Nine-year-old reaches for the sky with first flying lesson- Latrobe Bulletin

Kyle in flight jacket (courtesy of Nicole). Kyle and his pap pap are both stinkers.

Before the days get past me, I wanted to tell about our trip to the Airshow last weekend. Kyle and I went to the Westmoreland County airshow at the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Latrobe, PA.  This was the first airshow they’ve had in 10 years.  It’s amazing how things have changed in a decade.  If I could take Kyle back in time, 10 years to the day of August 20, 2001, he would see what I was talking about.  I guess there’s two ways of looking at reminiscing: Personally and globally. Either way, on a personal note, my brother was still alive with a new little baby boy who wasn’t even a month old, and globally, 911 never happened yet.  To me, the earlier tragedy was as impactful on me and my family if not more than the later tragedy.

Kyle at the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport - Latrobe, PA

As Kyle and I walked around, he would comment, “Aunt Heather I’ve never been to an airshow before.” and, “Remember when I flew an airplane?”  Kyle is something else!  Only he could take me out of my funk and put me in a different place. And yes, Kyle did fly an airplane, a small Piper four seater for his ninth birthday. As I’ve always mentioned, I don’t believe in giving him toys and such for his birthday and special occasions, so he gets unconventional gifts. For his ninth birthday I bought him a one hour flying lesson with an instructor. I was allowed to tag along in the backseat, along with my photographer.  She was getting action shots.  It was a blast, doing positive and negative G-forces! Kyle even waved the wing and looped around St. Vincent College. That was a moment I was told he would never forget. And you know what? So far, it hasn’t slipped his memory.

Kyle took his job at flying the airplane very seriously!

As we walked around, I realized that I had forgotten my sunscreen.  Yikes!  My skin is very pale and burns easily.  I kinda nudged him and I asked, “How long do you want to stay?”  His response, “The entire time!”  Well that just said what I would be paying for later on.  I tried to get in the shade as much as possible.  I found us a perfect shady spot under the wing of a huge airplane parked on the ground.  Kyle was content being there, that is until the jets came out to do a dog fighting demonstration.  He proceeded to move toward the fence so he was as close to the runway as he could possibly be.  I held my position until too many people blocked my view of Kyle.  I headed to stand beside him and share his excitement of the planes doing flybys and tricks.  It really was exciting and fun to watch.  They even had a school bus, redesigned of course, which held a jet engine in the rear.  The bus drove up and down the runway with the flames projecting from the rear.  It was an experience, feeling the heat from the flames and hearing the sound of the engine it revved up as it projected itself across the runway at 500 and some miles an hour. Amazing!!! Kyle loved it!

Yep, Kyle made the front page of the Latrobe Bulletin. He was interviewed after his flight.

Now what really amazed me was my dad. He couldn’t get over me being so burned.  That cracks me up! Has he not known me for my entire existence?  This isn’t a new concept of me being burnt. In fact, my sister and mom are the same way.  My brother would initially burn, but it would turn to a tan.  Ryan also had a job in the summer where he mowed lawns, so he was always outside in the sun.  Then there’s my dad, with his dark leather skin, who probably never had the experience of burning, ever!  Of course he worked outside in the woods his entire life.  He started making posts when he was nine and was a woodsman, chopping down trees the better part of his life.  No wonder he had a personal understanding with the sun.

Kyle was smiling from ear to ear. He loved his surprise birthday gift.

Yep, we did have a lot of fun at the airshow! It was even worth the sunburn to my face, neck, arms, and lower legs, not to mention the week of peeling I experienced following the airshow. Kyle was a little pink, but his skin is more used to the sun than mine or he’s more like my brother and dad and can take it better. Even so, I loved how Kyle would talk about his flight while we walked around. It was nice to see Kyle remembering being at the airport, going down the runway, and flying over Latrobe. Yep, I think that was a gift well worth it!

