Good morning captain!" I greeted Captain Jun, who entered the office in a wheelchair his son Theodore was pushing. "Goosh mornin', Fasher!" Jun replied with distinctive slur left by a sudden stroke a year ago. With difficulty, he turned around to call Theodore's attention and pointed to one of the corners of the room. "Shere... you can shweel me shere."
Theodore, who was born deaf and dumb, started to push the chair. The brief moment of silences was filled with sound of the squeking wheels. I watched Jun being wheeled to a corner where the sun's glare did not hit his face.
"Shat'sh besher...shank you, shon." He patted Theodore's right hand that was resting on the wheelchair's handle. "Shou know Fasher, Sheodore ish my favorish co-pilosh."
"Of course he is. He seems to enjoy being always at your side and bringing you everywhere you want to go," I said. "Bush more shan shisth, e shave my lifesh." "Really?" I asked quite amazed to hear for the first time that Theodore had accomplished such a feat.
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Jun and Maricar first met on a plane. He was the pilot and she was the stewardess. In a few months Jun proposed to marry her and she accepted. "I want a baby boy who will become a good pilot like his father!" Jun declared as he excitedly awaited their first baby. The baby was born and they name him Theodore. The baby was only few months old when they discovered that he had physical disabilities. Doctors informed them there was nothing they could do but prepare him for a specialized education.
This news broke their hearts and dashed Jun's dreams for his son. In his disappointment, he refused to communicate with Theodore and always pretended that he had other things to do than to be with him. Meanwhile, the boy learned sign language and braille. A year later they were blessed with a second son. They were overjoyed that this boy was born without disabilities. "This boy," Jun boasted, "will be my pilot son and will become the world's youngest pilot."
The two boys grew up to be the best of friends. But their father visibly showed preference for the normal son, Carl. He would often take him to work to see the plane he would fly, make him sit in the cockpit, and explain how some of the instruments worked. Theodore, on the other hand, he would always leave home with Maricar.
When Carl turned seven, Jun decided the boy could begin to learn the basics of flying. Every weekend he would teach him a thing or two about flying. His wife suggested that he bring Theodore along. At first, Jun refused, saying that he wouldn't get anything, but she insisted it would be good that the two boys were together. Jun finally give in, but while he taught Carl some things about the plane he strictly instructed the elder son to stay put in the first row of the passenger area.
Father and sons would religiously fulfill their weekly flying lessons. Carl was in the cockpit, and Theodore sat the first row, waiting for the lessons to be over. After a year and a half, Carl was quite familiar with the controls of the plane and, with his father guiding him, he could already take-off and land.
Jun would always come home proud to tell his wife the skills of the "better son." When she would ask Theodore how the lesson went, he would smile and sign back saying, "It was GREAT!" But he never told his mom that he was simply in the passenger seat.
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One weekend Jun was unusually requested to transport some cargo from Japan. He about to leave when Maricar said, "Why don't you take Theodore with you?" "It's okay. This will be a fast one," he replied. "But I'm sure you'll be needing company. Besides, with Carl out on his school overnight excursion, Theodore would also enjoy a short night flight." "Okay!" Jun shrugged his shoulders.
Father and son boarded the cargo plane at 7 p.m. While they were at an altitude of some 15,000 feet, Jun suddenly felt some chest pains. He felt it more difficult to breath, then his right arm became stiff and he felt totally helpless to fly the plane. "Mayday! Mayday!" he gasped over the radio. He lost consciousness and the plane nose-dived out of control. After a few seconds, he came to himself. He still felt his chest throbbing with pain and could not move his right arm. "My God, where's Theodore? We should have crashed by now," he told himself. "Where am I?"
He was surprised when he felt a hand touch him. He opened his eyes and saw Theodore steering the plane. He son gestured to him, "Dad, I can fly. But you have to tell me how to land." Jun then realized that although Theodore was resigned to the passenger seat, he was very attentive enough to learn some things from what Jun taught Carl. With extreme difficulty, Jun gestured to Theodore what to do and taught him to land the plane in his first flight.
Afterward, Jun regretted his indifferent treatment of Theodore, but from that moment onwards he and his son became the best of friends. Jun realized how Theodore was a Godsend co-pilot and also "his favorite son."