Day 84

Right place, right time...certainly today's theme. But more on that in a bit. Today, we bumped our trip in a whole whoppin' 1/2 hour to 7:30am from 7am. Only a few e-mails waited as expected...hardly anyone in the States worked yesterday. Still, though, was busy throughout the morning with lots of people in-country who needed help. After lunch, I headed over to the video shop to try and get the new Transformers but he didn't have it yet...rats! He said it'll be a few more weeks. I'll be back for sure. On the long walk back to the office, I stopped into Green Beans again for a new drink...the mocha frappe. Pretty good!  I also noticed a bit of construction happening in the parking lot...apparently, for the July 4th festivities. I must find out more about this! All I know for sure is the 10K run on Monday morning.  Just before I left for the day around 5pm, I went down to the conference room where I had some privacy and recorded a 5min 4th of July greeting for my church back home. My pastor asked if I'd do this so he could show it in the service on Sunday morning. It actually turned out pretty good. I uploaded it to my private side of YouTube so he could show it on Sunday but still not be open to the public.

So, now for the "right place, right time." I needed to stop by the flightline again tonight. I mentioned this before and didn't say why and the same thing applies tonight...not gonna say! This is one of those things you'll have to tune into at the very end of this deployment. Anyway, while I was there, another guy was there with a friend who works at the flightline and was asking if they could take some pics out by a F-15E Strike Eagle. Well, my escort on the flightline was a pilot and was going to give the quick tour.....so.....I tagged along! This is something that doesn't happen EVER to a Navy Reservist from "Kansas." A F-15E fighter jet? The same one that often rattles my walls when I'm trying to sleep? Yep, I'll take that quick tour! Well, it turned into a lot more than a quick tour. We probably spent at least an hour out there. Lots of photos, learning about the 2000lb bomb on the belly, the 500lb laser-guided bombs under the wings, the sidewinder air-to-air missiles at the tips of the wings, and the infrared/camera system...learned about it all. This photo at the right is one of the only that I thought appropriate for my "anonymous" blog. There are about 28 others on my Facebook page if you're on there. They are very worth looking up! The best one? That's easy. As I was standing there talking to the airmen, one pulls out a Sharpie pen and says: "Here, Sir. Go ahead and sign the bomb!" Say what? Which bomb? "The 2000lb one. Just don't write on the smooth part." Alrighty! So what in the world do I write on a bomb that will fall on the Taliban?! Hmmm... I wrote "From 'Kansas', with love." Then, I wrote my initials and "USN" for U.S. Navy. Perfect. I snapped a photo then the airman snapped a photo with me in it. The photo from a long time ago with me and a young Afghan soldier was priceless, but this one is pretty dang priceless, too. Some things I'll never forget...this is one of them! So it's not done there. Then, I was ushered up the stairs and into the cockpit! I must be dreaming, I though. I honestly never thought I'd sit in a real, operable fighter jet that goes up and fights the fight every single day. It was great. After this, we all climbed back to the tail of the aircraft and took some more photos...some even of the sunset. Those were awesome. Climbing down afterwards, I was grinning ear to ear. I was trying not to miss a thing...this was something I'd never revisit. One and done! I took a few more photos from the rear of the aircraft then we all headed back in. The pilot who escorted me in and showed me the F-15 escorted me back out. A handshake, thank you, and wishes to stay safe were extended and I headed on back to my room.

That's really about it for today. A lot of tonight was spent uploading my photos and chatting online with friends and family. Today back home...about right now, everyone is coming over my house for a cookout, some cornhole, and just some good time together and to let the cousins all play together. I am definitely missing this...Dorothy is always a great host and her food never disappoints. Plus, beating up on family members in cornhole is always fun. So while they play and eat together...it's bedtime for me.

Goodnight, everyone.