Sunday, October 14, 2012

Thanks for the Memories

My dad had the most amazing job at Lockheed
by Victoria O.

Lockheed recruited my father, Peter Smith, in the late 1960s. He and my mother were born and raised in England, but came to America after he was offered a job with Lockheed as an aerospace engineer. I believe they were originally in California. Shortly before I was born, in 1970, he was transferred to Marietta, Georgia. He worked on the L10-11, if I remember correctly.

I remember that I always thought my dad had the most amazing job. His love affair with airplanes ran deep and he loved his job. He came to school when I was in fourth grade during a parent's day when parents would come to school and would talk about what they did for a living. I was mortified because I did not think my classmates would find his job as cool as I did. I could not have been more wrong. They were as enthralled as I was as we listened to him explain what it took to get one of those beautiful machines off the ground and soaring through the skies. He also brought little airplanes for the entire class. It really is one of the happiest memories I have from my childhood. He passed away in 1998. He loved his job and he loved Lockheed.