My Son and Joe Gibbs

My son got his pilot's license when he graduated high school a couple of years ago. Since then he flies as often as he can afford to rent a plane and get the time away from his college studies.

This past week he had been flying and after landing was talking with a mechanic at the airport. Some guy came up to them and asked where the helicopter pad was. My son didn't know, but the mechanic gave directions.

Then the guy asked my son what he is doing. When he hears he has just been flying, he asks a few more questions and then goes on over to the helicopter pad.

The mechanic turns to my son and says "I guess you are not a NASCAR fan. Do you know who that was?".

My son says he figured it was just some other pilot.

The mechanic tells him it was Joe Gibbs. My son asks who that is.

What I like about this is that Joe Gibbs has been a public figure for a long time and yet he is clearly just interested in things and a social kind of guy. He certainly didn't take the time to talk to my son because he thought he had been recognized by a fan.

What I like about my son in this little story is that he didn't care who the person was - except he does love to talk to other pilots. He has learned that people are all just people and that is enough.

Of course I realize that if this had been just another person I would not be writing this entry. I guess we are all just people and that is enough, but adding fame to the story makes a better story.