We live in the Morridor. Three young men from the neighborhood and ward dropped by and asked for my son (he's a junior in high school). He was gone, so I asked to take a message. They were there to tell him about an activity in which for a really cheap price, the YM were getting an introductory flying lesson and an airplane ride at a small airport nearby. I told my son about the activity. He got a wistful look on his face, said the activity sounded like fun (for once), but that he didn't want to be grilled about why he wasn't active and didn't want them to try to suck him back in again. He decided not to go.

I thought it was sad he felt the invitation was conditional and that he was afraid to go--but on the other hand I admire his resolve and insight into their tactics.

December 17, 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright. The Morgs did not invent flight. Your son can take flight lessons before driving lessons, and can someday own his own airplane. Yes, expensive and we are living in hard times, but I bet if you hang out at a local airstrip some weekend and express his interest in flying, there's a chance he'll get a flight lesson. It might take some saving up, but if he wants to fly, he will.

There's also a great way to get paid to learn to fly, assuming you qualify: It's called the United States Air Force. You can also learn to fly in the Navy and probably in the Marines as well, but I'd probably go for the USAF if I wanted to learn to fly.

If it's just a one-off, that sounds like a good idea, kind of idea, than that's probably a bit much of a commitment just to get a free flying lesson. :>)

Congratulations! You have a smart son!

My children always had more street-smarts than I, because I raised them to trust their intuition. They spotted the con-artists long before I did. They never believed the JS story, no matter how many times and versions they were taught. They were confused how adults could believe all of that.

The Primary works extra hard to brainwash the childern very young. It is often the children who lead their parents out of the cult. It happened that way for me.

Remember, your son is less brainwashed than you are.

Congratulations!!! You have a very insightful son. He did exactly the right thing to keep from getting pulled back into the cult. That activity definitely sounds like fun, but it had strings attached. He is intelligent beyond his years to understand that.

Very smart, very articulate, and very at risk for depression because he sees what others his young age do not, and what many adults choose to turn a blind eye to, but never talk about:

All of life is like this, really. And it really matters and impacts smart or gifted kids. Every single thing said or done, or not done, has consequences, and if he is at all concerned about fairness, justice or what is equal and rigt, as most smartie pants are, he will eat himself alive trying to do the right, good thing for everyone, while trying to stay good and be okay, himself.

Talk to him about that stuff. Tell him it's okay to be selfish once in awhile for his own sake, sometimes. But tell him you are very proud of him for making this choice for the reasons he did, because he came to some conclusions on his own and trusted himself enough to know that he needed to make this choice, this way, for himself.

And tell him that though you canot afford lessons for him right now, if he is really into that, you will try and help him get there. Maybe talk to someone at a smaller, local regional airport yourself, to find out what is available to him. People who sell fractional ownership of airplanes, are always looking for ways for their planes to make money, when they are not being used by CEOs or sports stars. See if there is a glider club or flight club somewhere in the area, and see what an aviation course at a nearby college has going for potential students.

Sorry about him having to miss out, this time. I hope it all works out for both of you.

as one who got his private pilot's license, let me give you a head's up: getting lessons is NOT cheap. When I did it back in the 1970's, it ended up costing me about $4000 - it's due to the fact that you have to pay for the instructor AND the plane. I recently went to see how much it would cost to rent a plane at the local civil aviation airports near me, and the price has gone through the ionosphere. Where I used to pay something like $20 per hour for a Cessna 152, it's now something like $120.

You might also want to check with the local Civil Air Patrol and see if they can recommend something like an introductory flight or somesuch.

The Civil Air Patrol has a cadet program. I know that there is an active unit in my area. It would be ideal for kids who are interested in flying and don't mind the military-like structure of the group.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Air_Patrol#Cadet_members

I dont accept manipulative brownies.

I don't attend events with people who don't like me and with whom I share no interests.

I wouldn't go to a flying event with so many strings attached.

I wouldn't ask missionaries to scrub my toilets or pull weeds.

Life is too short. We don't need to depend on cultists for the little extras we crave. Better to actually strive for real friendships and work hard to be able to buy flying lessons and learn to make brownies whenever we want them.

that is excellent. Please see if there is a local chapter near you.

Thanks for all your supportive responses! Two years ago my son was very interested in flying, but that interest passed. He's intent on majoring in a medical science field when he enters college next year. I am proud of him for his reasoning and choices.

I have made it very clear to both my kids--I will love them and support them no matter what they choose in life--they know I would be less than thrilled if they returned to the Mormon church, but if they did, I'd support their choices and help them think those choices through.

As an avid aviator, I will say that flying can be one of the most enjoyable hobbies, if you have the disire for it.

I work in the avition industry and finally just got my private pilots license this last summer. It isnt cheap but there are cheaper alternatives out there. It's not hard to find a Cessna 172 for under $100 wet (basically means fuel is included) per hour and a reputable instrutor is going to run any where from $35-55/hour.

The extra cheap flying lesson they were proabbly talking about is an introductory $49 flight. Most reputable schools offer it and its probably the cheapest hour of dual-received flight instruction you will ever pay. Most places it lasts about an hour and youll go through take-off's, go and do some manueverls like stalls and turn and come back and try your hand at landing. If your son is really interested just go to any flight school and ask if they offer it. Most do. And then he wont have to deal with the "Why don't you hang out with us more often?" BS