Molly Takes Flight

Molly Takes Flight is a Short Story focusing on Molly McIntire.

Facts

• Author: Valerie Tripp
• Illustrators: Nick Backes
• First Published: May 1999
• Setting: August, 1944
• In relation to Molly's Central Series: After the events of Molly Saves the Day

Characters

• Molly McIntire
• Eleanor Culver
• Frank Culver
• Grammy Culver

Introduced

• Eleanor Culver

Story Summary

Molly arrives at the farm

Molly cries out that they've arrived to the farm as she stuck her head out the truck window. Molly's Grandpa warns Molly to hold on as they drove over the ruts in the driveway. He comments that Molly's Grandmother said the ruts were worse then ever, but he figured it kept trouble out. Molly smiled as the truck bounced along; He said the same thing every summer. It was August, and Molly was visiting her grandparents and Aunt Eleanor on the farm. Every summer beforehand Molly's entire family would make the trip together, but Molly was alone this summer. Her Dad was in the army and caring for soldiers in England, Molly's Mom was working for the Red Cross, Jill was volunteering at the Veteran's Hospital, Ricky was busy with his job of mowing lawns and Brad was going to Day Camp. Molly felt her life was going through a whirlwind of change, so she was reassured to see that everything at the farm looked the same. While her Grandpa didn't grow crops anymore, he still had some animals and a vegetable garden. Molly loved how the farm was peaceful and unchanging, as if it fell asleep a long time ago.

As Grandpa stopped the car in front of the farmhouse, Molly ran straight into the kitchen and into her Grammy's arms. The two hug and greet each other and Grammy says they were glad Molly was here. Molly took a deep breath. She recalled how her Dad said he would know the instant he was in Grammy's kitchen because of the smell. Molly smelt a delicious combination of strawberries, buttered toast, maple syrup, and scrubbing powder and she wished her Dad was with her now in the familiar kitchen. Molly asks where Aunt Eleanor was and Grammy says she was "Off and away," and Grandpa mutters "As usual." Grammy frowned and shook her head at him. Molly was disappointed and wondered what her Grandpa meant. It wasn't usual for Aunt Eleanor to be gone; she was here every other year to welcome Molly to the farm. Grandpa asks Molly if she wanted to help him choose a melon for supper and Molly happily agrees as the two walk outside.

When the two come back from the melon patch, Aunt Eleanor was back and was helping set the table. Aunt Eleanor was Molly's mother's sister, who had short curly hair and wasn't much taller than Molly. Her quick, light movements reminded Molly of a bird. Aunt Eleanor hugs Molly and asks "What's up, Doc?" Molly replied as she always did, "Not much, Dutch!" Grammy calls the girls for dinner. As Molly ate her second piece of melon, she bets Aunt Eleanor that she would swing higher than her on the rope swing at the swimming hole tomorrow. Aunt Eleanor clears her throat and explains that she wouldn't be able to swim with Molly tomorrow. Molly is surprised and protests and every year they always went swimming on the first day. Grandpas asks Eleanor if she was going to tell Molly this year wasn't going to be the same as past years, sounding cross with her. Grammy shushes Grandpa quickly and suggests the girls to go outside and count the shooting stars. The two agree and go get the star chart in the barn.

Aunt Eleanor tells Molly about her application

It was a tradition that every night after supper, Molly and Aunt Eleanor would stargaze outside and count the shooting stars they saw. Tonight the two flopped down on a pile of hay and Molly scanned the sky to see if the North Star was where it was supposed to be. Molly smiled as she saw it; that star had become very important to her. Molly turns to her Aunt and begins to tell her how her Dad told her to look out for the North Star every night, but her Aunt interrupts her. She asks if Molly missed her Dad a lot, her voice sounding very sad. Molly says she does and is about to explain when her Aunt sighs deeply. Molly asks what was going on and if Grandpa was mad at her. Aunt Eleanor figures that he was mad at her and Molly asks why. Aunt Eleanor tells Molly how she applied to join the W.A.S.P's.

