It’s a plane, parked on the beach just feet from the malecón, Pancho’s lovely ocean-front plaza. Fortunately it isn’t a Boeing 747! It’s an Ultralight, a small two-seater aircraft that my son Larry, a pilot, refers to as “conduit and bed sheets.”
An aura of adventure and mystery surround the unoccupied plane’s appearance. Did it taxi up to the bar at Las Palmas restaurant so that its thirsty pilot could order a quick beer, taking “para llevar (to go)” to new heights? Is it a marketing director’s dream, another innovative way of introducing San Pancho to prospective buyers?
The real story? Here in San Pancho we gather facts and opinions like pieces of a giant jig-saw puzzle. A little information here, a little hearsay there, and you know as much as you’re ever going to know.
It’s Saturday afternoon in tranquil San Pancho and the beach is crowded with families spread out along the sand, catching waves in the ocean. Further down the beach where the plane has landed, its pilot and passenger have decided that some refreshments are in order. How many refreshments they had is unclear, but let’s just say that observers later describe their takeoff as “shaky.”
Flying too low above the ocean, the wing of the plane is caught momentarily by a wave. Unable to right itself, (remember the bed sheets?) the plane tilts downward, the force of the water pulling it further off-balance and finally submerging it. Swimmers paddle furiously away from the sinking plane while others plunge into the waves to pull the plane and its occupants to safety. Unbelievably, no one is hurt.
The drama concludes with the arrest of the pilot and his passenger and the damaged plane planted on the beach. A few days later, the plane provides a comfy spot for a small child’s nap.
Call me nostalgic: I can’t help but recall the days, not so very long ago, when the only motorized vehicle on the beach was the old dune buggy that belongs to Turtle Frank, the venerable guardian of baby turtle nests.
No comments:
Post a Comment