Learning to Fly: Table of Contents
Start here, to read Dad's story
We often see our parents through the lens of their roles in our lives— caregivers, disciplinarians, cheerleaders. Perhaps they are our role models or mentors, but who were they before they became these things to us?
Walter is my dad, and this is his story, as told to me in a series of interviews in 2024-25.
Walter Harms was the oldest son of Mary and Jake Harms, Mennonites who fled to Canada in search of safety and the hope for a better future. He was a curious child, always interested in the land they lived on, and how things worked. As a young man, this curiosity led him to respond to an advertisement for flying lessons, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Table of Contents
Chapter 2 - Summer Adventures in Oliver
Chapter 3 - Chores, Chores, Chores
Chapter 4 - Visitors, and Odd Jobs
Chapter 5 - The “Powder Mule” and “Whistle Punk” Years
Chapter 7 - First Lessons, Second Thoughts
Chapter 10 - The Summer of ‘68
Chapter 12 - Flying for Gateway Aviation
Chapter 13 - Coming Soon!
We hope you are enjoying reading Walter’s story!
The experience of working with my parents to write their stories has been more rewarding than I ever imagined when we started this undertaking in the spring of 2024.
If you missed my mom’s story, you can read it here:
Open To Possibilities: Table of Contents
We often see our parents through the lens of their roles in our lives— caregivers, disciplinarians, cheerleaders. Perhaps they are our role models or mentors, but who were they before they became these things to us?
If you want to see whether or not the apple fell far from the tree, you can listen to the first chapter of my memoir “Resilience in the Rubble: A True Tale of Aid and Survival in Kashmir” here:
Chapter 1 - Islamabad
I’m delighted to share that the audiobook version of “Resilience in the Rubble: A True Tale of Aid and Survival in Kashmir” is now up on all the main audiobook platforms!
Stayed tuned for what’s coming next in this project!