Feels strange, that such a simple thing as— He interrupted at once. Doesn't feel strange at all! Feels natural, normal; feels right!
He smiled at himself. Let's not get carried away . . . No! I'm already carried away, with my rewiring. It works! Only stuff gets through my gates is positive lifeaffirmers!
I reserve the right to refuse negative suggestions from anyone.
Come on, growled this feisty new optimist within him to the forces of darkness, what's your next putdown for me? Roll 'er out. Take your best shot!
Jamie Forbes laughed at the battle for his mind, put his money on the new guy there.
Thank you, he thought to the teacher within. I expect you're gonna see big changes, starting now.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
After the storms, the sky had gone wide open. Severe clear, as pilots say, the whole southeast.
Expect little puffs of cumulus around noon, thought Jamie Forbes, preflighting his airplane. Puffs building to thunderstorms again by mid-afternoon.
By the time the sun had cleared the horizon east, the T-34 was wheels-up and climbing, southbound. Air cool and smooth as buttered ice. He visualized his landing at home, a perfect touchdown, taxiing to the hangar.
Level at three-thousand five, an impish part of his mind became advocate of the devil; he pushed it onstage.
May not be a perfect landing. Something could go wrong. Engine could quit. Complete electrical failure. Wheels might come halfway down and jam.
He waited for the attack of his inner optimist on these dark ideas, denying them all. Nothing happened.
Oil line could break.
It could.
Aren't you going to say Impossible? No Negatives Allowed?
What's negative about an engine failure? Part of the reason you like flying is the unexpected. Oil line break is an event, a test. No more negative than a spelling test.
Of course. You're right.
You want to know negative, Jamie? Here's negative:
“I'm sick.”
“I'm trapped.”
“I'm dumb.”
“I'm scared.”
“I'm separated from my highest self.”
Negative is not the test, negative is what you get when you fail it.
Why not No Tests, replied the pilot, hypnotize my appearances into trouble-free flying?
Nope don't you want to know why.
Why?
Because you love passing tests, you love proving yourself.
The pilot considered that. Not just airplane tests.