Those wonderful flying machines!

Anyone else remember those glorious glimpses of the future scientists were showing folks back in the 50's? I'm talking about those expert's visions of each of us having our own car/airplane "thing" that we could drive on the highways or, if more expedient, fly in the skies?

As a kid, I always loved peeks at the future. But even that one, of thousands of commuters zipping by over my head on their way to and from work seemed particularly insane. Imagine today's flying commuters distracted by their cell phones. Salt that generously with a handful of those prone to "air" rage and you've got a routine sweeping off of aircraft and body parts from your rooftop with regularity. Yesterday's airshow in Hillsboro, Oregon really brought this home for me.

Hillsboro, Oregon you see, is the place of my birth. Growing up, I spent my summers there. In those days the Hillsboro airport, home of yesterday's tragedy-ending air show, was surrounded by pastures and grainfields. But today, it's surrounded by suburban neighborhoods that have grown up around it.

Wednesday we depart for Oregon to visit family. As we realized yesterday, we came very close to our reunion being a couple of funerals instead.

I don't have a problem with people going to airshows. Of paying to stand out on tarmacks as aerobatic ancient bi-planes tumble overhead or military jets fly at each other at hypersonic speeds seeing how close they can come to each other without colliding in death raining fireballs. I've paid to see that. People pay to see that. People expect that. Let the people have it.

But what about the people on the ground in neighborhoods adjoining the airfields around the nation? And believe me, such situations exist. Should they abandon their homes on the weekend of the annual airshow? Fortunately for one family in Hillsboro, Oregon yesterday, they did.

And for those who didn't; for those who chose to sit it out like they do most every summer one weekend in July because their animals "freak" at the sounds shattering sensitive ears; who stayed home, like my niece, nephew, their cat and their dog in house "X" above? Thank goodness the jet that fell from the sky crashed into house "Y" and those people were not at home.