Dating for me, age 16, was more like hanging out with a friend at group events or parties, so the suggestion to double date with another couple was easily agreed to by Kathy and me. Bob suggested the destination for our out-of-town adventure—a Japanese restaurant in nearby Milwaukee. This would be an exciting new experience for me, both in location and cuisine. The drive to the restaurant located close to the Milwaukee airport took only 30 minutes.
I felt like I was in a movie setting and that these moments would be recorded in memory for later playback whenever I wanted. It also raised the bar for future dating experiences. Yeah, I know the word legally could be thought of to finish that sentence. I suggested driving to the nearby Milwaukee airport. Airports in were not the commercial venues we find today. This airport was merely a place where aircraft departed and arrived. There was nothing for us to see or do in the terminal, but my imagination carried my excitement aloft in flight.
I suggested that we try to go up to the flight control tower to see the airfield from above and to learn what happens at an airport. My friends wondered how we could do that and where the door to the control tower might be.
I quickly answered that we simply look for a sign that showed which door led to the control tower. We found it! In airports had restrictions but not the level of security we have today.
We started climbing the steep stairs leading up to the control tower. I became nervous when hearing someone coming down the stairs. When I asked if this was the way to the control tower, he answered yes, and that we should press the speaker phone at the next locked door to explain our desire to enter the control room.
