It took every ounce of courage to knock. Wide-eyed and heart pounding, I heard my voice squeak out a greeting as my flight-instructor neighbor opened his door. And so began the adventure that would change my life in ways I could not have imagined: that knock on the door and asking Al to teach me to “fly upside down.” The day of my first lesson arrived and I awoke with intense anxiety that locked up my gut and refused to let me breathe. I told myself unconvincingly that it would be OK. It was a beau- tiful day. I was an experienced pilot and supposedly an adult too. One way or another, it would all be over in an hour.  …