Age Is a Garden

Former Pan Am Pilot Reaches New Heights as a Poet at 93

Roy Everett Butler's debut poetry collection, explores aging, aviation, history, and the quiet beauty of everyday life.

At 93, former Marine Corps aviator and Pan American World Airways pilot Roy Everett Butler has embarked on a remarkable new journey. This is a heartfelt collection selected from more than 300 poems and reflections, written entirely in his nineties. This anthology shows that creativity, curiosity, and self-discovery have no expiration date.

Butler's extraordinary life serves as the rich tapestry of Born in 1932, his memories span from childhood views of San Francisco's Golden Gate Park and the chilling reality of Pearl Harbor, to adrenaline-charged days as a Marine Corps jet pilot during the Korean War and decades navigating the world's skies for Pan Am. After a distinguished career that included advancing Cockpit Resource Management and conducting aviation-safety research with NASA and the FAA at the University of Texas, Butler has successfully traded the cockpit for the writer's desk. The shift from strictly procedural training to the boundless freedom of verse reflects an incredible intellectual evolution.

The collection beautifully juxtaposes the vastness of the skies with the intimate comfort of a quiet home. Living in peaceful solitude with his four beloved rescue cats-Holly, Sasha, Tasha, and Tiger-Butler finds inspiration in their gentle companionship and in the everyday rhythms of life. His verses explore profound themes of aging, the passage of time, the resilience required to face physical limitations while keeping an active mind, and the enduring power of memory. His reflections underscore that, whether at five years old in Berkeley or at ninety-three in serene contemplation, the human capacity to adapt and grow remains infinite.