Piper sat next to Captain Jack on our flight.  He wore a tie with miniature multi-colored planes and metallic wings over his pocket.

Captain Jack has been flying airplanes for 28 years.  He flew fighter jets in the Air Force before retiring to a cushy job with Southwest. He was on our flight hopping a ride back to his home after eight hours in the cockpit. Captain Jack and Piper became fast friends. She shared her goldfish. They watched Tangled together. He tried to teach her how to pop her ears during the air pressure. She asked about the coolest cloud he’d ever seen flying.  Captain Jack said he’d once seen a dragon cloud battling a knight cloud.  Piper asked about 200 more questions, and he answered them all.  By the time our flight landed, Piper and I were both a bit enamored with Captain Jack. We hugged him good-bye and watched him walk away down the narrow airport aisle.  Then Piper leaned over and said, “Mom, how did Captain Jack fly our plane from all the way back here?”