Few things turn me into a giggling weak-at-the-knees blithering schoolgirl as the Blue Angels do. The minute I hear that distant roar tear the fabric of the sky, my heart races; I feel faint, and trembling, I look skyward.
This morning as I watched them fly low over the hills of Montlake towards Lake Washington, I got so excited I nearly fell off my front porch.
I grew up with them, sitting on my back porch every August watching them climb to the very ceiling of the planet and drop down, perilously fast. Seconds later, they would fly overhead so close in formation I swore I could see the shit-eating grin of the pilot, perhaps amused at the small girl dancing from foot to foot below him.
Every year I'm saddened by all the people who misunderstand the pure joy of this performance. There's no crime in displaying or admiring the might and raw power of technology in an air show. I understand and likely share part of an opinion on the military, our nation, and all the problems of our consumerist society, but the military is not the inherent problem-- it's just a tool. The crime is in who is using/misusing it and how/how not.
I don't pull this card often, but I'm pulling it now. There was never a time more terrifying or filled with relief as when I saw military jets flying low over me and the Manhattan skyline at 9:25am 9/11/01. You never think there will be a time when they're needed, you never think there will be a time when seeing them in real action is going to be a good thing, but it can be. It doesn't matter whether or not they were useful that day, whether or not they were necessary; none of the politics of that day matters. What matters is how people felt to see them. It was alienating, sobering, surreal, and in a weird way, comforting. I couldn't have been more glad they were there.
Sometimes, these things are necessary. The jets, the pilots, the tanks, the entire military is not the enemy. The administration who is using them sometimes can be. The point being, the problems of our nation and the performance of military machines have very little to do with one another.
The Blue Angels (in and of themselves) are simply super shiny super fast jets which have never seen combat. Enjoy it now and try to remember to have fun before we run out of fossil fuels and never get to see their brilliance again.
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Thanks for posting this - you managed to sum up my thoughts in a way that I've not been able to manage before.
ReplyDeletePrime contractor: Boeing
ReplyDeletePrincipal contractor (airframe): Northrop Corporation
Powerplant: Two General Electric F404-GE-400 low-bypass, turbofan engines; each in the 16K-pound thrust class
Radar: Hughes APG-65 with long-range detection in both head-on and tail-on aspects
Length: 56 feet
Height: 15.3 feet
Wingspan: 40.4 feet (with missiles)
Wing area: 400 square feet
Speed: Mach 1.7+ (1,200 mph)
Words, words, words ... oh wait -- Speed: Mach 1.7+ (1,200 mph)
ReplyDeleteTalk dirty to me.
Thanks leenerella, I'm glad you enjoyed it (and them)!
....or simply it is your family's tradition of being on the lake in your Great-grandpa's cruiser, tied up to the boom, enjoying being a family and Seafair -- Which is what we still do today, from our various homes, little groups of us straining to see the Blue Angels, thrilled to hear the hydros....and eating green grapes....always the green grapes.... :)
ReplyDeleteOh...and you haven't seen anything (or felt) until you're sitting in your earthquake proof office building in DT San Fransico while the Angels are buzzng the city, which they can there - or at least used to be able to -- talk about literally looking at the shit eating grin of the pilot -- all the while your building is rocking and rolling -- but what a site to see them fly in UNDER the Golden Gate!!!
Auntie M
hi Sharon, sorry, I was one of the blue angels naysayers. I really appreciate your post. My response to the blue angels comes from the angle of fear, simply. I associate the sounds they make with being bombed and attacked, and I think about how, when/if most people in the world hear that sound, or see these planes in the sky, they are terrified (with good reason). It was kind of a primal response for me. But looking at it from the angle of sheer play, they are... awesome, in the true sense of the word. You are totally entitled to your experience of them. If you had a blue angels party next year I would come!
ReplyDeleteHi Aunt M -
ReplyDeleteI don't know, I missed out on the green grapes and lake thing. We always just watched them zoom overhead from the back porch on Queen Anne Hill!
Hi Susanna,
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting; I know it's a widely unpopular event, and I'm pretty sympathetic to the reasons, actually. But I guess I do have to separate the performance from the issues.
Also in mentioning 9/11 and my experience being there, I wanted to demonstrate a little how they do have a protective purpose, aside from an invasive one. That even though it might have been too little too late, and the situation would have been incredible dire (shooting down the jetliner), they were still there flying overhead and that meant if they were there, whatever else that was in the air and harmful might not be.
That said, it's not my only connection to these sleek fast jets. I have always loved them, and you are definitely invited to participate, naysay, and share beers as we're both yelling, lol! :)
I never got to sit on the boat tied up to the boom either -- before my time in the family -- however, perhaps because I'm a writer/poet I like to think we all love the sound of the jets and we all get that rush as we strain to catch sight of them overhead, because of something that came before us ...not explainable, not logical, just a heritage we all share.
ReplyDeleteNo matter if we're a member of this family by birth or by heart, it a small, wonderful, cherished thead that binds us all together & makes us one -- Once a year. :)
Both of us are so very pleased to read how you too feel the way we do when you hear them.
....am surprised about the grapes....they were such a major part of the day for your great grandparents, I am surprised your grandma didn't follow through with that.
Hope you had a super day yesterday! May those beautiful blue planes always fly over Seattle once a year!!
xoxoxoxox
Aunt M
Aha! Well, perhaps that explains why we had green grapes on our table all summer long. We celebrated many of the family traditions throughout the year when I was growing up - I would guess most families pick the ones which hit closest to the heart, don't you think?
ReplyDeleteHope you enjoyed the weekend too. Welcome back!
Such a great sigh and I think it brings an aire of safety and protection over people.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing canvas prints
ReplyDelete