Against Impossible Odds

May in Oklahoma is a glorious month. Not yet too hot from the blistering sun, April’s showers start to dissipate and the crops begin their climb to the surface from beneath the fertile soil in anticipation of reaching the summer sun.



It was 1924 and a young man watched excitedly as a group of airplanes flew low overhead and threw out enticing handbills touting airborne feats of courage and dare-devil stunts. Many of the towns people were already heading toward a field just outside of town to watch what would surely prove to be a thrilling display of amazing feats of bravery by pilots just home from the war in Europe. Wiley Post quickly joined his friends moving toward the impromptu airshow. For many rural towns, the appearance of a barnstormer or an aerial troop on the horizon was akin to declaring a national holiday; almost everything in the town would shut down at the spur of the moment so that people could purchase plane rides and watch the show.



“Wiley did you see that?” one friend asked breathlessly as they watched a Curtiss JN-4 or “Jenny” pull up into a loop overhead. They stopped briefly and watched in awe, staring up, jaws agape, as the pilot expertly maneuvered his magnificent machine out of the ensuing dive and back into flight just like a hawk or an eagle might. “Wow!” they both breathed at the same time. Looking at each other, they laughed and ran all that much faster to catch the show.



Once they arrived, they heard a man telling the crowd about the amazing feats that they were about to see and selling airplane rides. Wiley checked his pockets but came up short of the amount needed for the $3 ride. Disappointed he walked with his friends along the flight line looking hungrily at the airplanes lined up in the field.



After a time they came upon a group of men gathered around a man sitting on the ground holding his ankle. The men were having a lively animated conversation. As they walked nearer, Wiley and his friend could see that the man sitting on the ground was obviously injured. The other men were talking to him and amongst themselves.



“Jimmy go get the Doc from town! We got a show to do and we need him quick!” one man barked to a young boy. The boy broke obediently into a run towards town as the others examined the fellows ankle. “It’s swelling pretty bad. I don’t think he’s going to be able to do the show.” one was saying. Another man was yelling and pacing back and forth….”What the hell do you mean he can’t jump? He’s gotta jump! he said emphatically. “We got a show to do! I have overhead! I got bills to pay!” He looked at the injured man and said loudly, ” Frank, you ain’t gonna get paid if you don’t jump!” The injured man was rocking in pain and moaning but said nothing.



Overhearing this the young Wiley Post couldn’t hold back and burst into the conversation. “Do you need a parachutist? I can do the jump for you!” he said boldly. The pacing, yelling man stopped and looked at him. “You are a parachutist?”he asked skeptically. “Well I have never done it before but how hard can it be?” Wiley retorted. The men standing around him all broke into laughter. The yelling man looked at him in disbelief. “Are you friggin crazy? You have never done it before but you want to go up and jump out of a perfectly good airplane? NO! You’ll just get yourself killed boy! NO!” He started pacing and cussing again. “Sir I have wanted to do this all of my life!” Wiley said, not taking no for an answer. “Let me do it. You need the money and well…so do I!” he laughed. The other men nodded with him in agreement on that one. His friend joined in, “I know this guy sir, Wiley can do ANYTHING he puts his mind to!” The yelling man thought about it for a second, looked at the injured jumper, saw the money he would make slipping away, thought again for a moment and then looked at the young man and said, “OK you can do it, but if you get hurt or killed don’t blame me for it! Guys get this fella rigged up and show him how to open the chute!” he ordered. The group of men, once skeptical now rallied around Wiley and started showing him the equipment. They placed the parachute harness on him, cinched him in and gave him a brief instruction on what to do and when.



Moments later the 26 year old climbed into the airplane for his first airplane ride ever and as they climbed into the air he stared breathlessly at the panorama spreading out beneath him. His attention split between trying to see his house and watching what the pilot was doing, he was smiling from ear to ear. Wiley Post had found his calling and his destiny.



America didn’t know it at the time but discovery and change were in the wind…