Forest of the Plains

We’ve decided that we must live along the approach to the Newton airport. We see small airplanes all the time. We also live close to an aviation school, which probably also adds to the air traffic. And don’t forget the crop dusters.

Jacob is really into airplanes (”A-po”) right now, so even if we’re inside he usually notices if a plane is flying above us.

On the way home from work I had to stop because of an accident. There were ambulances from the neighboring town and our local first responders were directing traffic. As I re-routed, I had to stop while the medivac helicopter landed. As soon as I saw the helicopter, I said a little prayer.

In the city, there were helicoptors flying around all the time. There were news helicoptors and traffic-watching helicoptors and who knows what other kinds. Really, there’s so much other environmental noise that you don’t notice them much.

Helicopters in the country are not a good sign. Their noise breaks up the relative calm. Seeing a helicopter means there’s a trauma injury and someone needs to get to the trauma-certified hospital much faster than an ambulance could drive the 45+ miles.