z edge
I serve MacPhisto
I feel the need to vent some frustrations and shed a little light on myself or those of you that care and care not. What I can't tell you is anything detailed, but I can tell you I am a part of the mission we have now known as the War on Terrorism. I am a part of a brotherhood of many and I am bit protective of my brothers and sisters. And every time someone shoots at one of my planes, I feel it too.
In 1989, along with Barry Switzer and the glory of Oklahoma Sooner football, I fled Oklahoma in search of something of a calling. In my case, it was a calling to serve those who depended on me and might not be able to do so themselves. Back to the present, Barry and I have both returned to Sooner country. And I am back in business to my original calling, though not at the fronts but behind the scenes. Just as Barry is back in to the Glory of OU football though he is more of a "advisor" or mentor to a very concrete coaching staff.
Well I know while Barry was away he had some low lows (Dallas Cowboy 96-97 seasons, guns at airports, Michael Irving and cocaine, prostitutes) but he also had the most attainable high points of his career culminating in the 95 Cowboys Superbowl victory over the Steelers of Pittsburg. While I may not have went to Disneyland, I have had experiences that you would only read about.
While parading victoriously through small towns of flag-waving citizens after the Gulf War, I felt humble. While having an Egyptian police escort down into the bazaar in Alexandria to get christmas lights and a 'Batman Forever' cassette tape I felt a little absurd. While in the air force barracks of Khobar Towers, Saudi Arabia and using their phone I felt privledged since I was in the army then and we didn't have the free phone calls stateside like they did. Little did I know then that the very building I was in would soon be a terrorist target of some suicide bomb who would be let in the compound without question or search. Of course, I had no way of knowing that the Murrah Federal Building that I entered the military from would also fall victim to a bomb.
High points I would say have been the ability to serve and protect freedom and America, and the ability to travel abroad to such places as Korea, Saudi, Egypt, to name a few. Low points would be watching someone die and having to deal with the uselessness of how it happened and why I didn't prevent it. And having that mental picture of his face in my head, as he laid there blood pouring out of his mouth staring at me with only a few hours left in his gift of life.
I want you to notice something, the signature I have which possibly a year ago would have been dismissed as mere "photo shop antics". Now look closer, what you see is reflective of what we have seen in our nation since our recent tragedy. Many people have come closer together, people you might not have expected too. And perhaps the duo in this picture are drawn to each other because of their own passion for helping people and guiding people towards the light.
While both of them are heroes to me, one of them is my boss. Or actually, my boss'es, boss'es, boss'es, boss'es, boss'es, boss. The nice thing about this is I got to choose my boss, while most just usually come with the job. And to round things out, his father before him and his father's boss prior to him both stood on the same ground I prowl every day. They both stood in the very place I work, toured what we do.
As I look around this forum, everyday it seems there is a new thread about how flawed this all is. This being all that I have spoken of, the place where I live and work and dedicate a pledge for those who believe that we should never forget our past. Your opinion is welcome and your curiousity is encouraged. But your cynicism is not immune to clever disguises. And I liken the all knowing aspects of some of the posts to those who read the end of a novel and think they know the whole story.
So again today as I watched an F-16 shoot past me at mach 1 and a very low altitude, then suddenly do a complete vertical climb for several miles until I couldn't see him anymore, I realized I am part of this.
Lest I forget, you are here to remind me.
Thanks
In 1989, along with Barry Switzer and the glory of Oklahoma Sooner football, I fled Oklahoma in search of something of a calling. In my case, it was a calling to serve those who depended on me and might not be able to do so themselves. Back to the present, Barry and I have both returned to Sooner country. And I am back in business to my original calling, though not at the fronts but behind the scenes. Just as Barry is back in to the Glory of OU football though he is more of a "advisor" or mentor to a very concrete coaching staff.
Well I know while Barry was away he had some low lows (Dallas Cowboy 96-97 seasons, guns at airports, Michael Irving and cocaine, prostitutes) but he also had the most attainable high points of his career culminating in the 95 Cowboys Superbowl victory over the Steelers of Pittsburg. While I may not have went to Disneyland, I have had experiences that you would only read about.
While parading victoriously through small towns of flag-waving citizens after the Gulf War, I felt humble. While having an Egyptian police escort down into the bazaar in Alexandria to get christmas lights and a 'Batman Forever' cassette tape I felt a little absurd. While in the air force barracks of Khobar Towers, Saudi Arabia and using their phone I felt privledged since I was in the army then and we didn't have the free phone calls stateside like they did. Little did I know then that the very building I was in would soon be a terrorist target of some suicide bomb who would be let in the compound without question or search. Of course, I had no way of knowing that the Murrah Federal Building that I entered the military from would also fall victim to a bomb.
High points I would say have been the ability to serve and protect freedom and America, and the ability to travel abroad to such places as Korea, Saudi, Egypt, to name a few. Low points would be watching someone die and having to deal with the uselessness of how it happened and why I didn't prevent it. And having that mental picture of his face in my head, as he laid there blood pouring out of his mouth staring at me with only a few hours left in his gift of life.
I want you to notice something, the signature I have which possibly a year ago would have been dismissed as mere "photo shop antics". Now look closer, what you see is reflective of what we have seen in our nation since our recent tragedy. Many people have come closer together, people you might not have expected too. And perhaps the duo in this picture are drawn to each other because of their own passion for helping people and guiding people towards the light.
While both of them are heroes to me, one of them is my boss. Or actually, my boss'es, boss'es, boss'es, boss'es, boss'es, boss. The nice thing about this is I got to choose my boss, while most just usually come with the job. And to round things out, his father before him and his father's boss prior to him both stood on the same ground I prowl every day. They both stood in the very place I work, toured what we do.
As I look around this forum, everyday it seems there is a new thread about how flawed this all is. This being all that I have spoken of, the place where I live and work and dedicate a pledge for those who believe that we should never forget our past. Your opinion is welcome and your curiousity is encouraged. But your cynicism is not immune to clever disguises. And I liken the all knowing aspects of some of the posts to those who read the end of a novel and think they know the whole story.
So again today as I watched an F-16 shoot past me at mach 1 and a very low altitude, then suddenly do a complete vertical climb for several miles until I couldn't see him anymore, I realized I am part of this.
Lest I forget, you are here to remind me.
Thanks
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