The Toronto air show was Amelia’s first experience with seeing airplanes and experiencing the thrilling stunts and meeting eccentric pilots. Before she attended the air show, she was a nurse and had contracted pneumonia while attending to the sick patients that were beginning to fill the hospital.
It was also at this time Amelia was diagnosed with a chronic sinus condition that would often give her severe headaches, and would undergo surgical procedures when the mucus would swell up. If photos were taken after her operation, she’d have to wear a scarf or bandage to cover a small drainage tube that was placed in her cheek that allowed discharge of mucus from the bacterial infection. This condition followed her throughout the rest of her life, and decreased her ability to enjoy flying.
As Amelia sits with Roger, she continues with her recollection of her time spent as a nurse and recuperating at her sister’s house.
Amelia: “The nursing was fine, until I became ill. Then I became the patient and soon was bed ridden. I was fortunate that my sister was nearby. I stayed at her house until I felt much better.”
Roger: “I see. A nurse? And you ended up flying planes.”
Amelia: “It came a bit later, but yes. I also learned to play the banjo while I was at my sister’s house. Her husband taught me a few things.”
Roger: “Well, there’s more to you than meets the eye, isn’t there!?”
Roger winks at Amelia and she becomes silent. She stares out at the Ocean and watches the birds as they fly above the rolling waves and circle around while periodically tilting their heads down to see what food they can grab and fly away with.
Amelia: “I think there’s more to most everyone if you give them a chance.”
Roger looks at Amelia as she begins to breathe heavily and continues watching the grey and white seagulls dive down toward the water’s surface and swoop back up into the air while clutching small fish either in their beaks or clasping them tightly with their feet.
Amelia: “The birds remind me of the antics of the first planes I saw.”
While roger listens to Amelia explain as best she can about her experience at the air show, he pieces together the information from her hesitant speech pattern as she recalls certain moments.
Roger: So, the pilots were a bit on the crazy side?”
Amelia: “Yes, but they were kind. They all offered to give me a ride.”
The memorable moments of the air show that Amelia attended included daring fly-bys that came so close to the crowds they had to duck their heads, or even fall to the ground, as the planes screamed by within inches of them.
Often the planes would land in disastrous bounces and end up digging into the soil and flinging at spectators that lingered to close to the action. The front end of the planes would sometimes tip forward after an uncontrolled landing while the propellers would spin into the earth and chew up the sod like a weasel chasing after its prey.
The men and their flying machines were a new kind of entertainment and Amelia was consumed by the sights, the sounds, and even the smells of the fuel that propelled the smoke belching engines that would sometimes become engulfed in orange and red flames after a perilous landing that would have the plane crash into a tree, a building or even another plane as it began to taxi down a muddy, trench ridden runway.
One moment that is recalled was when Amelia experienced a fly-by herself.
Roger looks back at his plane, and as he does, Amelia attempts to turn her head to look at it, but she has to stop due to limited movement in her neck muscles.
Roger: “I’ve never had an engine fire, but then again, I’ve never ran into another plane…or building. I think flying is safer than driving a car though.”
Amelia smiles as she looks at Roger.
Amelia: “I used to think that, but I don’t know about it now.”
Roger glances at Amelia’s scarred legs and tattered clothing.
Roger: “well, you got some damn good reasons to feel that way.”
Amelia lifts an arm and slowly twists it to look at some scratches.
Amelia: “I also have these.”
Roger looks at the long scratches on Amelia’s arms and nods his up and down in agreement then looks at her face. His eyes drift down to her neck and Amelia places a hand over the area she knows he’s looking at.
Amelia: “Not from flying.”
Roger hags his head and then looks out at the rolling blue waves topped with frothy sea foam. He stands up and walks over to the shoreline and kneels down and waits for the ocean to carry some more foam into his waiting hand that are cupped in order to scoop up some of its white, bubbly surface.
Amelia watches as roger scoops up the sea foam and walks back to her and kneels down in front of her. He holds out his hands and shows her the foam.
Roger: “Here. This will help with the nicks.”
Amelia raises one side of her pants and roger places some of the white foam on her leg, and watches as the bubbles silently pop and disappears. Roger quickly jumps up and scatters back to the shoreline and scoops up more of the medicinal white bubbles.
Amelia keeps her hand over her neck as Roger returns and offers her some more of the frothy sea foam. She looks at the foam as it begins to dissipate in his hands.
Amelia: “That won’t help my neck.”
Continues to keep his hands cupped and holding what remains of the delicate, airy substance he offers to Amelia.
Roger: “Can’t hurt.”
Amelia removes her hand from her neck and takes some of the foam from Roger’s hand and delicately places it on her neck.
Amelia: “Can’t help.”
Roger: “You’re a feisty one.”
Amelia: “Yes.”
Roger sits down next to Amelia and they sit quietly together and watch as the sun sets on the horizon and fills the sky with orange and red tones to signal its evening retreat.
