Independence Day 2024
I watched a documentary on Prime last week “The Blue Angels”, It brought back a flood of memories of growing up in San Francisco and seeing the Blue Angles Air Show every year on Fleet Week. This happens in October every year, during our “Indian Summer” just before fall and the seasons change.
This documentary is so well done, it takes you behind the scenes for a revealing, in-depth look at what it takes to become a Blue Angel pilot. The documentary chronicles a year with the Navy’s elite Flight Demonstration Squadron. The Angels have been thrilling people around the globe for more than 75 years. They show a year in the life, from the careful selection process to the challenging training regimen, and on through the demanding eight-month show season. The film pays tribute to the extraordinary teamwork, passion, and pride of the hundreds of men and women of the Navy and Marine Corps who have had the honor to serve in the Blue Angels squadron, past, present, and future.
The past couple of years we have been able to watch the Fleet Week Airshow from Charlie’s boat the Scallywag. Parking out by Alcatraz not far from the flight alley that the Coast Guard keeps clear for the show, up close and personal. From the moment the show begins with United Airlines Boeing 777 performing low-altitude flybys, to the aerobatic demo team, the Marine F-35 which blows our minds, followed by Fat Albert, The Blue Angels' support aircraft, a C-130J Hercules. Doing high speed passes, steep climbs and descents, setting the stage for the main event, the Blue Angels Team. The feeling of patriotism that I get never changes, how proud I am to be an American. That these pilots, the best of the best, are up there flying, performing breath taking maneuvers with precision and skill represent us all. On the boat, as I feel the thrusters, and see the pilots, it takes my breath away and my heart swells with pride.
Independence Day, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, 9-11, D-Day and December 7th, are all days that make me stop and reflect on how blessed I am to be an American. I often give thanks that I was born in the United States in a family that taught me what it means to be an American. That I attended school when they still taught Civics and American History, where we learned about the sacrifices and brilliance of the founding fathers, of the people who sacrificed everything to preserve our democratic republic. We learned about how close we were to never gaining our independence during the revolutionary war and how close we were to losing it in the war of 1812. How close we came to becoming a nation divided in the civil war and how precarious the idea of America is.
The Fourth of July is Thursday, before you attend your BBQ or watch the fireworks take a minute to reflect on how blessed we are as Americans, give thanks for those who sacrificed everything and those that fought to preserve our way of life.
I will be attending the annual 4th of July parade this Thursday. As I watch the Boy Scouts, classic cars and the Masons go by my heart will swell and I will have that feeling of patriotism that I feel during fleet week while watching the Blue Angels.
God Bless America
Let me know what you think.
