So the other night at about 0130 (that's 1:30am) I'm flying 40 feet above the ground with the 101st Aviation Brigade in a Blackhawk across vast stretches of Iraqi desert sporadically dotted with small villages. The crew is using night vision goggles to see where we are going. I am very familiar with this kind of flying because I used to be a combat flight crew chief and I flew hundreds of these missions myself. About an hour into the flight the pilot fired off a bunch of phosphorous flares and the two door gunners lit up the 50cal door guns. We started yanking and banking, flying in an evasive way to avoid being shot. Me and the other passengers grabbed our own weapons and loaded them, ready for whatever might happen. Well after we flew out of the "danger zone" the crew got a radio call from the other Blackhawk flying with us saying they spotted our enemy. It was a dog. Crazy enemy dogs! Yeah, that'll wake you up!
Anyway what struck me most was right at the moment this was going on, when I was preparing to be engaged somewhere over the Iraqi desert in the middle of the night my friends back home were completely unaffected by my reality and fully immersed in their own. It seems so weird that I could have such an extreme moment while Matt was in the middle of his lunch hour,
In retrospect I'm glad we live insulated lives. But I'm also glad I was reminded that insulated shouldn't equate to apathy. The next time I'm asked to give a little to help someone in some far off place I might think twice.
M.
Hi Pop, I’m thinking about you today. I’m thinking about how you had a pretty bad childhood and how you were on your own by the time you were seventeen. I’m thinking about your years in the Navy and how your old stories inspired me to follow in your footsteps. I’m thinking about how hard you worked when we were young and how we always had what we needed even when you were one step away from being broke. I’m thinking about being a little boy and the way you used to let me lay with you when you’d take a nap. I’m thinking about how you put up with so much teenage angst and selfishness with steady love and wisdom. I’m thinking about your ambition and devotion to hard work. I’m thinking about the day you watched me graduate from high school and boot camp and how your smile told me how proud you were. I’m thinking about the way you took care of your dying parents without complaint at great costs emotionally and physically despite the way they treated you when you were young. I’m thinking about your love for being around people and how everyone loved being around you. I’m thinking about the way you beamed with love and affection for your grandkids and how they loved you back.
Finally I’m thinking about how life was taken from you early. I had the privilege to be at your side when you died. I think you knew how important you were and continue to be. Everyone I touch is also touched by you.
Thank you for everything Pop.
Love Mike