Molly sits up in alarm and asks if she was going to fly fighter planes and be in the war. Aunt Eleanor explains that the WASP's didn't do combat missions, but rather helped the Air Force do it's job. Molly asks if her Aunt would have to go away, wanting to know that he most. Aunt Eleanor says yes, she would have to leave immediately if accepted. Molly felt as if the world was crumbling at her feet. The war was changing everything: Dad was gone, and now Aunt Eleanor. Molly asks what her grandparents thought and Aunt Eleanor shakes her head as she replies "Nothing." She explains that Grandpa hates changes, and when he says he doesn't fix the ruts because it keeps trouble out, he meant the ruts keep change out He liked being cut off from the world and pretending there was no war, hence he wouldn't talk to Aunt Eleanor about flying. Aunt Eleanor was quiet for a minute before asking Molly what she thought. Molly quickly replies she doesn't know, but it was a lie. She knew she hated the thought. She hated it enough to make her angry at the war, the world, and even a little bit at Aunt Eleanor. Aunt Eleanor stands up as she suggests they go back inside.

The next few days were long and hot and dull for Molly. Aunt Eleanor left every morning before Molly got up and she didn't come home until supper time. Molly did the usual things she loved to do at the farm like visit the cows, collect the eggs and vegetables, swim at the swimming hole, and even help Grandpa make ice cream. But nothing was as much fun without her siblings and especially without her Aunt. One night Aunt Eleanor wasn't back home even when Molly went to bed. That night was so hot and sticky Molly couldn't fall asleep. She looked at the open window and looked at the North Star, thinking of her Dad. Molly hoped for a breeze, but nothing blew through the window. Molly kicked off her sheets and brushed her sweaty bangs off her forehead as she thought how this year's visit was no good because of Aunt Eleanor.

At that moment, Aunt Eleanor tiptoed inside the room and asked if she was awake. Molly says sort of as she propped herself up with her pillow. Molly asks her Aunt where she had been and Aunt Eleanor replies she was at the airfield, practicing her flying for s long as she could. Molly flops onto her back as she comments it seemed as if she practiced a million hours since she arrived. Molly also adds that her Aunt missed two shooting stars. Aunt Eleanor sits down on Molly's bed and tries to apologize, but Molly bursts out at her Aunt and claims she didn't care about Grandpa for Grammy of her or the farm, all she cared about was flying. Molly continues to say that Aunt Eleanor didn't have to leave, she chose to leave like Molly's Dad and Molly would never see her as she would worry about her Aunt's safety. Molly stops as she notices her Aunt looked as if she was going to cry. She attempts to hug Molly, but she jerks her shoulder away. Aunt Eleanor stayed still until she whispered good night to Molly and left.

Aunt Eleanor shows Molly her plane

The next morning, before all of the stars left the sky, Aunt Eleanor wakes up Molly and tells her to get dressed as she had a surprise for her. After Molly changed and had a single piece of toast for breakfast, the two get into Eleanor's car. Molly asks where they were going, but Aunt Eleanor only says she would see. Molly soon saw the airfield and it's eerie looking hangers. Aunt Eleanor parks the car and shows Molly the plane she used to fly, the PT-19. She pats the plane's nose like it was a horse, then hands Molly a helmet, saying they were going up. Molly was surprised and nervous, but Aunt Eleanor winks at Molly as she helps her climb into the plane. "You know I've practiced flying a lot. How much was it? I think you said about a million hours already."

