Welcome to episode 124 of The Journey Is the Reward!

Although the Government might have been shut down, that didn't stop Brian from hitting the throttle, braving the airports, and executing a cross-country flight plan to see Mama Coleman. He performed a masterful landing right on her doorstep!

But before we get into Brian's unscheduled government-shutdown-defying mission, we heard from some of our listeners—truly, the best part of the show!

·       Listener Martha wrote in, asking why I give out gifts to the flight crews. Someone's never heard of the importance of crew resource management!

·       We also heard from Listener Cassandra, all the way from Botswana, who was telling Brian about the leopard in her backyard. Now that’s something you don’t hear every day... unless you are living in the wild of Southern Africa! 

·       No Listener Lu question this week. Hopefully, she'll have an important air traffic control query for the next episode.

For the main event, buckle up! Micah asks Brian all about his flights to New Jersey during the great shutdown. Although there were a few aircraft changes, they were really Brian’s decision—he likes to keep the ground crew guessing! Chef Kathy provided excellent ground transportation services to safely transport Brian to yet another surprise visit with mom.

Micah called to wish everyone well, and finished up the episode with a detailed analysis of Brian’s journey home. Spoiler alert: he didn't try to file a flight plan on a different continent.

And as always, our ears are blessed by the utterly soul-stirring, goosebump-inducing sounds of the Madalitso Youth Choir! Their Welcome and Goodbye songs, recorded straight from the Royal Livingston Hotel in Zambia, are pure magic.