A very nice rainbow arched the low dark blue waves.   There was no rain so the air must have been very heavy with that potential.  The rainbow’s colors lit up the western sky with the morning sun as it first peeked over the eastern range of still dark hills.  It seemed to pause as if holding its breath while deciding on the type of day it would like to present. Those of us observing waited impatiently for that crucial information.  It would very much color our plans one way or the other. If it was to be as clear and peaceful as the low waves suggested, it was one thing.  But if the rainbow was a precursor of coming rain, and the heavy clouds and thunderous sky the rain often brings with it, then it was of course another. If it was clear and smooth high in the sky, Cliff would take his first flying lesson today. Cliff was no longer a child at this point.  He had in fact just passed his 27th birthday on April 19th… but he had not yet become a man either. He had worked at that intermittently, as far as a casual onlooker could tell, by enrolling in and even sometimes attending college. Starting very young, he took up one musical instrument after the other including his voice and always showed great potential for each and everything he attempted, but not the necessary drive. From as soon as he could climb upon one without adult aid, Cliff had taken to horses.  When he rode in jumping competitions, people in the viewing stands stopped conversing mid-sentence just to watch him. All around was quiet as that boy rode into the arena.  It was as if the boy and...