//------------------------------// // Always Side by Side no Matter Where We Go // Story: The Other Side // by Split Scimitar //------------------------------// “Good morning, Mr. Scimitar and Miss Rosalina. Both parties are present here today, each without an attorney, despite the offering of the court. Both parties may issue their opening statements, we shall start with Mr. Scimitar.” “Your honor, while I did want to fight to preserve this marriage, after careful consideration and a thorough review of financial, career, and personal profiles, our irreconcilable differences were apparent through the obligations of both our careers. While it was easy for us to be accommodating for the other, our lives and careers will remain in more optimal positions in the long run if our marriage is severed.” “Thank you Mr. Scimitar. Miss Rosalina.” “Your honor, as we were reviewing our financial documents, while it was indeed easier for us to conduct our lives as married, the distance and demands of our careers along with our inability to spend time together, even in our time off, has not only made our marriage difficult, it has been made near impossible to sustain. The busyness of our careers combined with the lack of downtime and substantially less downtime together has brought us to a point where severing our marriage is the best course of action to take. The last thing I want is to harbor any kind of grudge against Mr. Scimitar, and both he and I have mutually agreed to part ways so as to remove the obligation of meeting the other’s needs.” “Thank you Miss Rosalina. Mr. Scimitar, please discuss the irreconcilable differences further with the court.” “Your honor, as the demands of my career dictate, I can spend extended periods of time away from home with clients. The obligations of running my company in efforts to ensure my clients’ safety, happiness, and wellbeing exceeds the comfort level of Miss Rosalina. I would not be willing to care less for my clients as that experience and treatment has been a hallmark of my business and as such would negatively affect its operations. The severance of our marriage would ease the burden on both of us, as I would be able to continue providing for my clients as necessary and Miss Rosalina would be relieved of any conditions that she would otherwise not be okay with. Removing our obligations to each other is the best course of action for either of us to avoid potentially harboring grudges towards one another.” “Miss Rosalina, what are your responses to these statements.” “Your honor, there is no counter argument. Every single point I agree on verbatim and as such, my only statement shall be ‘I could not have said it better myself. We are severing our marriage to preserve our personal relationship. We both believe that attempting to save and continue this marriage would strain our friendship and risk destroying it in the hypothetical inevitable of a divorce anyway. This is what’s best for us, and we both agree on that.’” “Thank you Miss Rosalina. Let the record show that on this day, March 17, the decision of Mr. Split Scimitar and Miss Rosalina to dissolve their marriage due to irreconcilable differences stemming from career demands and pressures, as well as in the interest of their own relationship, is heard before the Honolulu county Family Court of the First Circuit. I hereby declare this marriage… dissolved.” With a smack of the gavel, it’s all over. Just like that. As Sunshine Helicopters does not conduct any business on Oahu, she is booked on an interisland flight. However, thanks to a convenient court date and hearing time, we have all day to spend before then. Just because we’re no longer married doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy each other’s company. We severed the marriage to relieve ourselves of fulfilling our wants and needs as traditionally dictated. Not that we couldn’t survive with an intact marriage, but at least from my view, it would eventually become one of those ‘at the end of the day, I would eventually get to a point to where upon realizing we’re still married, suddenly feel bombarded with those traditional wants, needs, and obligations.’ This doesn’t mean that we got divorced as a cop out, but rather, to avoid a crisis of conscience. “What’s a good way to mark this occasion?” Rosalina asks. “If we were on another island, I’d say we could go for a little pleasure cruise. On my dollar.” “I wouldn’t want to do that now. Maybe the next time you were to visit.” “Fair enough. I’d say we could surf, but do you want to go to the North Shore?” “We could, as an excuse to get Giovanni’s [Shrimp Truck].” “True, but if we’re up there, we can just go to Dole and eat.” “I’m thinking shrimp. Let’s do that.” “You rented the car, you have the final say. 91.3.” We head for Haleiwa and pull in to a gravel lot packed full with cars and queues to match. Two people are directing traffic, so Rosalina tells me to take the wheel since she knows what we like and so I can take the leg of the drive to the North Shore. As I readjust the seat, I keep my eyes peeled for any directions to park. Fortunately, one person leaves a few meters down, so I sneak in along with another small car. Since we’ll be sitting for a little bit, I curb the wheels outward to increase our chances before joining Rosalina in the queue. “Wow, you got parking. Nice job.” “If we had a bigger car, I’d’ve parked outside the lot.” “Fair enough. I’m glad they had some. Remember the last time we chose to rent in Honolulu.” “Yeah. They were out of most everything, so we were forced to rent either a Tahoe or a minivan.” “Yeah.” When we get to the front of the line, we place our order, pay, get a number, and wait. About 15 minutes after we order, we get our prawns. I ask if she wants to drive again, but turns it over to me so she can admire the scenic route. As we make for La’ie, I pace down so I too can get a good long look at the natural scape before us. Even though I spent a lot of time here in Hawaii, 90% of it on Oahu, I’ve only driven this road 3 or 4 times. In any case, as we admire the coastal run ahead and around us, I not unusually ponder my life, which is always the first thing my brain does when out in nature. I must be a fan of sonder, always hit with the thought of “no matter what happens in life, one is just but a small grain of sand amongst the stars.” As the road moves with the land, each curve and bend following the contours of the terra firma, it‘s only natural to feel like the small insignificance of a human being as a grain of sand in a Sky Full of Stars is but an existential swim down the river of life to an unknowable destiny. Yet destiny is still very much in the control of the individual. Life may not always supply a paddle, and even if you have to use your hands, while you can’t always stop the tide, just keep swimming. No, keep on keeping on? Good enough I guess. Soon, we reach La’ie, and just for a quick trip down memory lane for me, the two of us stop outside the Polynesian Cultural Center. Away from most of the tourist traffic, we decide to enjoy our now tepid prawns. “I forgot how good these are.” “So did I. Been quite a while since either of us have had these, huh?” “Yes actually. The only places whose shrimp come close are San Francisco and Australia. Remember that big feast we had with DK and The Crew?” “Yeah. I had a lot of fun then. [To] tell you the truth, I’ve kind of been wanting to go back.” “Why didn’t you ever bring it up? I would’ve made space.” “Yeah, but I never found a good time to go.” “Oh. Well, believe it or not, I was gonna go after leaving here. But I decided against it at the last minute.” “Why’s that?” “I‘m receiving shipments of airplanes that are due relatively soon. Since they’re scattered over a relatively large timeframe, I need to be around.” “Whose airplanes are you getting?” “Delta is giving me all their T-Tail aircraft, so their Boeing 717, MD-88, and MD-90. And I’ve been told at least from Delta that I’ll be getting other types due for retirement.” “Wow. You’re gonna have your hands full.” “Yeah, Victorville will be fit to burst. Fortunately though, there’s plenty of space. And maybe some of them would make their way to the MW?” “Sure. Just let me know so I can relay it. They’ve been very pleased with the 747’s and A380’s you’ve sent. They’ve quickly become a fan favorite over there.” “I’m glad.” I say as we finish our plates. “Better to send ‘em there than doomed to a fate of scrap, especially if museum preservation isn’t an option.” “That’s somewhere we never went while we were married.” Rosalina says. “Yeah. I guess since I have a whole fleet in active use, no need to see it in a museum, when