In the award-winning TV show Ted Lasso, one of the Richmond players would often exclaim with gusto, “Fütbol is life!”  The exuberance in his voice, coupled with the expression of pure joy on his face, clearly conveyed the passion he felt for the game we call soccer. 

Passion is a very interesting word.  A noun, it can convey thoughts, images, and feelings that are almost complete opposites. When I looked up its definition in the Webster’s New World Dictionary (Second College Edition-1979) I was surprised to find the first definition was “suffering or agony, as of a martyr.”  It wasn’t until the fourth definition (“extreme, compelling emotion; intense emotional drive or excitement” and a further sub-reference to “strong love or affection”) that I found a definition that many would most likely associate this word.

In the section for synonyms, Webster listed first, “usually implies a strong emotion that has an overpowering or compelling effect.”  On a related note, all too often we hear about a “crime of passion” which ruins multiple lives and further demonstrates how easily this word can be associated with both positive and negative circumstances.  

What is your passion in life?

As we enter this new year of 2026, many of us are situated so that most of life here on earth is in clearly visible our rear-view mirror.  As you look back, did you pursue your passion in life?

I did- or so I thought.  

Flying was my passion, and I pursued it with unabandoned joy.  I studied, practiced, achieved proficiency, and was tested both to obtain pilot certificates and ratings and then again while exercising the privileges they conveyed.  Along the way I was bit with the desire most pilots get—to fly something bigger and faster.  Single engine aircraft came first, then multiengine planes, and then planes with turbine engines coupled to propellers.  But to go higher, further, and faster means one must fly jets.  I was fortunate to do that, too.  First in a Cessna Citation business jet—it was faster than a propeller aircraft but relatively slow compared to other jets.  Later, I was rated on Boeing 727, 757, and 767 commercial jets. During my career with the FAA, I tested pilots who wanted to become qualified to fly those aircraft.

For some pilots the acquisition of certificates and ratings almost becomes an end unto itself.  For others, being aloft as much as possible is the end they pursue, all the while never being totally happy when they’re on the ground.  Often, the quest for endless flight takes one away from home and family for long periods of time.  In the aviation world, marriages suffer and end with all-too-common regularity.  Long before most of the world could define AIDS, the aviation world knew it as Aviation Induced Divorce Syndrome.

For me, I eventually realized my life’s passion was my family.  I preferred time at home with my wife and son to spending time away from them in a cockpit.  And so, a career with the FAA allowed me to do both—be at home most nights and remain active in aviation.  Now, in addition to seeking a closer vertical relationship with God, spending time with Kathy, our four children, and our eight grandchildren trumps everything else—including bocce and HOA board-related activities.

How about you?  Are you still pursuing your passion in life or is that something you’ll make a New Year’s resolution to do?

Whichever it is for you, I hope 2026 will bring your and your family health and happiness and a lot of fun times together that generate lasting memories.

Happy 2026!