Flying Lessons and Pilot Talk

Gordon Baxter (1923-2005) was known for his writing about aviation, for his outrageous telling of tales, and as a poet of rivers, streams and clouds. No one wrote, talked, or acted like "Bax."

With his quirky storytelling, Bax did more than entertain audiences and readers; he recorded the history of his place and time. "I have lived when a trip of 50 miles meant the entire day, counting the wait for the river ferries and changing a tire on the old Dodge a time of two," he would tell...
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Gordon Baxter (1923-2005) was known for his writing about aviation, for his outrageous telling of tales, and as a poet of rivers, streams and clouds. No one wrote, talked, or acted like "Bax."

With his quirky storytelling, Bax did more than entertain audiences and readers; he recorded the history of his place and time. "I have lived when a trip of 50 miles meant the entire day, counting the wait for the river ferries and changing a tire on the old Dodge a time of two," he would tell audiences.

He writes no more, for Gordon Baxter left us in 2005. In this new compilation, his daughter Jenny shares some of his best writing about people, legends and the exhilaration of flying. Most of the tales were first published in the 1970s and 1980s.

"One way an author can judge the worth of his writing is to look back on it after it gets old and see if there is any worth still in it." Who said that? Gordon Baxter wrote that, as the introduction to his book Bax Seat, originally published in 1977. Yet his voice and memory linger well into the 21st century.