Getting a little bored with activities in Greenwood? Try a little spin over town.
No, I don't mean a little spin around town - I mean a little spin over town. Things sure look different from the air.
My husband recently purchased a helicopter for the sole purpose of doing just this - taking folks for a spin. I sometimes get to reap the benefits of being a pilot's wife, and last week, I asked him to take me for a ride. I wanted to take some aerial photographs of Greenwood, and now, with the help of his new toy, I could accomplish that goal.
We had tried on several attempts to make the flight, but wind conditions have to be pretty calm to fly around in something that looks (to me) like a gnat.
Last week, we had a good day to fly, and I called Bill to ask him about popping out the window on my side so I could get maximum quality photographs. I was afraid if I took the photographs behind the helicopter window, the flash would bounce back in my face, resulting in a lot of trouble to get what might be worthless pictures. I didn't want to take that chance.
He politely informed me he couldn't just pop out the window, but he could take the door off. Immediate stomach queasiness washed over me. I couldn't imagine dipping and dotting around Greenwood in a flying machine with nothing between me and the Yazoo River but a mere seat belt. But, I realized I really had no choice. So I relented.
He landed in the Commonwealth parking lot (yes, the parking lot), and I crawled in, checking my seat belt once, twice and a third time. I stuffed camera batteries in every pocket I had and removed the camera from its case. We took off and away we went. We headed first towards the oil mill and I began snapping photographs. You never really know how flat the Delta is until you see it from the air. We then circled around downtown because I wanted to get some shots of the Hotel Irving.
Upon this request, my husband reminded me of a large crane at the site and that we would have to be careful. As he circled, I snapped photographs of everything from the courthouse to Howard Street to the river and the bridges. We approached downtown Greenwood from every possible angle, and I began to relax - a little.
I asked him to hover over the river between the bridges because I wanted to get a straight-on shot looking down Howard Street. And I got some really good photographs of the entire downtown area and the Yazoo River, complete with barges.
Since we were flying during lunchtime, we got a lot of looks from passing cars on the Keesler Bridge as we landed near the levee. We walked across the street and had lunch at the delicatessen, and then continued with the flight. (What a lunch date!)
We flew over North Greenwood, and it was fun to try and spot certain landmarks, houses and the like. I believe North Greenwood could qualify as a designated rain forest, because you can barely see the houses for the canopy of oak trees. We also flew over Stribling Park and the soccer fields, and I realized why I always get so tired walking from one field to another on Sunday afternoons - that place is really big!
From the sky, Park Avenue really does look like a main thoroughfare in some "big" city like Memphis or Jackson, but of course we know it's not that big.
All in all, I really enjoyed my bird's eye view of Greenwood. I think everyone should see Greenwood from the air at least once.
