Date Collected
Fall 11-30-2018
Place item was collected
Logan, Utah
Informant
Jacob Gee
Point of Discovery/Informant Bio
Jacob is from Brigham City Utah and is studying finance at Utah State University. I know Jacob through high school, and we also work at a boys home together. Jacob can be a very kind person, but often masks his kindness with sarcasm. He is very calm and collected, not often raising his voice and is very mellow.
Context
Jacob is sitting on a bungee chair in sweats and a beanie. He is wearing glasses for the first time that I have seen, and is very calm having just eaten a hearty lunch. He learned how to make a paper airplane at a very young age and has since helped others to master this skill.
Text
Jacob used a piece of 11 x 8.5 graph paper with holes and plastic reinforcements on one side. (see attached picture).
Texture
Prior to folding his airplane, Jacob was talking about his glasses and how we were teasing him for wearing them. As an outcome he started to fold his airplane somewhat bitter and non-emotional. He started by folding it in half on top of a notebook. When asked who taught him how to make an airplane he said that his brother taught him, and he hasn’t changed the way he’s made them in any way. My roommates wer in the room, one making something in the kitchen making a little noise, and the other studying. Jacob seemed very focused on his folding, only looking up a few times while answering questions. His legs were crossed and seemed to be very comfortable in a bungee chair. He admitted that he’s “probably taught more than four [people] and they were my nephews”. His funniest story he can think of is: “ I made a paper airplane and hit my brother with it in his eye and he had to wear an eye patch for a few weeks”. He laughed at himself, but still retained focus on his paper folding skills. Soon after he finished, sighed, and displayed the airplane on his hand, like a pedestal. He looked very proud of this plane, and when he threw it down the hall it went very straight and very far. He then said “ooo that’s a good one” and smiled.
Course
ENGL 2210
Instructor
Dr. Lynne S. McNiell
Semester and year
Fall 2018
Theme
G8: Toys
EAD Number
5.9.2
Recommended Citation
Smith, Courtney, "The Blind Pilot" (2018). USU Student Folklore Fieldwork. Paper 288.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/student_folklore_all/288