Frank and Neta
After a restful night of being lulled to sleep by evening breezes and the gently crashing surf Amelia awakens with a renewed energy. She slowly stands up and takes small steps toward the entrance of her hut.
Amelia: “I need to see light.”
As she steps outside, she can hear Roger. He’s talking to someone, but it can’t be the natives because he’s speaking English. She takes a few steps and then looks to her left and can see him standing next to his plane.
He’s holding a mic and is speaking to someone, somewhere. His voice is distant, but Amelia can pick up fragments of his words. She begins to walk toward him and notices and waves to her and smiles.
Amelia stands within a few feet of Roger as he speaks on his mic.
Roger: “Yeah, that’s right. I’ll be here another day or so. Engine problems.”
A warbled voice responds, but isn’t easily understood from Amelia. She approaches Roger with slow, deliberate footsteps. He watches with great concern as he speaks into the crackling and static filled mic.
Roger: “Must go. Gotta save the battery. 10-4.”
A muffled voice bounces back: “Copy that.”
Roger tosses the mic into the plane and closes the door and immediately walks over to Amelia and wraps an arm around her and supports just as her legs become too weak to support herself. He guides her to a nearby clearing and guides her onto a soft, fluorescent colored blue and green patch of moss.
Roger: “Here ya go Missy, and don’t worry. It’s not wet. I sat in it earlier.”
Roger steps in front of Amelia then turns around and bends slightly to reveal a wetted area on the bottom of his pants.
Roger: “I soaked it up for ya.”
Roger stands up straight and turns around to see a smiling, and quietly chuckling Amelia that attempts to say thank you but can’t because of her laughter.
Roger: “You’re welcome!”
Amelia places a hand over neck and speaks in a sweet clear tone, and for the first time Roger hears her voice as it really is.
/> Amelia: “Thank you, sir!”
Roger slightly tilts his head as he looks at Amelia.
Roger: “You’re voice is clear. Must’ve been the sea foam.”
Roger walks over to Amelia and sits down next to her. They both look at his plane. It sits in the sun and the yellow color seems to ignite something in Amelia as she looks at it.
Amelia: “It’s a beautiful plane.”
Roger watches Amelia as she gazes lovingly at the little yellow plane.
Roger: “She’s a bit dirty actually, but as they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”
Roger looks at his plane just as Amelia begins talking. She removes her hand from her neck points at the plane that sits in front of her.
Amelia: “My first flight”
Roger looks confused as he passes glances between his plane and Amelia. He notices tears as they stream down her face.
Roger: “I can get you back home.”
Amelia shakes her head back and forth as she answers.
Amelia: “No.”
Roger: “But, you’re crying. You want to leave.”
Amelia continues shaking her head back and forth as she wipes the tears away. She speaks with a sorrow that isn’t easily hidden.
Amelia: “No. I can’t go back, it’d be worse.”
Amelia sniffles and exhales before she continues talking. Roger looks a bit bewildered as Amelia seems to jump from one subject into another, but understands that the ordeal she’s lived through hasn’t only left external scars, but reveals internal ones as well.
Amelia: “That plane. It was the time I flew in a plane.”
Roger looks at Amelia with a bewildered look.
Roger: “I see. Your first flight. Yeah mate, that’s always magical.”
Amelia nods her head up and down and looks directly in Roger’s eyes.
Amelia: “Yes. Magical. Frank and Neta. They gave me the gift of flying.”
Amelia breaks her stare from Roger and looks at his plane.
Amelia: “Frank took me up in his plane. My father was there. He paid so much money for me to take that flight. It was almost all the money he had at that time.”
Amelia sniffles and wipes tears from her cheek, but manages to continue talking despite the sadness that has filled her mind and heart.
Her voice has suddenly lost its clear tone, and she talks in a painfully soft tone as he holds back her sorrow.
Amelia: “We flew over the Ocean. The beach. It was incredible. I could taste the salt in the air. People waved as flew over them. It was glorious.”
Roger head bobs up and down in large movements.
Roger: “Magical.”
Amelia turns and looks at Roger. His steel blue eyes, they pierce her thoughts, and wipe away her sorrow. She talks clearly for a moment.
Amelia: “Yes. Magical.”
Amelia clears her throat and once again breaks her stare from Roger.
Amelia: “And then there was Neta.”
Amelia’s voice becomes raspy and brittle.
Amelia: “She was so patient.”
Roger’s ability to seize the moment and inject humor has arrived.
Roger: “Neta? What is a neta?”
Amelia smiles and speaks briefly due to her weakened voice. She places a hand over her neck and rubs it as she speaks.
Amelia: “Anita. Neta for short.”
Roger: “Anita, Neta. Got it.”
Roger stands up and holds out a hand for Amelia. She grabs it and pulls herself up and they begin to walk away. She looks back at the little yellow plane and stops.
Amelia: “It’s like a Canary.”
Roger looks back at his plane.
Roger: “Yeah. A dirty one.”
Roger helps Amelia walk back to her hut so that she can continue with her much needed rest. After Roger settles Amelia in her bed he listens to her explain how important Frank and Neta were to her flying planes.
