(C. Waynes Owens Movie and TV News photo)

The Five for Fighting song “Superman” has chorus that goes; “I can’t stand to fly.  I’m not that naive. Men weren’t meant to ride with clouds between their knees.”  I thought about this on my flight the other night from FOB Sykes to FOB Speicher.  I really don’t like to fly.  Helicopter flights aren’t that bad, only when they make  a sharp turn do I get nervous.

As we flew over the cities in Iraq, I thought about what Superman sees.  In a helicopter, we are not so high that you can’t see anything, like in airplanes.  I could see the actual roads and individual street lamps.  So as we flew, I imagined Superman in his “listening post”, going over city after city.  It must be amazing to fly without rotor blades or propellers…or even wings–just to float in the air.

I wonder what he thinks about or does he just wait.  (I saw a comment on the inside of a Port-a-Potty that “Chuck Norris doesn’t sleep–he waits”)  I’ve never seen Superman reading a book up in the sky, or listening to his ipod, that would negate the purpose of a listening post, of course.  Does he get bored, or is he just as amazed as I am when I see the big world from the sky?

What would it feel like to able to fly?