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Through the Front Door! by Jim Kuebelbeck Pilot I was not always a water dowser. There was a time when I actually was a young boy trying to grow up on a farm with my brothers and sisters. I had quite an imagi- nation, and often marveled at the low-flying airplanes which sometimes flew over our farm. Almost every other evening during chore time, a large twin-engine plane flew low over our barn, and I would run outside and wildly wave, hoping by some odd chance the pilots would see me. My dad told me it wasn’t likely to happen, but I ran out and waved every time I could hear the plane coming. Only much later did I learn it was a U.S. mail plane delivering to a larger town some ten miles from our farm. One evening, the plane was flying especially low and seemed to bank a little when I waved. It was so low I told my dad I thought I could even see the pilot! “I really don’t think so,” he said, and I was a little sad at the time, but said nothing further. A few evenings later, I heard the plane coming again, and this time it sounded even lower, and I yelled to my dad to come out of the barn to see it. This time as I waved, that big airplane flew so low, Dad and I could easily see the pilot waving back at us! Then to our disbelief, the big twin-engine plane made a big roaring circle directly over our yard and rocked its wings as it flew away. Dad and I couldn’t believe it! To say I was more than overjoyed would be an understatement. I decided then and there that I too would become a pilot someday. (I could never have imagined that someday years later my future wife would become a pilot as well.) After the memorable incident, however, my imagination ran wild. I was determined to become a pilot someday. In the meantime, I had a bit of dreaming to do. I would build my very own “pretend” airplane, and asked one of my older sisters to help. We took one of my dad’s old paint splattered sawhorses and turned it upside down in the tall grass beside the granary. I then placed a short board across two of the legs (for the back wing). I needed a much longer board for the front wing, but I needed some help with that, so I had my sister help me pull a long wooden plank from under the granary. We managed to get it balanced evenly across the other two legs of the sawhorse. My “airplane” was now complete! I had planned to spend the rest of the afternoon “flying over enemy territory”. After an imaginary take off, I flew along, gently banking left and right seemingly without a care in the world. Things were going great, and I “flew” low waving at people on the ground. Then suddenly, out of nowhere I spotted the Red Baron! I knew I needed to take evasive action, so I banked to the left and then to the right. In the excitement of the continuing dogfight, however, I happened to bank a little too far to the right. My right “wing” struck the ground and came off. A second later the left wing came off also. I guess I should have chosen a lighter board for the front wing, instead of the heavy plank, because when I “crashed”, it put a nice gash on my forehead! (A person loses a bit of clear vision when blood runs into one’s eyes.) When I ran into the house, my older sister guessed what happened. While my mother was putting iodine, gauze, and white adhesive tape over my injury, my sister couldn’t resist saying, “Maybe you weren’t meant to be a pilot after all!” Before we had a chance to clean up the crash site, my dad came into the driveway. He immediately jumped out of his truck, and ran right over to the tall grass by the granary. When he had seen the four black-and-white “legs” sticking up out of the tall grass, he assumed one of his precious calves had died belly-up on its back! I quickly realized my airplane building days had come to a sudden end. My head injury did heal over time, but I still have the scar to remind me of those wonderful carefree days. Jim Jim Kuebelbeck may be contacted via e-mail to michele@ worldwidedrillingresource.com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ealmakers Andrews & Foster of Athens, Texas, purchased a Hunke 10T from Duke Equipment Company, LLC, of Darrouzett, Texas. The rig is equipped with a sand- reel, breakout wrench, remote control, and an elec- tronic spudder. Duke Equipment Company, LLC Send your deals to: promotions@ worldwidedrillingresource.com 12 JANUARY 2017 WorldWide Drilling Resource ®