I have a living, breathing example.” I say as I walk over to a bin to dispose of our garbage. “True, but I guess there is that element of history that you like.” “Yeah, you’re right. I never really gave it much thought, since it was something that was almost exclusively me. To be fair, we never really did things that you liked exclusively. A lot of our married life was centered around me, even if I couldn’t help it. Most of the time we did spend together was either work-related or me. Not that we didn’t know each other, because I think we do, and every day, we discovered something new, or at least, I did.” “I never believed doing activities largely centered around you were ever an obstacle, nor did not doing anything I liked ever prove a detriment. We both knew what we liked, and what the other liked. I think both of us agreed silently that we enjoyed our individual activities without a need or obligation to try and make the other interested.” “I can agree. I never wanted to force anything on you, despite a lot of the activities we did being very much my kind of things. Granted, our lives I will admit were going to be me-centric, because we had the world at our fingertips, but I still can’t shake the feeling of ‘we never did any couples things or you things.’ A lot of our marriage was, whether meant or not, about me. I kind of hate myself for it.” I say as I climb back in. “You don’t need to hate yourself. I never had a problem with it, even if to you it seemed like I was just along for the ride. Obviously, in our marriage, we did have some of those moments, but in the grand scheme of things, the stuff we did and the lives we lived were heavily centered around you and specifically flying because that was just how our lives were, and just as fate would have it, we took advantage of being table to do all these amazing things. Because of you, we were able to do that. Because of you, we could go to some random place in the country or even the world just for a date night! Because of you, we went on some really great vacations. Because of you, we made the memories we did and I couldn’t have asked for anything better. Yes, flying with you is a lot about you, but that just happened to be the role you fit into. Yes, I built my life around you and Sunshine, but I count my blessings in the opportunities we had, especially the one to begin at Sunshine no less. I honestly would never have imagined my life to take the path it has. I would never have imagined that I was going to take over the company. I would never have given a second thought to serving multiple islands even before I began in the managerial role. I would never have been able to say I can live and work on three different islands. And best of all, I could never have been prouder to have lived my life with you. You’ve given me so much and never really asked for anything in return. I have lived a life better than I could have ever dreamed. Because Of You.” I’m at a loss for words. I don’t even care if this is probably the fourth or fifth time she’s made that speech, I still tear up. Of course, this one really hits the nail on the head and gets driven through to the heart. Forget tugging or plucking my heartstrings, this time she’s made a full-on symphony out of them. Obviously I’m still kind of caught up in the moment of recent events, so maybe that’s what makes this time special. As I turn on the engine, I step on the brake and kind of just sit idly, ready to put the car in drive, but also meditative, almost out of body. In anticipation of what’s to come next, I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Suppressing every urge not to cry-laugh, tears well up and I let out a straggle chuckle with accompanying smile. Rosalina places her hand on top of mine, which is still on the gear lever. As Rosalina brings me back to reality. Ope! There goes gravity. The tears start to fall. I then let out a sigh and wipe the tears out, as Rosalina smiles in her usual motherly way and reaches across to hug me. We remain in each other’s embrace for a bit. No additional tears fall, but they do well up, so I naturally wipe my eyes. When we let go, I take three deep breaths, feeling unusually like a racing driver about to begin one of the biggest races of his life, which is a pretty apt comparison since we’re in a Honda Civic. When finally ready, I