A hot, steaming cup of Columbian Dark Roast and water meets my lips. The brain shouts hallelujah as the liquid races through the pounding nerve endings, quelling the revolt and opening the neurons so that rational thought can resume. The clock is set for June 22, 1924. The location is Long Island, New York. The duration is one hour. The plunger is pulled, and we find ourselves at Mitchel Field near Garden City, Long Island.
Army First Lieutenant Russell Maughan is preparing his Curtiss P-1 Hawk for a dawn-to-dusk flight across America. He plans to be the first to fly across the North American continent in one day. The takeoff is scheduled for 3:58 AM tomorrow morning. He plans to land at Crissy Field near San Francisco before sundown. If so, the flight of 2670 miles will take 20 hours and 48 minutes.
In talking with the Lieutenant, he plans to make fueling stops at Dayton, Ohio; St. Joseph, Missouri; North Platte, Nebraska; Cheyenne, Wyoming; and the Bonneville Salt Flats at Salduro, Utah.
We wish him well just as the alarm heaves me into the down softness of the couch. I have a text from Linda Hill. It reads. Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “water.” Use it any way you’d like. Have fun!
To see how others have used the prompt, visit Linda’s post. Here is the link. https://lindaghill.com/2024/06/21/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-june-22-2024/
Water by John W. Howell © 2024
“So you snuck water in there up front.”
“Didn’t want to miss the opportunity.”
“How come you didn’t stay for the takeoff of the Lieutenant?”
“It is complicated.”
“Try me.”
“Okay. The flight took place on the 23rd of June in 1924.”
“Yeah, so?”
“Today is the 22nd. I didn’t want to go another day.”
“Ah. Your obsessive compulsiveness made you want the time to be exactly 100 years.”
“Right.”
“I hope you get help with that. Well, did he male it?”
“Yes. He flew and arrived one minute before sundown on the West Coast, setting a record as the first to fly transcontinental in one day.”
“I guess that was important at the time.”
“Of course, it was. Aviation was new, and records were just waiting to be set.”
“Care to go for a new record?”
“Does this involve VooDoo Ranger by chance?”
“Well………”
“You call Uber?”
“Check it out. He’s over there.”
Photo – Dan Antion
“OMG.”
“What?”
“Thant’s a 1966 Ford Fairlane two-door sedan.”
“How do you know that?”
“My first job was as a sales representative, and I had a company car like that, only blue.”
“I can’t imagine you as a sales rep. Door to door?”
“Aw, come on. I represented the company brands at retail.”
“Stores, you mean?”
“Yup. I ensured all was good so the consumer wouldn’t be disappointed by an out-of-stock item.”
“So you carried the company’s water.”
“Sure did.”
“Did they make water?”
“You are an idiot, you know that. Let’s get to the Voo Doo Ranger.”
“Right behind you. You can have shotgun too.”
“Since I’m buying, I hope so. Oh, I almost forgot. There will be no Views of the Neighborhood tomorrow. Going to be busy. I hope everyone has a peaceful Sunday.”
Fiction Favorites 
We got a twofer today! Excellent #SoCS John! Very cool aviation history! And that car is sweet!!
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Thank you, Jill. So glad you liked the post.
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I hope it was air conditioned. Phew, is it hot!!!
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Sadly, no. Sweat is as sweat does.
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And it’s doing it to me!!!
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I can imagine.
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I grew up near Mitchell Field. Across from Hofstra, we still had the Army stationed their.
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PS. Thanks, Dan for the great Ubers.
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Yes, he keeps me supplied.
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Great to share that memory. Thanks, GP.
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There’s a Mitchell Field in Milwaukee, too…
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The one in New York was names after John Mitchel who was mayor of New York city from 1913 to 1917. He did while in flight training. The airport closed in 1961. Mitchell (MKE) Airport in Milwaukee is named for General Billy Mitchell who is famous for demonstrating the power of the airplane as a weapon.
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He wore spurs, didn’t he? He was quite a character, as I recall…
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He was.
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This is the “Turning water into wine” post! I love it Boss.
I’ll miss you tomorrow but toast you tonight.
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Thank you, Marc.
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*looks out window to the northwest* Wonder if he took off from the Cradle of Aviation Museum, Nassau Coliseum, Hofstra, NCC, or the Children’s Museum. It’s funny how locals look at the historical stuff of their area and simply go ‘Yup. That happened right over by the Super Walmart’.
