“Third Flight”

Racconti dei primi passi nei cieli

DATELINE: Aboard Eastern WhisperJet, Stratum IV

Malinconico and Scarlatti, in suit and tie, exited the Mesosphere Club for the airport gate. It had only been a few years since the Vertol Waiting Room incident nearby but the Hog Island terminal here had grown considerably since.
  The pair crossed the jet bridge into the L-1011 and found their seating.
  Malinconico studied the details of the immediate environment.
  The nylon coach seat covers in mercury blue psychotropic patterns... The cool freon-fresh air blowing silently from the jet nozzles overhead... The pneumatic headset piping in Mancini muzak as the turbofan engines went through their run-up... Scarlatti blowing his compote crepe brekkie into a sick sack...

After touchdown and full-stop, Courier One took Malinconico and a recovering Scarlatti for a tour of the flight deck. The mass array of lights, levers, indicators, and gauges was mesmerising. A true delizia per gliocchi, but perhaps the seeds of crisis scenarios were planted then for consideration anon.
  Impressed, Malinconico deboarded the plane.
  A gate agent noticed the young man’s elevated mood.
  “You look like you’re glad knowing where you’re going.”
  “In realtà no,” Malinconico quipped. “Bene volare praestat quam nimium cito pervenire.”

“Second Flight”

Racconti dei primi passi nei cieli

The Paolinelli compleanno brought Malinconico to the streets of Cambridge with high anticipation. He and Master Shute were greeted by young Giacomino, the festeggiato of the day.
  Cut to: The local airfield, where the senior Paolinelli follows the trio excitedly climbing into the Cessna 152.
  Giacomino’s father had Malinconico ride shotgun, puzzling the young man as he stared at the dual flight controls and the horizon beyond.
  As they cruised through the open skies Malinconico thought, “I am not the honoree, yet I am in the prime seat. Paolinelli senior and junior must see this view all the time. How generous for them to share the sights with their amici intimi...”