Roger had learned that Frank Hawks and Anita “Neta” Bryant were very influential in Amelia’s early flying days. She had taken her first flight in Frank Hawk’s plane and was introduced to Neta by Frank.
Amelia was also smitten with Frank’s flight jacket and couldn’t wait to get one just like it. There was something about the faded, worn, and wrinkled jacket that appealed to her, and she soon went and bought one. Amelia slept in her jacket for many days to give it that same worn and textured look that Frank Hawk’s jacket had.
After her flight with Frank she was introduced to Anita banks. Amelia developed an immediate bond with “Neta”, and they became best friends. “Neta” was the patient flight instructor that Amelia needed and showed her everything that was required for her take her solo flight and her pilot’s license.
If it hadn’t been for Frank and Neta, Amelia may have never flown a plane at all.
Amelia was eagerly flying planes soon after attaining her license and even purchased her own plane after working several jobs as a teacher, social worker, waitress and even a secretary.
Amelia was a very intelligent person and could do just about anything she set her mind too, but there was nothing in her life that she enjoyed doing more than flying planes. She was a competitive flyer as well and participated in many cross-country races and won several competitions which gave way to her notoriety and later her fame as a female aviator that broke, and set several records.
The Canary
Amelia continued with her recollection of events while resting the banana leafed hut. Roger sits cross legged on the floor beside her and asks one question that immediately make Amelia smile, and at the same time seems to cure her. Her voice becomes very crisp and clear, almost child-like with enthusiasm when she replies.
Roger: “So, what’s this Canary?”
Amelia: “My beloved plane! It was yellow, like yours, and it was my most favorite thing in the whole world!”
Amelia explains that it was her first plane that she bought and had flown while setting several records. It was bright yellow Kinnster Speedster which she had named “The Canary.” It was reliable, sturdy and capable of flying long distances.
Amelia: “I flew her in competitions. Nobody could beat her.”
Roger: “I bet you made some friendly enemies.”
Amelia turns on her side and looks at Roger, she slowly moves her head up and down while releasing a painful grin.
Amelia: “Maybe, but they could never catch us.”
Roger laughs with a loudness that causes some native women to rush inside the hut.
Roger: “We’ve got an audience.”
Amelia looks at the concerned women as they begin to scowl at Roger.
Amelia: “I’m used to that.”
Roger looks at the angry looking women, and then looks back at Amelia and grimaces.
Roger: “I don’t speak their language, but I know what they’re thinking.”
The women walk over to Roger and then lead him out of the hut. He pokes his head back in and looks around and spots Amelia as she sit up on the side of her bed.
Roger: “I’m not joking, but the natives are restless!”
A hand is placed o Roger’s shoulder and he’s pulled back outside. Roger stands outside the hut and looks at the women who escorted him away from Amelia. One of the shakes her head back and forth while waving her finger back and forth in the air.
Roger looks back at the hut, then at the woman who was waving her finger at him. He points at himself then at the hut just as Amelia walks out.
Roger: “Naw! Now way mates!”
Two native women walk over to Amelia and help her to sit down next to palm tree, then one by one, the entire group of women sits near her and all stare at Roger. Roger looks at Amelia gives a suspicious statement.
Roger: “I think, they think, I’m pursuing you. You know, the wolf chasing the helpless lamb.”
Amelia looks at the protective and stern looking women then at Roger and sm
iles.
Amelia: “Like you said. You don’t need to speak their language.”
Roger remains standing at a safe distance while he asks Amelia a question.
Roger: “Okay, The canary was your plane, but what happened to it?”
Amelia closes her eyes for a moment as she thinks.
Amelia: “G.P.”
Roger: “G.P.?”
Amelia takes a deep breath and exhales. She opens her eyes and blinks several times then closes her eyes once more. She takes another deep breath and exhales before she begins talking while keeping her eyes shut.
Amelia: “I can’t remember. Did he sell it? No. I did.”
Roger watches Amelia as she slowly opens her eyes and looks at him.
Amelia: “I sold it, and then went back East. From what I remember, that’s when G.P. entered my life. Things became more hectic for me after-words.”
Roger approaches Amelia, but one large native woman stands up and he decides to sit down where he’s at. He crosses his legs and rests his head in his hands.
Roger: “This might be as close as I’m going to get for awhile.”
Amelia looks at the large, towering woman that stands next to her. The woman snarls at Roger, but gleefully smiles when she looks at Amelia.
The woman takes one more defensive look at Roger before sitting down.
Amelia: “That’s how G.P. was. Sometimes. If I let him.”
Roger shakes his head back and forth.
Roger: “Who’s G.P.?”
Amelia exhales once again before speaking.
Amelia: “G.P. was George. George Putnam. My business partner.”
Roger gets a doubtful smirk.
Roger: “Your business partner? You mean husband, right?”
Amelia: “Now you’re asking too many questions.”
Roger: “Husband.”