Arnold Palmer Regional Airport- Airshow 2011

See Kyle’s story:

If you really listen and see the world through a child’s eyes, you’re at least smart enough to realize they have a lot to teach us… like common sense. ~ Heather Piper

Let me first set the stage…  About a week or so ago I dropped my iPhone.  Well, I guess I didn’t just drop it, I dropped it twice in a row within a matter of seconds directly on the blacktop.  Now I must say, the first time it fell, the front of the case snapped off and the phone was fine.  But the second time it fell, both sides of the case flew off and the phone ended up face down on the blacktop of the parking lot at work. Yes, it was around 7ish am and I was really tired that morning.  The phone had a nick taken out of the bottom left corner and a hairline fracture across the lower half of the face.  Really not bad for such a fall or really two back-to-back falls.  This has been known as The Fallen (I’m a fan of Lauren Kate’s Fallen Series)

Me, Kyle & Nicole in mom's office at Gutchess Hardwoods. Notice Kyle's hand on the mouse.

Let me take you back about a month.  I noticed there was a chip out of my phone case, exactly at the corner where it snaps to hold the case on.  I’m not sure how this happened but I should have known it was certainly a prelude to trouble ahead.  But me being me, I just ignored it and figured, if its still working then leave well enough alone.

Well, occasionally Kyle likes to download games (only free ones) to my phone and play while he’s in the car.  I don’t mind him playing on my phone for a number of different reasons. One: he’s better at operating the phone than I am, two: he has always shown respect and responsibility for the phone and his DS etc. and three: I believe in introducing children to everything and teaching them from the start.  I’ve even had Kyle on my lap and let him steer the car up the driveway.  And when Kyle was just able to speak, I showed him how to make calls on my old flip phone.  I showed him where my parent’s and my sister’s phone numbers were and how to dial 911, just in case of an emergency.  Now I’ve never just handed the phone over to him and expected him to understand how to work it, although now-a-days I bet he could figure it out.

Kyle loved to build! But he was always attentive to things going on around him. He was even watch George W. Bush on TV.

Well, since “The Fallen” I didn’t want extra wear and tear on the phone, just in case it would damage the electronics under the glass.  So when I picked Kyle up for swimming, he reached for my phone.  I showed him the crack and told him I didn’t want him playing on the phone until I got it fixed.

He asked me how it happened, in an almost authoritative manner.  Then I felt like I had to explain myself like I was in trouble.  When I started telling him the story, he laughed so hard.  Apparently he thought it was funny or it was my explanation that brought on the humor.  I said, “Kyle, I was getting my things out of the car for work and the phone was like a slippery fish. I couldn’t get a hold of it and it dropped the first time.”  He said, “You mean you dropped it more than once?”  Yikes!  What was I going to say?  I couldn’t lie about it, so I told him how I dropped it twice – in a row.  I said, “And then right after I picked up the phone and made sure it was ok, I swear it sprouted wings and flew out of my hands and ended up face down on the blacktop.”  He laughed saying, “Slippery fish, ya Aunt Heather your phone was like a fish you had to pull out of the water!” and then he said, “It grew wings and flew out of your hands, ya Aunt Heather I could see it just flying around you and taking a dive for the ground.”  He was saying this all while he was demonstrating with his hands and making swooshing and zroomering noises.  He found such humor in the story and started to make me laugh.

Kyle with his Aunt Nikki figuring out how to use the camera. He was always wondering how things were built.

After swimming, I either get him his dinner or I make it and we hang at my house.  While we were at the house discussing the news, he took my phone and was examining the crack.  He turned to me and said, “Aunt Heather you should back up everything on the phone so you don’t lose it.”  I was flabbergasted!  First of all, for him to think of that and secondly, that I did not.  He said so sincerely, “Ya Aunt Heather you can use my DS since it has the card and you can save everything on there and download it to the computer.”  I thanked him profusely for the idea, and I meant it!  I also thanked him for the offer of using his DS.

You know, these are the stories when I realize how smart and grown-up Kyle really is – that and how much he REALLY knows me!  He is always thinking ahead, planning and preparing.