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I think you can say all of those. The airfield closed in 1961 and most of the runways were gone by 2008
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Yup. There are still signs of them though.
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Looks like a great place to visit.
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This was a great event, John. All those firsts in aviation came pretty quickly as people and pilots started pushing the envelope.
One of my last business trips was from Hartford to San Diego. I was scheduled to go at the last minute, and got a “flight” on Southwest. It almost followed that route. I had plane changes or layovers in three cities before arriving. End to end, it took over 14 hours!
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Wow it is almost like you had time traveled back to 1924 less six hours.
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How is it that guys know the make and model of every car? Hubby can do that passing an old car on the highway. Great job on the prompt, John.
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Detroit boy here. I grew up with cars since becoming aware in 1952.
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😀
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😁
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Great aviation history I wasn’t aware of. And woo-hoo – a classic Uber!
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Almost a classic I would say.
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”It’s the water and a lot more.” Sorry, wrong brand of beer.
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Good old Olympia.
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I would be the same way about setting the time to exactly 100 years. lol I loved this exchange, and the uber, too! 🌺
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Thank you, Kymber. 😁
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It was smart of Lieutenant Russell to fly west. 😀 That’s a cool car .
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Yeah flying west gives so much more daylight. Thanks, Tim
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This was a fun visit, John. I really need to get some Voodoo Ranger. LOL. Loved the old Fairlane, great shot from Dan.
I hope your Sunday is a good busy. Hugs.
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Thank you, Teagan. Good busy is always a great wish. 😁
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Wow, a bit of aviation history to go with the challenge. Well done, sir. Please enjoy a second VooDoo…I mean, it’s hot and a fella’s gotta quench his thirst, right? 😉
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Since VooDoo Imperial is at 9% ABV a second is pretty risky.
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Gulp! I would think so. In that case, just enjoy that first one.
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Yup. Safest way to
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This happened to my brother and sister-in-law when they flew home from Australia. Because of the hours gained flying west, they landed earlier than they departed.
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Always the good part of flying East to West.
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If I remember correctly, the Ford Fairlane was the respectable cousin of the Ford Falcon. Naturally, we had the Falcon before downgrading even more to the Ford Pinto.
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I believe you are right, Liz. Those Pintos were dangerous.
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Luckily, we avoided the exploding gas tank version.
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Excellent.
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That was a good history lesson, and great story for the challenge. The car is a good one. I don’t think I’ve seen a red one like that one.
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I don’t think I have seen a red one either.
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Since you’re not posting today, I saved this post… okay, okay…
Hard to believe it took that long to cross from one side to the other when you consider it takes about 5-6 hours now!
That was a beautiful ride!
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Yes the speeds were not great. Thanks, Dale. 😁
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🙃
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😁
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I’ve often been be bemused with trying to find your prompt word, and often amused with how many times it, or one of the uses of it, do appear in the first or second sentence.
Hope you are having a wonderful Sunday!
🌞𝓍 🌞𝓍 🌞𝓍 🌞𝓍
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Thank you, Resa. Sunday is good.
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Puma stealth!
Under the wire.
…but still on fire!
Through muck and mire.
Through wild hunter’s heart’s desire,
Praying not to expire.
Yet, the hunted won’t tire,
the hunter’s eyes are like fire,
Bright as any funeral pyre,
Can’t dim the light of desire
When dark nights’ lights inspire
A struggle to dawn then retire,
Under brush and behind briar
Resting till energy is higher
–
When another meal is required.
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Well I guess we are finished. It was lovely writing poetry with you.
😁X 😁X 😁X 😁X
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What a momentous occasion to tune into, John. We’ve certainly come a long way. Love the little Ford Fairlane!
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I did too. I drove one for three years. Thanks, Jan.
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HI John, I’ve never heard the expression “So you carried the company’s water.” before. An interesting post. That would have been an exciting time to set new records.
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The 20s were a great time for records of all kinds. Thanks, Robbie. I think that expression is an American one but who knows for sure?
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Yes, I am sure it was. I don’t know it so it’s not used in the UK.
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😊
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I guess bottled water delivery folks are ones who are truly carrying the company’s water, John. I’d never associated the two, but it definitely works. That Ford is definitely a trip back down memory lane for me. Fords and Buicks were the two “family brands” back then.
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I think our family was 100% Fords.
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