Sometimes I walk into the next room and forget why I went. Sometimes we start a conversation about something and end up talking about something completely different. Sometimes we plan a trip and find ourselves going in a completely different direction. Sometimes we take a brief flight over this town we’ve known and flown for years, and discover something completely new and unexpected. In fact, it happens on most flights. For example, I had no idea there’s a pair of brilliant blue and white buildings not far from our house.
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From the air they were just unusual, blue and large. Looking at the full-res pic back at home, it’s easy to see this is a church and I correctly guessed from the architecture it’s Greek Orthodox. Looking it up on gMaps quickly confirmed that, and added the fact it’s named for “Saint Barbara” just like Our Town. Then I checked the name out on wiki, and what began by noticing an unusual blue building led to exploration of religious herstory. Lost in cyberia for a time, I learned a little about Valentinus, the torments of some venerated women named Barbara, and the explorer Sebastian Vizcaino, whose survival of a storm near here on Barbara’s feast day ultimately led to the name for our Mission and thus Our Town.
Detours can be fun. My goal is not only to “expect the unexpected,” but to embrace and explore it. Since every flight seems to bring plenty of invitations to detours, maybe flying could be described as an excellent opportunity for personal growth. 🙂
John & Anne Wiley 
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