering what the job market for female pilots is like these days.”
“ Nice to meet you. I’m Barbara Gilmore. You, a pilot?”
“ Just getting started. How long have you been flying?”
“ Don’t think I want to answer that one,” she said with a chuckle. “I took my first lessons when I was a teenager in California, after I got out of high school.”
“ So, did you major in aeronautical engineering?”
“ No, as a matter of fact, I majored in Psychology at the University of Georgia.”
“ What a coincidence. My friend, Heather, is a Psych major there. Would you happen to know a Dr. Weston?”
Gilmore’s face turned bright red, and she coughed loudly, quickly looking away. Turning back to Christina she said, “Uh. . .hey, listen, I’m busy here. Only got a couple of minutes. Got to take a charter to the Exumas in less than an hour.”
“ Where are your passengers?”
“ I don’t know, my clients seem to be running late. Let me ask, how far along is your flight training then?”
“ Just soloed.”
“ So you want to be a commercial pilot?”
“ Well, my long-term goal is to be an astronaut.”
“ Astronaut?” Gilmore snorted in her face, rudely. “You’re kidding right? Why don’t you just go for President? Your chances would be better. Don’t you know those two words ‘female’ and ‘astronaut’ don’t mix?”
“ Thanks for the encouragement.”
“ Hey, I know some people at NASA. I tried to apply once myself, and they just laughed. The general policy at JSC is that women don’t have the Right Stuff.”
“ Are you sure? But. . .”
“ Grow up kid. Of over three-hundred astronauts selected, only three females, and only one ever made it off the ground.”
“ But. . .”
“ Hey listen. If you want to build your hours without breaking the bank, your best route would be the military. If you qualify, they pay for the training and keep you in the air. Only other way to get the time without spending a fortune is to work as a flight instructor.”
Christina couldn’t figure. Surely she knows about the most famous female Astronaut Commander. “Guess you’re right,” Christina said, “I understand Eileen Collins did both. She was a T-38 instructor in the Air For. . .”
“ Eileen Collins? Are you kidding me? What a joke! NASA needed a female commander so they manufactured one.” Gilmore stomped back to her office before she could reply.
Christina was irate. She wanted to go after that woman and claw her eyes out. The bitch had seriously degraded her idol with a terrible lie. Lt. Col. Eileen Collins is no joke! She made history in space. She wasn’t
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