The Writing Life

In June of 1975, Dillard resided in Bellingham, Washington. On a break from the island, she saw an airshow performance. For her, the star performer was Dave Rahm, a professor of geology who became a pilot so he could get better views of mountains. Rahm performs with relentless movement between tricks, which Dillard likens to a pen writing a story, an artist painting, or a musician composing. She admires his ability to lead the audience through different emotions of suspense and release, which causes her to rethink what she knows about the concept of beauty. After the show, Dillard sees a sparrow performing spins and dives. She relates to the bird as an artist who also feels inspired to paint after seeing the Greats.

Months later, Dillard flies with Rahm and another professor, Dick Smith, around the Cascade Range near Mount Baker and the Twin Sisters. They fly in low visibility within the clouds and come dangerously close to crashing into the mountain face, but Rahm’s piloting skills keep them safe. They fly near the mountains so the geologists can get a better look at the volcanic activity. Despite her and Smith’s anxieties about the movement of the plane, Rahm appears calm, stoic, and totally sure of his abilities.