Forward to
Nothing is Impossible
by Annette Morris Lerner

As I write this, my father is in Kotzebue, Alaska. On the eve of his 86th birthday, he is flying his plane on a trip which he has been planning for over a year. He called this evening with excitement in his voice.

"Where are you, Dad?"
He answered, I'm at the top of the world!"

It's not the first time he has experienced that exhilaration. He has returned to Alaska many times, because for him it is the most wonderful place to be on this planet. He loves to experience the explorer's thrill of discovery, the beauty of unspoiled and uninhabited spaces, and the challenge. He has an inventor's tenacity and inquisitiveness, the need to solve a problem and make an idea a reality, and most importantly, a humanist's desire to make the world a better place before he leaves it.

Part dreamer, part loner, but never the conformist, my father is a man who sets his own goals and marches to his own tune. I have never heard him use an expletive or treat anyone unfairly. He has lived over 80 years without an enemy, acquiring only friends and a loving family. And I have never heard him long for "the good old days." He always looks toward tomorrow. Ever the optimist, he sees tomorrow as a wonderful day to be lived to the fullest. He sets his eyes to the sky, hoping it will be a perfect day to fly! His smile, joy, strength, and love anchor our family. Every family needs a hero, and we have ours.

BLUE SKIES

Notes by co-auther Jack King

During his unusual career of flying long range excursions to many remote locations around the world, Bill Morris has made EIGHT CROSSINGS OF THE NORTH ATLANTIC in his trusty SINGLE - ENGINE Cessna Skylane 182 which he named the "Spirit of Maryland." During his European exploring trips he has visited many countries and experienced numerous unusual experiences which are detailed in the book. In the 15 chapters devoted to specific long-range excursions they cover flights to all compass directions and many related to extremely remote areas. For example to fly to Alert, NWT, the most northern inhabited post in the world, required shipping fuel ahead at a cost of some $24 per gallon!

On a flight I made with Morris in 1999 to Point Barrow, Alaska, we spent three days investigating artifacts, monuments and details related to the tragic crash of the famed aviator Wiley Post and Will Rogers. The Point Barrow Airport is named in their honor. The year before, we obtained a special permit to overfly Cuba to visit the three Cayman Islands. Many other long range flights were made with Dave Rogers of the US Naval Academy and Ed Rancourt, retired from FAA.

"BLUE SKIES" was written by Bill Morris' daughter, Annette Lerner, as a joint venture with aviation writer Jack L King, who flew many of the extended flights with the senior pilot King wrote the book Corporate Flying and Wings of Man - the award-winning biography of legendary Captain Dick Merrill.

Intended as a journal of Bill Morris adventures, "BLUE SKIES" was written primarily for family members; however, when many pilot friends and acquaintances learned of the new book they expressed an interest in obtaining a copy for their aviation library. Thus, extra copies were printed to fulfill these requests.

Nothing is Impossible and Blue Skies - The Aviation Adventures of Bill Morris