HISTORY RETURNS TO FOLSOM AREA SKIES

Today I was out doing some errands. At one of the stops I had a couple minutes to kill, so I was looking through the Sacramento Bee and ran across a story about the B-17 Bomber that's flying out of Mather Air Field for the next few days. B-17 pilots and crew members from all over the area are flocking to Mather for a chance to fly on her once again.

In the article, there are interviews about some who were lucky enough to get on board. Most hadn't flown a B-17 since the days of WWII. The amazing thing about this article, is that these guys are well into their 80s, but they still traveled to Mather for yet another chance to see, and in some cases, get on board for a flight.

"The 85-year-old Carmichael resident was waiting for his turn for a ride in a restored B-17 at Mather Airport on Thursday. It had been more than a half-century since he had flown in one."

So, after the errands are completed, I'm turning into my driveway and out of the east is one of these beauties cresting the hills of El Dorado. What a sight! Her silver fuselage gleaming in the sunlight as she makes her approach to Mather. I get out of my car to watch and soon she's out of sight, but I can hear the sound of her engines in the distance. I wait outside hoping for a "go around"--she doesn't disappoint. Again she crests the hills and gives Folsom another pass, cruising slow at about 500 feet.

Often we read about these great bombers, look at pictures, but it's rare these days to get to see one flying overhead. I'm sure those old vets are having one hell of a ride down memory lane. We owe them so much. Bless them all.