A couple years ago, an area of Michigan's upper peninsula had a major forest fire. My brother's land near Newberry was destroyed, except for the cabin, which the firefighters had doused with foam. To quickly process the insurance claim, we decided to rent an airplane and I would fly overhead and take aerial photos of the damage.

John called me and told me he had arranged for a plane at the airport at the Soo, and I should be there at noon. I drove up, went to the airport, and spotted the plane. I hopped in, said hello, and told the pilot to go ahead and take off.

As we were aloft, he asked what he should do next. I told him to follow the Lake Superior shoreline until we got to Muskellunge Lake, and then head directly south to the spot where the roads came together. There we would circle my brother's land. He asked why we would do that, and I told him that I would be getting aerial photos of the fire damages.

"You mean you're not the flight instructor?" he asked.