Nov. 1,2016: Today I sit, wondering, what the hell am I doing?
I am feeling a bit deflated and discouraged, and yet I still have some hope that I may yet pull this project together. We have all heard that old saying that it is darkest before the dawn, but there is an-other version that I have also heard and that is that it is darkest before it becomes pitch black.
In what seems like a mere blink of an eye, 13 months have passed since I first announced the PrideFlight2018 project. In all honesty, when I first came up with the idea of flying a restored DC3 around the world, I really thought the LGBTQ world would rally behind me and support this ambitious and exciting project.
I thought once I put it out there, people and groups would be knocking down my door to be a part of the mission. Why wouldn’t they, right? Boy was I wrong.
What I learned is that pulling your own teeth out with rusted pliers is easier than getting people to buy into some-thing as out there and big as PrideFlight2018.
That doesn’t mean I am giving up on my community or the project, it just means that I have to somehow find a different way to get people excited about the mission. Let’s face it, flying around the world is not on everyone’s bucket list, let alone piloting a WWII-era DC3 and it is hard for people to get their arms around something like this -1 get it now.
So I have to take a step back and re-develop a better plan to get the word out there about why this flight should matter to people.
Like every big dream, there will always be those who think reaching for something beyond yourself is stupid or impossible and therefore should not be attempted for fear of failure.
But, I think fear is a useful partner sometimes. It motivates you, challenges you and most of all it reminds us of what we can do if we overcome it. So yeah,
I’ve hit a few bumps this past year and things have not gone as planned, but I am not deterred. I will regroup and tune out those who think this project is folly and figure out how to get that plane here and how to get people excited about the flight.
PrideFlight is worth fighting for, and I have reminded myself as I have reminded others that anything worth doing is worth fighting for and I will continue to fight to make this project take off and become a reality. I don’t know in the end if I will be successful – rarely do any of us have that foresight when we begin a journey – but what I do know is that I will do my very best.
In the end, that is all any of us can ever do. To contribute and for more information, please visit: PrideFlight2018.com
