Really you guys - - reading someone else's mail!
I'd hate to think of the comments that people would make about some of the letters I have written to Mom & Dad.
I wonder how Flower's Mom & Dad have communicated to her as she grew up? Did that shape how she now writes to them? Bet the story would look different written to us. What she said to the deck crew was different from what she was saying to Mom & Dad.
So, her Dad takes this letter and sends it to some old buddy - howcome?
So buddy shares the letter with us.
Is it real, is it fake? Don't know. I just know the flying part can still get me going, just re-living the adrenalin rush of my own stories of "I learned about flying from that . . ."
Here's a true carrier story:
I flew an approach and landing onto a carrier. The wrinkle? The plane I flew was a C130 - yikes!
They warned me I would have to be quick on the binders. So when I hit the deck I jumped on the brakes and tossed the throttles into reverse.
I had to swerve to the edge of the boat (sailors hate that when you call their ship a "boat" - gets them riled every time) to miss hitting the superstructure with my wingtip.
The end of the boat came up pretty fast - too fast! That was it - I had had my chance - over the end and into the drink!!
Of course, this is a God story too - I thanked God this was only in the C130 simulator and not in the real thing! I still got wet but it was because I was sweating buckets - trainees tend to to that.
Do what - go off the end of the carrier, or sweat buckets? Both!!
You should have seen how I screwed up when I had a double engine out on the same wing! I thought I was doing pretty good until I landed and then the real fun began! That was another "thank God for simulators" story!
So pick out the nuts and leave the shells - unless you can figure out a good use for the shells too insteading of just tossing them out.
Still smiling . . .!