Ever since he was a boy growing up on a farm in rural North Carolina, Tommy Carroll of Woodstock has wanted to fly a plane.

While growing up, Carroll used to lie in the grass and watch planes fly by, leaving vapor trails in the sky.

"I would always say I wished I could be up there," he said.

And at the age of 75, Carroll's ultimate wish finally became a reality.

Carroll, a resident of the Woodstock Estates Assisted Living Facility, had the opportunity to fly in an airplane on Wednesday.

The facility arranged to fulfill Carroll's dreams through its Ageless Dreams program.

Ageless Dreams seeks to fulfill lifelong dreams residents had, but never fulfilled because "life got in the way," said Candy Nielsen, the facility's life engagement coordinator.

The program started two months ago with residents sharing their dreams with facility staff members, and the staff starting work to make those wishes come true.

"Everybody has a dream," Mrs. Nielsen said.

Carroll was taken up for roughly 20 minutes by Flight Instructor Ken Colston of Superior Flight School in Kennesaw.

Colston and Carroll took flight in a Cessna 182, a high-performance, single-engine aircraft with four seats.

Colston said he and Carroll flew over Woodstock, Lake Allatoona and Cartersville.

Carroll was allowed to fly the plane as well as perform turns, climbs and descents in the sky.

"He mentioned it was a beautiful day to fly," Colston said of Carroll's reaction, adding he was able to show Carroll downtown Atlanta and Stone Mountain.

Along with Carroll, Mrs. Nielsen said two other men living at the facility also had dreams of being aviators during World War 11.

The facility now is working on fulfilling the dream of a woman who's always wanted to be a teacher and another who's always wanted to be a nurse.

Carroll said, while his dream of flying remained in the back of his mind, he pressed on with life.

At the age of 19, he joined the Army in 1953 and was stationed in Oklahoma where the Army had a helicopter school on base.

As he was walking toward the school to sign up for classes, a plane crashed on the base and killed the pilot inside.

"That scared the snot out of me," Carroll said, adding he immediately walked away from his dream.

He eventually was shipped to Japan where he met his wife, Sumi.

Carroll spent 20 years in the military, which included serving in Vietnam during the Vietnam War.

After the military, he went into the hotel business and then worked in the armored car division of Brinks.

He and his wife had three children, one of whom is deceased, and have two grandchildren.

Carroll said he hopes the story of his dream fulfilled inspires others.

Next, he said, he hopes to travel to Australia.

"Don't ever give up on your dreams," he said.