put her in drive and head back towards Honolulu. As we pass Kualoa Ranch, I smile but continue driving, as one of my memories with the family was doing their zipline. I’m glad I went, but I don’t need to do it again unless I’m showing company the island. When we roll into Kaneohe and Kailua, I stop at a red light and ask, “H3 or Pali [Highway]?” “Doesn’t matter.” “Do you want to stop at Nu’uanu [Pali]? For old time’s sake?” “Sure.” When we reach our vista point, I put her in park and head for the lookout. The place is nice at sunset, like many of my favorite vistas, but this is the lookout point where I almost held her hand for the first time. I haven’t been back here since. After about 10 minutes of staring off into the distance with my arms wrapped around her, I rest my head on hers and sigh at the memory of our first time here. When we return to Honolulu proper, we crash at one of my many houses in the city. As I comb through things, I find my old surfboard, lightly covered in dust and in desperate need of a new coat of wax. I haven’t used it since Rosalina and I first met, and I don’t plan on using it anytime soon, so instead of leaving it on the garage floor, I hang it up on one of the bike racks if I ever want to re-wax it. With about 3 hours until she leaves, we head for dinner at Jade Dynasty in Ala Moana. Easily my favorite Chinese restaurant in Hawaii, and also one of the most expensive, but definitely worth the upscale price and service. To my complete surprise, Rosalina takes care of this one against my wishes. I should note that we had a similar experience the first time we met. Our first meal together was in Chicago’s Chinatown, and we both fought over the bill. Sadly, that restaurant has since closed, but that was the first of many times we would both dine together and fight over the bill together. At least I can be sure one thing will remain in the future. Soon, the inevitable arrives. Rosalina has to drop me off at the FBO, since I flew myself in, before she heads to the rental return and the interisland terminal. I have her flight number, so what better way to send each other off than to time our departures sequentially. Given her departure time, I can preflight and be ready to go with about a half hour to play with. I only have my standard duffel bag, so if this isn’t the definition of an empty leg, I don’t know what is. No anomalies to report, and the facility wants me out by tonight, as there is another large reservation arriving tomorrow. Since we’re leaving mid-afternoon, I should arrive home at about midnight. 2 alight and stable. “Daniel K. Inouye Honolulu International Airport ATIS Information Bravo. 0128Z. Wind 050 at 12. Visibility 10. Scattered clouds at 13,000. Temperature 24, dewpoint 23. Altimeter 29.95. ILS runway 8L and visual runway 8R in use. Landing and departing runway 8L and runway 8R. Notices to airmen: Taxiway F closed. Runway 4L threshold temporarily displaced 1,000 feet. Runway 4R threshold temporarily displaced 3,000 feet. Advisory: all VFR aircraft contact clearance delivery prior to taxi. All aircraft read back all runway hold short instructions. Advise on initial contact you have information Bravo.” Flaps 5, expect 8L or 8R departure. “Honolulu clearance, Boeing Echo India, Foxtrot India Mike, IFR to Victorville.” “Boeing Echo India Foxtrot India Mike, cleared to Victorville via MKK4, EBBER, R577, ELKEY, SXC, ELB, PDZ, VPLCP, APLES. Expect direct CKH, cross at or above 3,000. HCF departure frequency 124.8, squawk 1012.” “Cleared to Victorville via Molokai Four, EBBER, Romeo Five Seven Seven, ELKEY, Santa Catalina, El Toro, Paradise, Cajon Pass, APLES. Cross Koko Head at or above 3,000. HCF departure 124.8, squawk 1012, Boeing Echo India, Foxtrot India Mike.” “Boeing Fox[trot] India Mike, readback correct. Ground .9, the ATIS Bravo.” “Daniel K. Inouye Honolulu International Airport Information Bravo…” “Honolulu ground, Boeing EI-FIM, Bravo, Castle & Cooke, ready to taxi.” “Boeing EI-FIM, Honolulu ground, you’re a sight never before seen. Runway 8R, taxi via C RT RA, hold short of RB. You’ll be departing behind Southwest just turning on their engines now.” “C RT RA, short of RB, runway 8R, Boeing FIM.” “Boeing FIM, I’m gonna just call you Ryanair.” “That’s fine.” “Honolulu ground, Southwest 6808, Bravo.” “Southwest 6808, Honolulu ground. Runway 