Celebrating 100!
There’s something inherently satisfying about the number 100. 100 appeals to our strong cognitive and aesthetic bias toward round numbers, and we revere it with a significance far in excess of its numerical value. Psychologically, 100 serves as an anchoring point in rating systems and scoring. Culturally, centennials define eras and provide occasion for historical reflection on human achievements. Symbolically, 100 serves as a metric of success, a benchmark against which progress is measured, a gauge of wholeness and completion. It is, after all, a perfect grade. Of course, this significance all derives from civilization’s having settled on a base-10 number system, probably as the result of our ten fingers. Even so, until we grow more fingers, it’s hard to imagine a number that serves better as a milestone marker than 100.
Avonne Marvin
Nowhere is that more true than when we celebrate those who turn 100 years old. We admire our centenarians for their wisdom, resilience, and their wealth of experience.
Avonne Marvin, the mother of my good friend Paul Marvin, is no exception. On January 11, 2024, Avonne celebrated her 100th birthday, surrounded by her friends and family. She passed away peacefully a week later, having lived an amazing life that ranged from working as a real-life Rosie the Riveter in the Pratt & Whitney aircraft factory during World War II, to being mother and matriarch to seven children, 14 grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren.
Avonne Marvin, circa 1943
In late January, Paul shared with me his idea to honor his mom and her 100 trips around the sun: drive 100 missions in February for the wonderful non-profit Houston Ground Angels. Since 2000, Houston Ground Angels has organized volunteer drivers to provide patients free ground transportation to and from the Houston Medical Center for treatment. A few years ago, I’d described for Paul my work as a volunteer pilot for Angel Flight, flying out-of-town patients to and from Houston for their medical treatments, at no cost to the patients. I’d told him that Angel Flight often works hand-in-hand with Houston Ground Angels to give patients a door-to-door experience. In fact, Houston Ground Angels was formed as a separate non-profit by former Angel Flight pilot Kathy Broussard, when one of Kathy’s passenger-patients canceled her trip to Houston because she couldn’t afford the taxi fare from the airport to MD Anderson. Paul was hooked, and he’s been driving for Houston Ground Angels since November 2022.
Driving 100 missions (each ride given is a mission) in a month would shatter the prior one-month mission record, 79, held by Dick Stabell, one of Houston Ground Angels’ most prolific volunteers. To his credit, Dick helped Paul plan some of the logistics of his 100-mission month. When you need to drive 3+ missions each day, those logistics aren’t always easy. Flight delays, traffic delays, re-schedulings, cancellations, and even sometimes a lack of available requested rides, can thwart the best laid plans.
Excited for Paul, I tried to think of the best way to encourage him. Consulting my own logbook in late January, I’d flown 89 missions for Angel Flight over the years. If I got cracking, I could fly #100 by the end of February. That would hardly compete with Paul’s effort — I’d need to fly a mission every three days or so, not 3+ per day, but it had a nice ring to it. I committed to Paul, and off we went for our 100s!
Paul had a busy month. He logged 3,326 mission miles in February. He averaged just shy of four missions per day, mostly to and from Hobby Airport and the three or four most popular small airports around Houston. He quickly became an expert on Houston’s Tesla recharging locations. And on how to fix a midday tire puncture on the fly so as to make his next mission pick-up on time.
Meanwhile, I flew Angel Flight missions to and from Houston to Fort Smith, Monroe, Poteau, Fredericksburg, and Corpus Christi, mostly for folks who’d ridden with Paul. One of my passengers, unaware that Paul and I knew each other, shared how excited he was to be the 97th February mission for a Ground Angel volunteer seeking to drive 100 that month. Another passenger who rode with both of us, John, was more mischievous. John, who appreciated the challenging logistics of Paul’s multiple-missions-per-day schedule, pranked Paul with a text as we landed, on a day Paul wasn’t his volunteer: “Hey Paul, Scott just dropped me off at the Sugar Land Airport. Are you here yet?” It’s possible I encouraged this behavior.
At the end of the month, Paul had driven an astonishing 111 Ground Angel missions in February, a heart-warming coincidence given his mother’s birthday on 1/11. As I’d managed to log my 100th Angel Flight, we celebrated together, toasting both his mom and our good fortune to be able to help out. When we met at Houston Southwest Airport a month later to take our joint car/plane photo (below), we had yet another reminder of Paul’s February work. I was at the airport preparing for an Angel Flight with passenger Carrie, bound for Mobile. When Paul (who was on his way to Hobby to pick up a patient) stopped by for the photo, Carrie hugged him and greeted him like an old friend — turns out he’d given Carrie a ride to MD Anderson three times before….
Paul and I are delighted to be able to volunteer for Angel Flight South Central and Houston Ground Angels. Last year, both organizations set their own records: Houston Ground Angels’ 90 volunteers drove 4,650 missions, while Angel Flight SC’s 300 volunteer pilots flew over 2,800 missions. Both organizations do all they can to take travel off the list of things that patients have to worry about on their road to recovery. If you’re interested in volunteering for either, or want to find out how you can help, visit them at www.angelflightsc.org and www.groundangels.org.
Celebrating Paul’s 100+ Ground Angel missions in February, and Scott’s 100th Angel Flight