Molly buckled her seatbelt and looked at the brighting sky as Aunt Eleanor got permission to take off. Molly felt nervous when the plane speed up and she gripped the edge of her seat. Then the plane lifted off the ground and begun to fly. Molly felt exhilarated, as if she jumped off the tire swing far out over the water and was at the moment where she wasn't touching the water or the swing. Molly now understood why her Aunt loved flying. Molly looks down at the fields below and shouts over the airplane's engine that she never saw the world from this point of view and never realized how pretty it was. Aunt Eleanor smiles as she shows Molly the place she loved best; their farm. She comments it was the prettiest spot of all. Molly spots the farmhouse, the swimming hole, the garden, and the rutted driveway and Molly agrees with her Aunt.

Molly and Aunt Eleanor fly over the farm

Aunt Eleanor flies back to the airfield and lands the plane. As Molly climbed out of the plane, Aunt Eleanor asks if Molly liked flying. Molly says she loved it and Aunt Eleanor happily says she knew she would. On the way back home, Molly apologizes for what she said the previous night, explaining she was angry. But now she better understood her Aunt's love of flying and knew her Aunt still loved the farm. Aunt Eleanor says the farm was her home and it was the place she would always return to. She pats Molly's leg as she adds that what Molly said helped her understand how her parents felt. She would fly off while they had nothing to do but worry. Just then, the car drove up the rutted driveway and Molly nearly bounced off her seat. Molly grins and says the wouldn't exactly have nothing else to do.

Molly's grandparents were waiting on the porch. Grammy asked where Molly was and Molly explains that she went flying with Aunt Eleanor. Grandpa starts to scold Eleanor for taking a kid on her airplane, but Molly tells him how they flew over their farm and that the farm was Aunt Eleanor's North Star. Grandpa asks what Molly meant, sounding surprised. Aunt Eleanor and Grammy also looked at Molly with interest. Molly eagerly explains how she was sad before her Dad left for the war. One night he pointed out the North Star to Molly and told her how sailors used to use the North Star to navigate as they could trust it's location. Grandpa asks how that was like the farm. Molly explains how her Dad said everyone needed a North Star, something to find and depend on, no matter the location. He told Molly that she, Mom, and her siblings were going to be his North Star when he would go to war and even if he couldn't see them, he knew they were in their place. He would picture them at home and know they were waiting for him so he would never feel lost.

Aunt Eleanor tells Molly she was right

Aunt Eleanor squeezes Molly's shoulders and tells her that was how she felt about farm. She gently asks her parents if they would be her North Star when she would go away. Grammy's eyes were filled with tears and Grandpa sadly responds he and Grammy don't want Eleanor to go. But they could see she was determined and tell her to do what she felt she had to do. They would be proud and happy to Eleanor's North Star if it meant she would come home safely after the war. Aunt Eleanor hugs her parents as she thanks them. She turns to Molly and tells her she was glad she took Molly flying with her today. Grandpa grins and announces he figured it was time to fix the ruts in the driveway and asks who wanted to go on one last bumpy ride to town with him to get some gravel. Molly, Aunt Eleanor and Grammy all laugh. Molly offers to go with her Grandpa and the two climb into the noisy old truck together.

Meet The Author

Valerie Tripp talks about how her father liked to sail, and how he taught her about stars.

Looking Back: Flying in 1944

Discusses the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs). Topics covered:

• How women, children, and men helped the war effort
• The formation of WASP in 1942 under the directorship of Jacqueline Cochran
• The use of mens' coveralls for flight training, nicknamed "zoot suits" by female pilots due to the lack of uniforms for women
• Fifinella patches given to women who passed their training in WASP
• Women pilots' role in training male pilots during airborne target practice and the involved risks due to the use of real guns
• Sexism women pilots faced against male pilots in flying military aircraft
• The P-39 Airacobra, a wartime plane nicknamed the "flying coffin" due to its high rate of accidents among male pilots
• Women pilots' success with the P-39, disproving the plane's nickname and inability to serve in combat
• Recreational activities of WASPs
• The lack of recognition women pilots got for their duties during the war until 1977

Activity: Make a Stargazer

Instructions on how to make a personal stargazer with an oatmeal container.