8R, taxi via Z A RB.” “Z A RB to the reef, 6808.” “Southwest 6808, I don’t want to hurry you - we are in Hawaii after all - but we are slotting you for departure before an aircraft that’s closer to the runway than you.” “What aircraft type are they?” “Same, 737.” “Why not just send them ahead of us?” “Their flight plan’s scheduled departure is after yours.” “Roger, 6808.” As I take my sweet time to configure the aircraft for takeoff, I taxi out onto C so I don’t jet blast anyone or anything. When I make the tight right turn onto RA, the level of busyness is pretty high as expected, but a lot of the airport’s ops are on 8L and the 4’s in spite of the construction activity. “Southwest 6808, monitor tower 123.9.” “23.9, 6808.” “Ryanair, tower is 123.9.” “23.9, mahalo, aloha, Fox India Mike.” “Southwest 6808, Honolulu tower. Runway 8R, line up and wait.” “8R, line up and wait, 6808.” I watch as the plane moves slowly down RB for some reason. As they get closer however, whether by perspective illusion or not, they start to pick up the pace a little. They do have a direct line up and wait, so I wonder if they’re hoping for a quick turn and burn without stopping. “Southwest 6808, tower. Emergency aircraft landing Lihue. You can take your time.” “What about the aircraft waiting here? Send them ahead of us.” “Unable, sir. Their IFR release is after yours.” “6808.” “Southwest 6808, uh, we’re still waiting on word from HCF. They want a departure stop.” “Not a problem, 6808.” “Boeing FIM, sorry to hold you.” “It’s fine. I’ve got plenty of fuel. Any idea how long it might be?” “Negative.“ “If they’re still stopped in about 15 minutes or so, I may need to shut down, Foxtrot India Mike.” As Southwest passes by and rolls onto the runway, I decide to crack open the cockpit window since we may be sitting here for a bit. “Boeing FIM, behind Southwest, taxi to runway 8R via RA RB.” “RA RB, 8R, behind Southwest, Boeing EI-FIM.” As I turn onto RB, I receive three texts, all from Rosalina. One is a picture short of RB, one is as they’re taking the runway, and the third says, “I guess this is goodbye.” “It’s more of a TTFN: ta-ta for now. I’ll be back.” “Southwest 6808, runway 8R, cleared for takeoff.” “Cleared for takeoff 8R, Southwest… 6808.” I wait until takeoff thrust is set on their end before shutting and locking the window. “Boeing EI-FIM, runway 8R, line up and wait.” “Line up and wait 8R, Boeing FIM.” Southwest lifts off just as I align with the centerline. To that, I arm the autopilot and await my own takeoff clearance. “Southwest 6808, contact HCF, good flight.” “Over to departure, Southwest 6808.” “Boeing FIM, runway 8R, cleared for takeoff. Fly the Molokai Four.” “Cleared for takeoff 8R, Molokai Four, Boeing FIM.” Takeoff thrust set. 80 knots. V1 Rotate. V2 Positive rate, gear up. Flaps up. “Boeing FIM, contact HCF, great flight.” “Over to HCF, mahalo, aloha, until we meet again, Boeing Echo India Foxtrot India Mike.” “Honolulu departure, Boeing Echo India Foxtrot India Mike off Inouye, Molokai Four, 2.4 climbing.” “Boeing Echo India, Foxtrot India Mike, HCF, good afternoon, radar contact 2 miles east of Honolulu airport. Proceed direct CKH, then direct BLUSH and SESXI.” “Direct Koko Head, direct BLUSH, direct SESXI, Boeing FIM.” “Boeing Fox India Mike, passing APLES, cleared RNAV GPS runway 17 approach. No landing information available for Victorville. Their ATIS is Victor.” “Cleared RNAV GPS 17 at APLES, we’ll get Victor at Victorville, Boeing FIM.” “Boeing FIM, switch to advisory, retain squawk code to landing.“ “Over to advisory, we’ve got Victorville in sight. We can cancel the IFR at this time.” “Roger, Boeing FIM, IFR flight plan is closed. Retain squawk code to landing.” “Closed, squawk to the ground, over to advisory, Boeing FIM.” “Victorville traffic, EI-FIM over APLES, RNAV GPS 17.” Flaps 5. Slow to 200 knots. Below 190 knots. Flaps 10. Intercepting localizer, speed 180. Flaps 15. Glideslope capture. Lower landing gear. 3 green, down and locked. “Victorville traffic, EI-FIM, SUZZQ, RNAV GPS 17.” 2,500. Flaps 25. Flaps 30. 1,000. 500. 200. 100. 50. 40. 30. 20. 10. Touchdown. Spoilers up, 2 in reverse. 60 knots. Disengage reverse thrust. Light braking, exit at C2. “Victorville traffic, EI-FIM, clear of the runway.” “That was probably the smoothest landing this airframe’s ever seen.”