J.T., my friend

John T. Seesing, my friend.

I had many luncheons and discussed many issues with J.T. He was a great thinker, a philosopher and listener.

His first rule of flying was, "If you think the weather is too bad to fly, it is." If you thought your fuel was too low, he said, "It is." Never fail to "pre-flight" check your plane... and your life. "When in doubt, check it out," was his motto.

I had many cross country flights with J.T. from Florida to New York to Denver to Louisville and Chicago. Due to his teaching me the basics, and then some, I've had 50 years of successful and safe flights as a pilot. He was a great teacher. He always had a smile and was "ready to go."

It would take more than two columns in the newspaper to do justice to how much he gave to the community. He and his good friend John Godwin were, in my opinion, pioneers of flying in Cape Girardeau. He and I flew many mercy flights to St. Louis and Memphis, at no charge to patients, with just a thank you for letting the two of us help.

His saying was, "If you must go, flying is the way to go."

The newspaper did a good job in briefly describing J.T., but it would take a thick book to tell, as Paul Harvey would say, "The rest of the story."

It would not surprise me one bit to find out that he is teaching angels to fly.

That is my friend, J.T.

THOMAS L. MEYER, Cape Girardeau