Planes, Trains and Automobiles

The 1987 film Planes, Trains, and Automobiles is a delightful comedy about two opposite men who become an unlikely travelling duo.  Directed by John Hughes, and starring John Candy and Steve Martin, the movie is an 80’s classic.  

This dog blog has nothing to do with the 1980’s, movies, John Hughes, John Candy, Steve Martin, or strangers learning how to tolerate one another as they travel across the US.  This dog blog has to do with what i was thinking while we were out walking the other day…and i saw a plane.

I get to go for a walk every day. Have i mentioned that fun fact before?  Maybe once? Not sure? I probably have. Hee hee.

Anyway, i get to go out for a walk every day, which is good for my physical health of course, but is, without a doubt, crucial to my mental health and ingenuity as well.  Fresh air, sunshine, wind, wild life…..all what i live for.

One of the best trails in my little corner of the world is the Paulinskill Trail which runs, in part,  through Knowlton Township. There are quite a few sections to hike, hobble or hoof it, but one of the chunks we like most happens to be near a small, but busy, local airport. The planes we see coming and going from this airport are not high speed private jet types, they are simple prop planes that pass overhead mere feet above the trail (those are feet in dog feet, not people feet, so they’re like seven times what you probably envision as a foot).  

While we were walking one day last week, a plane went over our heads, and i lifted my nose from the ground to take a minute to look up.  Zoom, the plane glided by, and scuff scuff, i heard it touch down a few seconds later. The entire experience took less than thirty seconds, but it changed my world for the day.

Prior to this close encounter of the normal-walking-near-an-airport-runway kind, i had never truly considered the wonder of flight.  When i’m sitting on the hill in the backyard, i hear planes go by, but they are so far up i don’t pay them much mind. When we watch the news each night, i hear the reporters talking about travel delays and cancellations, but i haven’t purchased any tickets lately, so i don’t give those stories a second thought either. When we finally get invited to the Ellen show, we plan to drive, so really, i just don’t think about planes.

But as we were out for our walk one day last week, a plane glided by, and i lifted my nose from the ground and stopped.

My doggy mind was suddenly filled with a million thoughts about the guys who decided people could and should fly.  Were they hanging out around the firepit one night and someone brought the idea up? (no pun intended) Were they procrastinating instead of washing the dishes when they imagined being anywhere other than there?  Were they in the proverbial doghouse and fantasizing about going far far away when a lightbulb went on? What must they have been doing to fathom that people could and should fly?

Back to the trail from last week…mom returned me to reality, and we continued along our merry way. I unearthed some wet leaves, lunged for some horse manure, spotted a few squirrels in the distance, tossed some chestnuts around, and then heard another plane go by!?  

Fascinating!  

My doggy mind was re-engaged, and i started pondering what the guys who decided people could and should fly did after they first thought up the idea.  I’m a dog…i don’t have too many hypotheses beyond how to take the best walk, how to enjoy a bone the most, or how to capitalize on my run through the woods…so i was truly intrigued.

Did these fly guys research “how to make people soar miles above the ground” on the internet? (was the internet around then?) Did they take out a pencil and make a sketch of people motoring along in a silver tube?  Did they ask around the dog park to see if anyone else wanted to chew on the idea? Did they simply believe in themselves enough to turn their thoughts into things?  Did they wait for someone else to throw them a bone, or did they GO OUT AND DO IT ON THEIR OWN?!

What exactly does one do when balancing on the brink of brilliance?  At the time, the answer evaded me, but then i started thinking more deeply….

How many other parts of our world are the result of somebody’s special brainchild?  Of a random thought? Of a sudden inspiration?

Was the answer in the hundreds?  Thousands? Millions? Millions of parts of our world in existence because somebody had an idea…and acted on it???

Doggy. Mind. Blown.

If those guys hadn’t taken the wright steps when they had an idea, where would we all be today?  Stuck on the ground?

Inspiration is everywhere.  Hunches happen. Whims whip by. Genius grows. Creativity cries for exploration.  Simplicity soars!

If you make it happen.

The new year is upon us, and although i am not a resolution kind of pup, i do always want to be the best version of my imperfect self…and so should you.

If you have an idea, a thought, a brainchild, a hunch…if you think you can create, imagine, or envision…then do it.

Believe in your ability to be the best version of your imperfect self. Strap on some wings and run down a sand dune. You never know what greatness may take off.

That’s what i do.

i’m a dog, i love life, and i have flaws.  i’m perfect. imperfect. Just. Like. You.