Paths of Water...

Hearing this song reminds me of the first time I heard it. Not knowing the name, I crunched my brain into trying to figure out who made it.

The first time I heard this song was back in 2002. It was the first time I heard this song, and the first time I saw Sean D. Tucker perform in his Challenger II in its famous Oracle Red paint.

This was my second time at MCAS Miramar for the airshow. My first was in 2000...that year, I was bent on trying to make a career as an airshow pilot. Later, my political views and my view on war would dissuade me from performing at performing at military venues (let's get this straight...I'm a supporter of aviation. I am not a supporter of war. Airplanes know no boundaries. Neither should pilots). I could not live with myself knowing I performed at an airshow, where someone was inspired by my flying, and got into the military, only to kill. I do not want blood over my head. Absolutely not, but that's another story for another time.

I saw those colors in the sky...I saw those patterns in the sky...and it inspired me. Not to get into the military, but to fly. My high school years, I was obsessed about flight. This childhood love for flying grew incessantly, and continues to grow today.

"Paths of Water" is a song by Yanni that just so happened to be that song I heard at Sean D. Tucker's performance (which he still uses today). It's a beautiful song. And it's quite fitting with aerobatics...an alternative to the staccato of rock and pop that is normally heard with most other performers...this music adds a certain refinement to aerobatics, eliminating the view of "danger" and replacing it with "grace". Rather than aerobatics, it becomes more like "sky dancing". Your partner is the airplane, and your ballroom floor is the sky above the flightline.

Enjoy!