Hey mamas,

I am writing to you from my deck, warm in the sunshine and in full view of the last of summer. September is here, and the wind is once again changing.

I’ve been thinking recently of an afternoon a little later in the fall several years back. It was before my husband and I had kids and I was joining him on a photography assignment.

My husband was hired to photograph a classic airplane, a 1933 Stinson (yes, the year 1933!!!) in flight. As a specialist in air-to-air photography this was not a big deal at all to him, but this felt like a pretty big deal to me, as a passenger in the Stinson.

The pilot, mechanic and restorer of the airplane was a typical Alaskan blend of character, humor and a questionable but highly interesting background. As we started taxiing on the lake prior to takeoff he took the time to secure his cell phone in a zip lock bag and adjust his life jacket.

“You know, just in case we end up upside down”. He then...