Notes: Readers and REAL McRollers - While the real world has often been a mess, we thank you for another amazing year in the REAL World!

Hope you enjoy!

Taking Flight (A McRoll in the REAL World Story by Mari, Sammy, and Ilna)

There was a lot of excited chatter as Steve, Danny, Paul, Aaron, Jacob, DJ, and Avery sat down at a table in front of Kamekona's shrimp truck. As soon as he saw them, Kamekona approached with his trademark smile.

"Looks like I'm gonna have a very profitable lunch rush today. This is definitely a table of big eaters."

"Daddy said we should just have a little bit of lunch, then we can get more to eat after we go flying," DJ said.

Paul looked at the menu board. "Enough so we're not distracted by being hungry, but not so much anyone pukes as soon as they go up in the air."

"That would be gross," Avery said, then broke into giggles with Jacob and DJ.

Kamekona looked at Danny with a sly grin. "Don't tell me the Big Kahuna roped you into jumping out of a plane."

"That will never happen," Danny promised.

"We're going indoor skydiving." DJ pulled a brochure out of his pocket and handed it to Kamekona.

The big man read, "Feel the adrenaline rush of floating, flying and free-falling on this unforgettable iFly Indoor Skydiving Adventure! Experience all the thrills of skydiving in a safe indoor wind tunnel. No experience necessary – learn all you need to know from certified instructors. Get properly prepped with a brief training session and safety orientation. Gear up in provided flight suit, goggles, and helmet before honing your hovering skills. Soar through the air without jumping from a plane on this incredible iFly Indoor Skydiving experience! Sounds like fun."

"Our dads said we could pick anything we wanted to do." Avery smiled.

"For the record I lobbied hard for the zoo," Danny said. "And it's not too late to change our minds and go with that option."

"No way, Uncle Danny," Jacob said. "This is gonna be a blast."

Danny sighed. "If you say so. Let's just eat so we can get this over with."

"Steve, howzit?" the man with a surfer's build and quick smile greeted him with a proffered hand.

"Matt," Steve grinned, "you know DJ and Danny, this is Jacob, and our family from LA.: Aaron, Paul, and Avery. Aaron's Mary's husband."

"Welcome," he said. "I went to elementary school with Mary," he told Aaron with a smile. "Give her my best." He leaned down and addressed the kids, "Are you ready to fly?"

"Yeah!" they said together, then laughed.

"Danny, you, too?" Matt grinned.

"I was outvoted, but at least we're not actually jumping out of a plane, so, yeah."

DJ smiled up at him. "It'll be fun, Uncle Danny."

"Because you three guys are here." The detective winked at the kids.

"Where's my sweetheart tonight?" Matt asked as he led the group to the iFly skydiving simulator action area.

"Angie's with Mommy and everybody at home. They did girls day yesterday and today is boys day," DJ supplied. "She's gonna come fly as soon as she's old enough."

Matt laughed. "I have no doubt. So, we're going to do some instructions, a little training, personal instruction from a coach, then you fly, and you get a post-flight video of the whole experience."

"That's so cool!" Avery's head whipped around to look at Paul. "We can show Mom and everyone when we get back!"

"That's very cool." His father ruffled his hair. "So be a great listener so we have the best experience."

Avery nodded, his eyes aglow as DJ excitedly smiled at Jacob. "Since Daddy really jumps, we can watch him do it first, right, Daddy?"

Steve smiled. "Right."

"Then can I go?" Jacob asked excitedly. "Dylan went with Uncle Chin and he said it was SO awesome!"

Steve looked over at Matt who nodded. "You can go in whatever order you want."

Avery pointed to each adult and each kid, counting to himself. "We can do grown-up, kid, grown-up, kid, grown-up, kid, grown-up."

"Hey, it's a pattern," DJ realized and grinned at Avery.

"Yeah!"

"I volunteer to go last," Danny said, raising a hand.

"I'll be the last kid and wait with you, Uncle Danny," DJ offered.

Danny smiled, tousling his hair. "Thanks, kiddo."

"Are we ready for the most fun part of all?" Matt said and held up a clipboard with a grin. "Signing the waivers."

Danny groaned. "There's a waiver. Of course there's a waiver." He held out his hand for the clipboard and glared at his partner. "I'm not sure if Steve knows there are such things as activities that don't require waivers."

"He said I did the best cactus pose!" DJ said, demonstrating the position they would take in the wind tunnel with his arms held out at shoulder height and bent at the elbows so his hands were above his head. "Right on the first try."

"You sure did," Steve said, smiling proudly. "You all did great listening to the instructor." He glanced at Danny. "Almost all."

"I merely pointed out that not all cactuses look like that," Danny protested.

"Cacti," Aaron corrected.

Danny gave him a look. "Really?"

"Come on, Uncle Danny, we get to put our flight suits on now!" DJ said excitedly.

"Flight suits," Danny repeated. "I'm just waiting for the curtain to be pulled back and see there's an actual plane we're going to be jumping out of."

"I hope there's a blue one," Avery said.

DJ nodded. "Me, too." He looked at Jacob. "Are you gonna get red?"

Jacob smiled. "If they have it. If not, I'll wear anything. This is gonna be so awesome no matter what color flight suit I'm wearing."

"That's the spirit," Paul said with a smile.

Avery pondered that for a minute, then shook his head. "I think it'll be more awesome if it's blue," he said, causing his dad to chuckle.

"Right over here," Matt said, motioning them to follow him. "We'll get everyone fitted in the right size."