Kyle reviewing my art history books

So later on that week, I made my voyage to the Apple store in Shadyside.  One of the first things my Genius asked me, “Did you back everything up?”  I smiled from ear to ear, and said, “My nephew suggested that I back everything up, so I did this morning.”  He said, “Wow, smart kid!”  You know what? He most certainly is!  Maybe there’s a direct correlation between Kyle and my Apple “Genius”.

Ya, Aunt Nikki and I’m the package! ~ Kyle Piper

Kyle would get his Kung Fu grip on the steering wheel and not let go. Ryan and my dad built this truck from a frame - '78 GMC.

You know, throughout Kyle’s life, my family, including myself, was pretty clever with using code names when having adult conversations around Kyle.  You know, sometimes you just don’t want a child asking questions about a conversation that doesn’t pertain to them or you don’t want them worrying about something they don’t need to.

The Greensburg police pulled me over this past week for not having my car registered.  Now please note, I really was not aware that the car didn’t have registration, that is until the nice officer brought it to my attention.  I’m not being sarcastic; he was a very understanding and nice guy who was just doing his job.   So yes, I sat in my car along the side of the road in town with the police car all lit up behind me, while the officer proceeded to run my license and plates through his system.  “Unfortunately, this was not my first rodeo”, at least that’s what I said to the cop when he asked me if I’ve ever gotten a ticket.  This kind of took me off guard because we all know that once he ran my license in his system, it showed at least three or four pages of traffic violations on me.  Now I’m no hardened criminal, but I’ve gone through phases where I’ve been ticketed for speeding, failure to stop at a stop sign, speeding, driving without my headlights on, speeding, not using turn signals, and did I mention speeding?  Yep, I’ve paid more in tickets than what my car was probably worth.  Now, believe it or not, most of those tickets were pre-Kyle.  Once that little man was born, I tend to be more attentive and cautious.  Now I can’t say that when he’s not with me, but I must say maturity has started to take over and I’ve cut my violations down considerably.

Ryan Piper and his '67 Chevelle. Speed is in the family...

Well back to me sitting in my car along the side of the road with the Fourth of July lights behind me.  Now don’t get me wrong, things like this don’t really bother me and I’m certainly not losing sleep over it.  But out of all the times I was pulled over and sat in that very position the one incidence that came to my mind was the only time I got a ticket with Kyle in the car.

Kyle with his cousin Jeremy Piper and his Mustang

I was actually with my mom, who normally calls out if I’m approaching an illegal speed limit.  We were just coming into Latrobe at dusk and Kyle was probably around five or so, still in a car seat, then the lights and the siren were in full swing as we entered the city.  As it turns out, that stretch of road went from 55 to 45 and all the way down to 35 miles per hour.  I can honestly can say I was not paying attention.  Mom and I were just gabbing on our way home.  Well, the last thing I wanted was Kyle telling everyone that I was pulled over, especially with him in the car.  The incident was pretty seamless and we never mentioned it in front of him, hoping he’d forget about it.  You have to understand that that was about the same time Kyle told my mom that I drive like a racecar driver, which I don’t, at least not with him in the car! But in Kyle’s mind, it must have appeared as so.

I wanted to break the news to my sister before she overheard it from my mom, I didn’t feel like having her lecture me about our precious cargo, like I’m not aware, and at the very least I wanted to diffuse an argument before beginning one.

The next generation of Piper drivers. Idlewild Park Gutchess Picnic 2004

Completely forgetting about the ticket until one night when Nicole came home, I remembered I wanted to tell her before I forgot again.  We, and I mean Nicole, myself, and Kyle were all piled in Kyle’s queen size bed in his room ready for some ZZZs.  I started to tell her that the “fuzz” pulled me over and I had the package in the car.  Just then, Kyle, who was wedged between us, turned to my sister and said, “Ya, Aunt Nikki, and I’m the package.”  I was in a mix of total shock that he was so much smarter than us, and pure gut stretching laughter from the sheer honesty of the comment.  Nicole and I both laughed so hard.  From that moment, we would sometimes refer to Kyle as “The Package”.  It was at that moment I realized he was onto us and the code words had been uncovered!

I guess that was a turning point when I realized Kyle was growing up.  Ahh another mildstone… isn’t it funny what comes to mind in certain situations?

