April 23, 2007
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Ever since I was a child, I always loved the Navy Blue Angels. For those who been living in a prehistoric cave, the Blue Angels are the US Navy's aerial acrobatic team that flies fighter jets to perform amazing maneuvers and beautifully-executed stunts in the air, performing all over the USA around 70 times a year at 34 different locations since the year 1946. Like a sports team, I followed the Blue Angels like a rabid football fan when I was younger.
But when that aircraft crashed the other day, its as if a part of my childhood crashed in that very accident.
As a helicopter crew chief, I hear and experience more aircraft-related accidents than most people, and all these years of aircraft accidents have discouraged me from ever going back in the air again, but then something happened today.
.........
So I washing my car earlier on this bright sunny sunday afternoon, and all of a sudden I stopped and felt the need to look up in to the sky, maybe burning my corneas a bit. Suddenly, I had this childish urge to stick my hand up in the air, and hold my middle three fingers together while my thumb and pinky are extended outboard-- resembling a plane. Thoughts of my aircrew training, past flights, those Blue Angel airshows I always loved to watch, and memories of an age-old passion for flying suddenly caused my plane-hand to whirl around the air in a few acrobatic breaks and dives while my mouth silently mimics the sound of a jet engine with full afterburners clocking in. My dad's looking at me like I've rolled off the deep end, and my brother aimed the water hose at me to wake me up to no avail. I was still standing there with the childish grin and continued to maneuver my imaginary plane, fighting in an imaginary dogfight. I remembered at that moment what being in the air was all about. It was about a simple feeling that I always felt when I was airborne: Freedom.
Imagine what birds must feel when they're flapping their wings. Freedom.
I can keep trying to block out any excuses to ever fly again, but something as simple and wonderful as a bright sunny afternoon day will always remind me of my silly childhood dream. What some people see as a big empty sky, or just a mode of transportation-- I see it as a vast frontier to fuel my pioneering spirit, and more importantly: Freedom. Some childhood dreams, as silly as they are, can be a driving force that motivates you to wake up and get out of bed in the morning. Those childhood dreams are for a brief moment, lets me forget about who I am, and the reality of the things in the world that maliciously affects us. Freedom.
And that childhood dream that I hold dear is to.... well, maybe become a pilot one day, and take control of the skies. A helicopter pilot to bus people that are in need, or a hot-headed fighter jock like a real-life Maverick. Hopefully I won't have to resort to becoming an emasculated flight attendant, but I just want to achieve the feeling that I always wanted to feel again. Freedom.
As I continued to rinse my car off and wipe it down dry, I paused again, and looked up towards the skies... again. Freedom awaits.
Never let go of your dreams. Ever.
Comments (14)
so you getting PRK and going back in?
amen to that...
HOOAH!!!
Go OTS and to to Pensacola...I've always had a fascination with airplanes and flight. Here, we learn aeronautical engineering, fly planes, and jump out of them. I now have a healthy respect for flight. What I've learned here at the Academy is that most people who become pilots all had childhood dreams of flying and they are absolutely passionate about it. A lot of grads end up going to Fighter Weapons School (our Top Gun). Although flying is pretty cool, I've never had that passion...it just wasn't for me. What's keeping you from pursuing flying? Navy's been frying eyeballs for a while now and have laxer standards than the AF. Go for it!
i think you watch too much Top Gun. "negative Ghostrider, the pattern is full"
i'm glad you have a sense of calling in your life, your average person could only wish they had that kind of direction in life.
Hey there was an airshow at Willow Grove a few years ago when an F-14 went down, it smashed up a few houses.
I was on base as an MP, but yours truly skated before afternoon traffic and the crash. My buddies had to stay out at the site for almost 14 hours as CID guys came in and did their thing.
I alwyas wanted to fly, even after watching them go down and what was let afterwards... yeah man if you want to do it, then do it...
That's ok, if we were ment to fly we would have wings
Yeah even I still a lot of my time looking up at the sky, don't mind Sheryl, she's a 4 mile-per-hour woman LOL.
This picture is hot. If it werent for the flames, it would be hard to tell if the jet is facing the sun or facing me. O_o
School? School's easy compared to pilot training (so I'm told). If it's a matter of motivation...you'll need much more than the motivation to get through school to get through pilot training (again, so I'm told).
Regarding my pops, he's prior enlisted as an artillaryman, and now he's a chaplain (Army). He's a great officer and example of what man should be...which I'm desperately trying to follow.
Two quotes in motor-t: "If you can't truck it, fuck it." and "If it's stuck, we'll truck it."
im all about helos - youre in the shit with everyone else - fast movers are cool but its all computerized and like a video game. an apache or cobra - youre on the line making a difference when it counts
all this coming from an s-3 pog but hey you get what im saying
ROCK ON!!! Flying and the feeling of the Gs is great...never forget and never give up.
Well written. When they're up here for Seafair, I make it a point to get up to Boeing field for their launches - of course, bringing my boy with me. Thanks for the comment back there...
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