Had I not chosen music as a career, I may well have become a professional pilot. I began flying when I was 17 and soloed at age 18 with just under 6 hours of dual instruction. Whenever I could scrape up the $15 it cost to rent a two-seater Cessna, I would drive from junior college to the airport on my lunch break and go flying.

I earned my private pilot's license while living in California. I'd been bitten by the flying bug again after a 10 year 'abstinence'. I needed a diversion from music, and flying really kept my mind sharp. There was alot of studying and reading I had to do. Being a pilot was a tremendous responsibility, but it was good for my self-esteem. And, you couldn't fly in a more picturesque place than Southern California! The mountains, the ocean, and the desert were all within reach with an airplane, and I flew many enjoyable hours in and out of Santa Monica airport. My manager Steve and I even took a few trips to Palm Springs and Catalina. One of my favorite flights was to Big Bear, then down to Soggy Dry Lake. Big Bear was a small town at 7000 feet above sea level. After landing and spending a few minutes at Big Bear, I would take off and immediately descend into Soggy Dry Lake which is below sea level. It's a natural dry lake bed, totally flat, and is actually listed as an uncontrolled airport the aviation sectional chart. You have to be very careful because there are plenty of motorcycles and off-road vehicles whizzing around. It's an eery feeling to land there, get out of the plane, and then experience the total numbing silence of the place - quite a change from the city. My most memorable flight was from Santa Monica to Carmel with a girl who I was dating at the time. We flew into Monterey, rented a car and drove around Carmel, truly one of the most beautiful places on earth. The flight along the California coastline was breathtaking!

When I moved back to Florida in 1979, I continued to fly and eventually earned an instrument rating. Having the "IR" on your license means you've accomplished one of the most difficult phases of pilot training. Being instrument rated means you can go regardless of the weather (thunderstorms, tornadoes, etc. excluded). You possess the ability to take off, fly, and then land somewhere else without ever seeing out the windshield of the airplane by watching only the instrument panel! To some it may sound bizarre if not downright crazy, but professional pilots do it every single day.

Sadly, my flying was ended by the shooting in 1986. It was more of a financial consideration than anything else. I was hit with some medical bills right in the middle of trying to purchase a home, and the increased cost of renting airplanes finally "grounded" me.