“I have seen these people,” the LORD said to Moses, “and they are a stiff-necked people.” ~Exodus 32:9

Kyle Piper with his cousin Hailey at Kyle's 1st Holy Communion

You know it’s true, the bible holds a lot of stories and lessons to be learned. They seem to revolve around disobedience and obedience, putting it in simple terms. With each story there seems to be a warning, a rule or guideline, an order, a reward, an example or sometimes a combination. God does this because he loves us so very much, and he tends to instruct us like parents raising their children. Very fitting since we are all God’s children and He is our Father. I can’t say that I’ve had this discovery on my own, well maybe the part that we, as humans, fall and reach out to God time and time again. I do know that when you will what God wants you to, you always get what you want. This seems to be the on-going theme discussed between the liturgy at mass, my CCD teacher, and my bible study teacher over the years. So this poses the question, are we really just children? Do we act as they do and turn our backs on guidance and authority? And therefore should we, as “adults”, be more understanding of children?

Kyle gets an alphabet puzzle gift from Kelly Piper. He always loved to learn. Christmas 2003

Being in management and leadership roles throughout my career, I have dealt with situations involving co-workers and vendors. And I will say, at times I’ve had to play the “parent” role, like they were my children. I was never disrespectful (or least that was never my intent) or demeaning. Management is really nothing more than teaching and guiding individuals toward a goal, the best way possible. So I wonder if it’s safe to say the best managers are good parents? I would love to see studies on this…

Sometimes children just don’t want to listen. They turn their back and make excuses, deny, ignore or flat out refuse guidance. As great of a child as Kyle is, he is a typical little boy, a typical human like the rest of us. But sometimes this behavior tests my patience.

Yesterday, Kyle didn’t want to do his homework or practice his piano and guitar. I guess I better take a step back and mention that Kyle always has workbooks, flashcards, and reading to do, in addition to his school work, every weekend including the summer, with the exception of Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving and his birthday. He has to maintain his studies whether he has schoolwork or not or during summer vacation. Kyle is a very intelligent child, but he gets lazy and I’ve found, from experience, doing this extra work helps him maintain his grades and retain what he’s learned.

Kyle always did love me reading to him, especially dinosaur books. Yes that's a sticker on his face. 11/18/03

Kyle is going into the 5th grade, but when he was in the 1st or 2nd grade, one quarter his grades dropped drastically across the board in all subjects. In some cases the grades dropped by an entire letter grade or two. I had no idea why, but I was certain to never let it happen again. I was very concerned and wanted to find out why. Unfortunately, being his aunt, I am not privy to this information, nor can I speak to his teachers to find out the best way to teach him. Since I only have Kyle on the weekends and one day during the week, I don’t have certain privileges. Well, I would not just sit back and accept this, so I got creative and came up with my own solution… and that was doing extra workbooks and reading, which we’ve been doing religiously since that time. Usually Kyle picks his poison, so to speak, except if I see his grades are dropping in a certain subject then I have him focus on that specific subject.

Kyle always loved to help me with my school work...never too young to learn art history.

Now getting back to my story. Kyle did not want to listen this past Saturday and he carried on for hourse about doing the work, whining and complaining. It took him all day to do about 30 minutes worth of work. O my! Then when it came to reading, he wanted to read his new books he got from my sister. I have no problem with that, but I also want to teach him that if he started something, meaning Charlotte’s Web, then he should finish it, especially with only 4 chapters left. I tried to explain that when he goes to high school there will be books and projects he doesn’t like or want to do, but they are required. I also wanted him to get in the habit of finishing what he started. Going through life without accomplishing anything is no way to live.

Needless to say, he finally finished all his work by 7ish at night and we started around 10ish am. I wouldn’t let him watch cartoons or play on the computer until the work was done, yet he was so bull headed it took him all day. Kyle even argued with me over his math problems, a subject he loves, and yet he was arguing over the incorrect problems. He argued about multiplying wrong! Are you kidding me? He argued that 4 x 8 was 49 among a few of the other problems. He would not fix them and he really wanted to be defiant.

