A question of time.

I feel a little melancholy today. It seems more often than not I am saying goodbye to people more than I am ever saying hello.

Around the first of the year our local regional airport started bringing in pilots from out of states to do runs back and forth to Saint Louis and these guys stayed with us for MONTHS without ever leaving. Several of us at work (who are good friends outside as well) befriended them and made them part of our circle. We all spent time going out to eat, going out to clubs, and just generally doing the things friends do when they want to have a good time. We were all almost inseparable. The first one to leave was F.O. (that was his nickname) and he left in April. Captain left in June and Tom left last week. Last night we all said good bye to Travis (who in the beginning we all thought was a little strange but he turned out to be the most like-able…in a baby brother kind of way.)

It makes me sad to think we formed these friendships and now that they have been shipped off to other destinations and it is likely we will never see any of them again. It’s the end of an era, or the end of a summer romance. Even if we got more pilots, I doubt it would be the same.

Some people are so fleeting in our lives and you end up wondering what purpose they served in the end. I guess for these pilots we served as a pseudo family. We provided them with company and acceptance in a place where they knew no one.

You can’t hold on to people for ever. This much I am learning…