By: Donald V. Watkins
Copyrighted and Published on April 17, 2024
Years ago, I learned about a young boy in Jamaica and three young boys in Atlanta who wanted to become airline pilots. They were between 10 and 12 years of age. All four of these boys were from impoverished backgrounds. Each one was teased and ostracized by the children in his neighborhood for dreaming what they were told was an “impossible dream.”
At the time, I owned a CJ1 Citation jet. My chief pilot was Jamie Grant, who is the best pilot I know. Jamie and I flew all over the world together.
When we flew to Jamaica, I asked Jamie to take the Jamaican kid up in the airplane and teach him how the fly. I wanted him to get the feel and experience of flying a jet. He flew it and flew it well.
We did the same thing with the three boys in Atlanta.
Jamie gave each boy his own set of pilot wings after he successfully flew the jet. They were extremely proud of themselves. Jamie and I were proud of them, as well!
Today, each one of these four boys is a licensed pilot and all of them fly commercial jet airliners. This is why I say, “If you can see it, you can be it."