Show Me The Way

 Best Christian song by a secular band ever . . . 

The Sweet Spot

It was a stormy night in Arkansas (I'll bet your mind is already racing toward clues and mysteries . . .) and I was on my way home from work. I was thinking that there are definitely benefits to living six minutes from work but one of the downsides is the lack of time to decompress. My longest commute in my work life was from Rome, Georgia to Chattanooga, TN which was almost two hours on I-75, with good weather and traffic. But there was also a back way home that wove through the mountains, added about thirty minutes to my drive, but offered some amazing views, especially at sunset.

I remember jamming out to Three Dog Night, Genesis, Steely Dan, Cat Stevens and more as the musical soundtrack combined with the rolling North Georgia mountains. But there were other moments, listening to teaching from Tony Evans, Charles Stanley and Chuck Swindoll on Christian radio. And then finally there was the silence afforded during this journey . . .

I Admit It's Not Normal . . .

When I turned 20 I made some pretty big decisions about my life. For instance, I resolved not to date any girl more than 5 times thus reducing the likelihood of becoming ensnared during the prime of my life. Also, after a year and half of college I decided that money held greater appeal than knowledge (I never said these were smart decisions . . . ) and turned my full attention to my job. I had already moved out years earlier so along with this new found direction I decided to reward myself with a new car.

My first car was a 1974 Chevy Nova, not a bad car, a little slow, (also it was painted yellow) but my main gripe was that lately it had made up it's mind that it would decide when to turn off its engine. I used to time the starting point when I turned off the engine and then the final gasps which culminated in a lot of smoke and noise a few minutes later. It was six years old, on the verge of costing me more than it was worth and the decision seemed pretty clear to me. That, combined with the fact that I was a young executive on the move made this an easy decision. It was time to go car shopping!

George Preddy

One of my favorite activities as a child was reading. Back in the 60's my Mom enrolled us in the Scholastic Summer reading program and I will never forget the excitement of opening up that box of treasures when it arrived and stacking them carefully on my desk.

My favorite books were mysteries, stories on athletes, and war stories. I remember one book that made an huge impact was a book on WWI aircraft pilot aces. Eddie Rickenbacker was the most successful American fighter ace in the war with 26 kills. He also led an incredible life after the war that you can read more about HERE.

That book prompted me to research WWII's aces and that led me to learning about George Preddy.  George grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina and his love for flying was born early in his life. After school he became a barnstormer pilot but when WWII started he made three attempts to join the U.S. Navy and was rejected each time for his physical condition. Dejected, he returned to barnstorming but he didn't give up on his goal of being a fighter pilot. During the summer of 1940, before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he made another attempt to join the USAAF and this time he passed all the required tests. He was told he would have to wait for an opening so while waiting Preddy joined the Army National Guard to gain experience and serve his country while waiting for the USAAF to notify him of an opening.

In April of 1941 Preddy finally received his orders to report to flight training. His goal of becoming a fighter pilot was now within his reach. Already his tenacity and single-minded focus was becoming apparent to his commanding officers. General John C. Meyer who was Preddy's squadron commander for more than a year, wrote: "I have never met a man of . . . such intense desire to excel . . . George Preddy was the complete fighter pilot."