I guess everyone gets in a mood now and then… it must have been his day. He was very, very good serving mass on Saturday night. I guess he just had a little stiff neck and he didn’t realize that I will never back down to doing what’s right!

It takes a child to bring something small and unnoticeable to be larger than life. ~Heather Piper

There is no doubt that Kyle is my sidekick and there are times when I realize just how blessed I am to spend so much time with him.  To really appreciate Kyle, you have to truly listen to him and observe his facial expressions and body language.  Then and only then you can really see him; you see his thinking, his thought process, and his logic.  Let me tell you, he’s brilliant, and just plain FUNNY!

Kyle after eating his favorite... frozen blueberries. He knows they are a healthy snack!

This story starts with a trip to WalMart about two years ago.  I’m not a big fan of WalMart, but sometimes you just have to make the trek into the disturbing waters to get something quickly.  Kyle and I were just darting through and grabbing a few items in the grocery section.

Of course it was sample day and they were giving out samples of General Mills Fiber One bars.  All Kyle did was turn to me with that big grin on his face and I said, “Go ahead.”  He took two little plastic cups with a morsel of a Fiber One bar in each.  Gotta love that little man, he said one was for me and one was for him.  I told him he could have them both, which made his day!  I must say, first of all, that small gesture was so very sweet!  And THAT made my day!  So as we proceeded through the store, Narrow went on and on and on about the Fiber One bars.  He said, “These are so good, Aunt Heather! I love Fiber One Bars!”  Then he proceeded to tell me, “Aunt Heather, I think they are good for me.”

Kyle in Central Park, NYC...Vacation with Aunt Nikki. She brought the Fiber One Bars

Now I have to explain, over the years I have been trying to educate Kyle on nutrition, good or bad.  I’m not a health nut by any means, but I think it’s important to at least be aware of nutrition.  He understands the basics like protein, fat, and sodium.  Not that I try to discourage snacks, but I always try to get him to understand that, in order to have a proper diet, he needs to eat fruit, vegetables, and protein daily.  I also explain that eating snacks are fine in moderation.  I have always explained that daily exercise keeps the body burning those snacks and helps to counter act obesity.  I’ve showed Kyle how to read food labels when we’re eating something and certainly before purchasing a food item.  I must say that I will not concede to his requests for going to fast food places, except Subway.  I also explain to him that the food served at fast food places is not flavorful and is detrimental to his health.  Of course he doesn’t like to hear it, but I am not doing my job if I don’t educate him and help guide him to healthy habits.

Well back to the story.  As we went past the Fiber One sample pusher, Kyle gave me another smile again and said, “Hey Aunt Heather, can I get a box of Fiber Ones?”  What could I say, he just spent the last 20 minutes describing how he LOVES them.  I said, “Go ahead and get a box.”  He grabbed a box, with a huge smile on his face, and put it into the cart.  He read the box and went on and on about how good they are for him.  I don’t know if he really knew that or he was trying to sweet talk me.  Either way, it was a small gesture that he really appreciated it and I appreciated him pointing out that he wanted to eat a healthy snack.

Heather's little sidekick... Kyle.. before the days of Fiber One

As we loaded up the car, he grabbed the box of Fiber Ones and started to eat them on our way back to mom and dads, which is only a five-minute trip.  As we unloaded the groceries, he started telling my mom about the Fiber Ones and he kept eating them.  He took one into my dad and I heard him say, “Pap pap, look, these are good for me.”  He said, “Pap pap these are so good, I love them.”  My dad rolled his eyes, chuckled, and said something along the lines of, “What do you need all this fiber for?” Kyle cracks me up!  Mom said, “I bet he’s going to find out about the Fiber Ones soon.”  Next thing you know, he ate the entire box of Fiber Ones!  I asked him, “Did you eat the entire box?” He said, “Yep, I love them Aunt Heather.”  O my!  With this introduction to a food item started a trend that has yet to cease and will become the topic of many conversations down the road.  One day I will explain the others stories that stemmed from this one trip to the grocery store.