All Abilities Airshow!

Originally posted on 7/4/11

Yesterday afternoon we were invited to the Special Needs Airshow. It was a great idea. While the huge crowds were downtown under the Arch watching the real airshow, we were invited to the downtown airport, along with other families of people with disabilities, to watch the planes take off and return to the Arch grounds. They also did little airshows for us as well...the highlight of the day for Teddy was John Mohr in his old Stearman...Teddy enjoyed that part of the show the most. Another highlight was Jason Newburg in his Viper. The jets were great too, but the prop planes, not going so fast or so loud were exactly what Ted wanted to see. These two pilots were incredibly skilled and as a student pilot myself, I was in awe of what they could make those airplanes do. The heat was such that Ted didn't make it to the end, but if we had, the pilots were going to take time to meet all of the people with disabilities and sign autographs and let them touch the airplanes. I wish we could have been able to do it, but Ted did pretty well considering a little crowd and heat. But, whoever had this idea really understood special needs. They understood that if you are in a wheelchair, it is tough to get through the crowds on the Arch grounds on the 4th of July weekend. They also understood that for kids like Teddy, the noise and big crowds (of sometimes people who are judgmental of our children's outburst) can be problematic. So, we had a really short walk from the car, when we checked in they passed out hearing protection and then there were lots of free drinks and popsicles...first class all the way! This was the most understanding event that I have ever attended...you dream of events like this for your kids when they have special needs and it was amazing that it really happened.