I enjoyed watching the Boeing workers build 737s and 757s and seeing the kind of care and inspection that goes into their work. They had a good attitude about their jobs and were proud of their workmanship.
That was very comforting for me because I spend a lot of time on airplanes. When I got home I even told my wife—who is not a good flier—about my observations, hoping to reassure her that these planes are well built. I'm not sure if that was enough to convince her though. Sometimes I can't even sit next to her on a flight because she starts tugging so much on my arms, I worry she's going to rip them off.
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I was riding home after work with Beulah Barnes, a Boeing employee, because I wanted to get a photograph of her driving with the plant in the background. But we didn't get too far. A couple of security guards stopped us and demanded to know what I was doing at the plant and why I was taking pictures. Normally I would have been with a public relations person. But since I needed room in the car to shoot, he didn't accompany me this time. I tried to explain that to the guards, but they detained me for 30 minutes as they tried to track down my PR guy. They finally let me go after they contacted him and confirmed what I'd told them. But it was a complete waste of time, and Beulah was furious.
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When I arrived in Wichita last January, the weather was really cold and terrible. I was wondering how I was going to get an aerial shot of the Boeing plant. But the next day—by some weird miracle—the sun was shining, the sky was clear, and the temperature was close to 60°F (16°C). I immediately tracked down a helicopter and flew over the plant. I'm glad I grabbed that opportunity when I did because the following day, the temperature dipped down to 20°F (7°C), and it started snowing. In Kansas, you never know how the weather is going to change from day to day.
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