On A Fast Track

An early February snow storm blasts central New Mexico in 1968. Business booms all over America. My life takes two unanticipated ninety degree turns within six months. The first twist consisted of my learning to fly--after the near-death experience of landing on the frozen highway outside Santa Fe, New Mexico. The second divergence takes place while taking my final solo flight in the process of earning the pilot’s license. Adjacent to Sunland Park Racetrack, jockey Leo Pacheco, witnessed my landing, approaches saying, “Hey, give me a ride in that airplane and I’ll let you ride a race horse.”