4-40924—127
9-24-44, Miemi Beach, Florida. Departed for Casa Blanea, Africa at 4:00

A.M. by C $4. In flying this water route one's attention is dominated by
a@ sublime and untouchable world both in physical features and emotional
sensation. It is difficult to compare the pristine lovliness above the
elouds with anything I have experienced on the solid world below except
possibly certain alpine lands in wintertime or:at the antarctic continent
where the rugged snow covered mountains break the lines of the cold frigid
surface expances. While there are certain features and conditions that do
land themselves to direct comparisons such as the topography, physiography,
color, texture, form, depth and heighth there are other less tangible cond-
itions such ag massiveness, harmony, emotional moods and conjectural ex-
periences that have no equivalent comparisions. It is difficult to ap-
preciate these things from within the confines of a plane but it would
also be rether hazardous to go exploring without its support. There are
+4imes, however, when the cloud surfaces appear etable enough to support
ones weight. This new experience also calle for new expressions of des-
criptions as foreign as a new language and just as difficult to comprehend/
Perspective and many other velues must befeadjusted, for example the in-
iment contact of the ocean surf from the usual sandy beach level upon the
earth lends itself to a beauty and charm that compares with any seehe, but
when this same surf is viewed from the eirit becomes small and relatively
insignificant. Immediately one is impressed with the fact that from the
air an object below must have those qualities of size and massiveness to
register. When observing this new world of clouds one has the tendency
to underestimate its enormove capacity end size. No other earthly feature
is 80 extreme in either magnitude, perspective or vastness. If one wishes
to search for something greaterlione must go searching beyond into the cel-
estial realms of the outer universe.

The period of observation included one complete day from early dawn
toodark and the early morning of the second day. Description must of

necessity begin with the plane as the center of observation, a point that