Tom Graham Flew Low, Now Flying High

Tom was always an encourager to me. It was funny, because when I'd first introduce him to a new person who was close to me, Tom took advantage. He invariably began the conversation with a straight face and a "crooked" comment.

I would watch the person talking with Tom for the first time to see the reaction. His very first words to the new person would be something like, "How on earth did you come to hang around with someone like John?" And he wouldn't crack a smile at all. Usually had a stern look. And the other person, depending on how quick he was might say, "Well, uh, uh..." And Tom would then rescue him and break out in a smile and say, "I'm just kidding."

He flew commercial planes and jets his whole career. (United I think). He told me that in the fifties, when he'd fly passengers from Seattle to San Francisco, on occasion they'd spot a pod of whales out over the Pacific - maybe a hundred miles off the coast of northern California. He'd come over the loud speaker and mention it to the passengers. And then maybe something like, "shall we go down and take a look?" And they did! I think this was before the jets, the 707s; so it was a prop plane, and he'd probably come down from 15,000 to - who knows what! - and the people would love it. They'd get a bird's eye view of the whales in migration.

And then there was Crater Lake in Oregon. It's that super-blue, super-deep beautiful lake that fills a crater in the Cascades. At least on one occasion he rolled over and swooped almost into the basin so the people had the ride and view of their life. You'd get fired for doing that today, of course.

As I say, Tom was an encourager to me. Here at the church where I serve in south Seattle, he was an elder. A senior elder, so he didn't attend meetings as often. Margaret went home to be with the Lord a few years back, and it has really been tough on Tom. She was his wife of (I'm guessing) 60+ years. After my dentist appointment this morning, I saw the blue sky after a squall, and thought, "maybe I can jump on the Southworth Ferry and see him again. So, when I got to the office, I got the word, "Tom died last night." Another friend nearby said, "he's got his reward."

That's for sure. A very great reward. (Psalm 16:5; Gen. 15:1)