"There's handles!" Avery said as he spotted the suits hanging on a rack. "Just like Instructor Rob said. That's gonna be so funny!"

"Yeah," DJ agreed. "But it's good they're on there so we don't go flying too high."

"Yeah."

"Okay, these two should fit you guys perfectly," Matt said, taking two flight suits off the rack.

DJ and Avery grinned at each other. "They're blue!" they said at the same time.

Steve and Paul exchanged an amused smile over the boys' heads. "I guess that means it's gonna be even more awesome," Paul said.

"I guess so," Steve agreed, his smile widening as he watched the excitement on DJ's face as he examined the flight suit.

"He makes it look easy, doesn't he?" Paul asked as they watched Steve take his flight.

"Like he's done it a thousand times," Aaron agreed.

"He has done it a thousand times," Danny grumbled. "He never misses a chance to do something daredevil-y."

"Angie wants to jump out of a plane as soon as she's old enough," DJ reported. "Mommy and Daddy said I can decide if I want to and if I don't want to ever do it, that's ok."

"Do you think you'll want to?" Avery asked, his eyes wide.

DJ shrugged. "I'm not sure. Maybe today will help me make my decision."

As soon as Steve finished it was Jacob's turn. He listened intently to some last minute advice from Steve then stepped into the tube and gave a thumbs up sign. The rush of wind lifted him into the air where he immediately assumed the position he'd be taught during training.

"He's doing great," Steve said proudly.

When he made it back to the ground Jacob's entire face was covered in a bright smile. "That was amazing. I wanna do it again. I might ask Mom if we can have my next birthday party here. This was amazing." He hugged Steve. "Thanks for inviting me."

Next came Paul's turn. As he put on his helmet he leaned over and whispered to Steve, "I have to be brave so Avery doesn't get scared but to be perfectly honest my knees are shaking."

Steve slapped him on the back. "You'll do great. Just remember what the instructor taught you."

Several minutes later Paul made his way back to the group with a wide smile. "You're right, Jacob. That was awesome. Ready, Avery?"

The young boy nodded his head. As he stepped into the tube he took one last look over his shoulder at the rest of the group. When the rush of air started he faltered slightly, clearly disoriented, but he kept his calm and followed the instructor's directions and within seconds he was floating happily three quarters of the way up the tube.

"That was so fun!" he said when he returned to the viewing area. "You're gonna love it, DJ. The instructor told me to wave to the camera and I did so we should be able to see that on the video."

"I guess now that an eight-year-old has done it Mary would never let me live it down if I backed out," Aaron said as he took a deep breath. "So here I go."

A few minutes later he returned saying, "I never had any desire to jump out of a plane but that kind of made me think I might want to." He looked at DJ. "Your turn."

"Are you ready, buddy?" Steve asked.

DJ nodded with determination. "I'm ready."

Steve assessed his son's body language and demeanor. He smiled when he realized that even though DJ was a little nervous, it was far less so than he would have been a few short years ago. He was proud of how far the young boy had come. And how determined he was to try new things outside of his comfort zone.

Father and son walked to the entry door of the tube and Steve stood there until DJ reached the center and gave the thumbs up that said he was ready to go. A split second later he was in the air and after spending a few seconds getting adjusted his face broke into a wide smile.

At one point Steve saw the instructor move in closer and say something to DJ who then smiled and waved at the camera filming his flight.

When DJ came back to earth Steve was standing right by the door to greet him. "How was it?"

"That was sooooooooo fun," DJ said excitedly. "I was a little scared when it first started but once I got up in the air it was great!"

"What did the instructor say to you?" Steve asked.

DJ laughed. "He told me to wave to the camera and say, 'Hi Mommy'."

Steve beamed. "Your Mommy will love that."

As they returned to the rest of the group DJ said, "Your turn Uncle Danny."

"You know what," Danny said. "I heard the machine that blows the air just broke and there won't be anymore flying today. Oh well."

Jacob laughed. "It didn't break."

"It'll be ok," Avery told him.

"You'll have fun," DJ promised.

Danny put on his helmet and made his way into the tube, albeit reluctantly. Right before the door closed he heard Steve say, "Turn it up to turbo."

His eyes widened and a second later he was up in the air. Even though he knew Steve couldn't hear him he yelled, "You're not funny," over the sound of rushing air.

"So have we converted you all?" Matt asked with a grin. "Are you gonna be regulars at iFly Indoor Skydiving now?"

"Totally! That was so fun," Jacob gushed.

"I hope we can find one back home," Avery said. "Can we look, Dad?"

"Sure," Paul said. "I'd do that again. I think your mom would have fun, too."

"If we tell Joan how much fun it was, do you think she'll want to try, Uncle Aaron?"

"I think with your and DJ's endorsement, she will," Aaron said.

"We don't have to convince Angie, right, Daddy?" DJ said with a giggle.

He chuckled. "Considering she had to be pried off my leg in order for us to come, no, I don't think it'll take any convincing when your sister is old enough."

"I'm surprised she didn't try to stow away in your truck," Danny said, grinning.

"I'm so glad you all had fun," Matt said. He raised a hand in a wave. "See you next time."

"See you next year!" Jacob said.

Matt laughed. "That's right, see you next year."

"Huh?" Avery asked, confused.

" 'Cause it's New Year's Eve," Jacob explained. "The last day of the year. So tomorrow is a new year. 2022."

DJ's eyes widened. "I get it! That's funny! See you next year!"

"Yeah!" Avery echoed. "See you next year!

Hope you enjoyed! We'll see you all next year with one more story in the holiday marathon tomorrow!

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