on the swing
breezes and sunshine
toddler in my lap
singing with me instead
of falling asleep like she used to
jets fly out from the base nearby
not too loud, but close enough
to see
usually i am annoyed
i want her to sleep
and she loves to point them out
i think of
airplanes as machines
to be used
something that makes us cover our
ears
when they fly too near
today i thought of the men who
had to be inside
who are they? what are they like?
suddenly i
want to fly one so badly
i can taste it
what would it be like
to control
something that huge,
that fast?
better than a race car?
now i feel
like a paradox:
in my favorite new skirt,
music floating in my head,
cuddling my
baby sister,
i am caught by
a dilemma…
stunt driving, Indy 500, or the
Air Force?
PennyDaisy 
all three sara! ALL THREE! go go go!=)
hahahahahahaha
there’s no else in the whole world like you
You’d have to actually get in a race car to race, dear.
(smile) this is nice poetry.
Definitely piloting one of those aircraft!
Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth, and danced the skies on laughter silvered wings. Sunward I’ve climbed and joined the tumbling mirth of sunsplit clouds, and done a hundred things you’ve not dreamed of…wheeled and soared and spun, high in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there, I’ve chased the shouting wind along and flung my eager craft through footless halls of air. Up, up the long delirious burning blue, I’ve topped the windswept heights with easy grace, where ne’er a lark, nor even eagle flew. And, while with silent drifting mind have trod the high untrespassed sanctity of space, put out my hand, and touched the face of God.
High Flight….John Gillespie Magee, Jr., RCAF pilot
I’ve done it. I’m telling you, short of heaven, there’s nothing like it!
you might see the haircut sooner than you thinkwink.
On the hill where the composte (sp?) used to be.It never really got bare there.Although you have to check real careful for dog-poop.
Go for the AirForce! The are kool people and the paid alot of my bills this year! So I would Say AirForce for sure! It was good seeing you on Sunday! Why do you leave early? None the less it was really kool seeing you and your sisters.Rob
heh. you know my preference…
we also watched the pirates of penzance (sp?). but i like slightly more real stuff better… the more the merrier was funny. =) thanks for letting us borrow those.do you really want to be a pilot?!
Wow, what an interesting dilema. Mine is: Financial Advisor, Human Resources, or Accountant. Such choices… =)
Stunt driving scares me so bad I can’t even watch it on movies. I have to close my eyes. As for the Indy 500…I can’t even drive my car properly going 60mph, what makes me think I could control it at 200mph (or however fast they go…)! And the Air Force…a special place in my heart…I would love to work as a civilian on an Air Force base one day. =) Have a great weekend!!!
Yeah, but you have to actually DO it!
I believe the category is “Best Documentary With or About Penguins”…some of the stupidity of the Oscars would lead me to think that they may actually have that category before too long…
You’re welcome! And yes, though I don’t have a pilot’s license, I’ve flown with IP’s, and have had the privilege of piloting (for short periods) an USAF T-37 and some little Cessna 150’s. Also, I used to go up all the time with friends of mine while they did some stunt flying in aan erobat aircraft. It was a gas! I finished the ground school course for a pilot’s license…just didn’t have the money to go all the way for a pilot’s license…it’s pretty expensive. I tested to go into the service rated as pilot, and made navigator, but was grounded before I ever had a chance to go to school due to a medical condition. But, once you’ve gone up and touched the face of God, particularly in a jet, it’s an experience you will never forget!
I think I would caution you not to confuse “joining the Air Force” with “flying”. In the services, the only ones who pilot ARE the pilots. But, those people are officers, not enlisted. They have college degrees, and either graduated from an academy or are ROTC’s or 90-day wonders, have subsequently qualified for flight school, and go through extensive flight training via T37’s and T38’s and then on to their specialty aircraft. Some aircraft require 2 crew members, pilot and navigator, and other aircraft have a crew complement, like the C-41’s who do tasking within the function of flying.
If you want to fly, however, you can get a private pilot’s license without joining the services. You can also join the services (and most who do) and do your entire tour without ever seeing the inside of an aircraft.)
My recommendation, if you want to be a pilot in the AF or Navy: Get a college degree, obtain a private pilot’s license, study an engine so you know its components and how they function, and learn some physics. These things are basic questions on a pilot/navigator qualification test. College AFROTC is a good option for those who want those options and who don’t necessarily want to go the academy route. Competition for pilot slots is fierce, and last I knew, the service commitment was a minimum of 6 years. But I have a LOT of friends from college who fly for either the AF or the Navy, and they love it. But, if your heart is to fly….Go For It!…touch the face of God!
yeah!!!!!! this is great…. I wanted to be an astronaut for a really long time……