Late Night Thoughts On Going Fast

LOVE the Blue Angels. When I was a kid- in the '60's -they would occasionally practice out of Los Alamitos Naval Air Base off Katella. We lived on the border of OC in Long Beach and by the time those guys were up, they were out over our house. Don't know if it was because we grew up on El Dorado Golf Course and there was plenty of open space, but somedays they'd fly all day long, working on routine after routine to the great delight of every kid for miles around. We'd climb up on the garage roof and howl each time they broke the sound barrier- every house in the neighborhood had cracks in the plaster walls and it wasn't all that uncommon for a window to break. Vietnam was in full gear- 500,000 young Americans at war -body counts beyond heartbreak... Skip from around the corner was killed... nobody was worried about keeping the Blue Angels in check. They were artists at work.

Now I live not too many miles from March Air Base in Riverside, CA. We've watched the Stealth fly in and out, seen Air Force 1 sit on the tarmac, caught the Thunderbirds numerous times and were even buzzed by the B-1 once, pilot tipped his wings just as they fell back and he exploded from what seemed to be a couple hundred feet off the ground into orbit... all very cool. But nothing to compare to summer days with a bunch of kids coming into our yard, onto our garage roof- no houses to block the view over the park - and standing in awe as the Blue Angels went by in formation... I swear we could see the pilots waving... it was huge when they'd tip their wings down toward us kids... each of us imagining we were in the jet. When the sound barrier would shatter the skies we'd cover our ears and cheer. May be one reason I've got such lousy hearing.

When I fly it's in the comfort of a comercial jet: bad food, movies and my laptop are expected. The only time I flew out of Los Alamitos Naval Air Station was with a friend who took me soaring. We were powerless, silently sailing in the wind for less than ten minutes before touch down. It was sweet... but it sure wasn't the Blue Angels. Last time I remember hearing the sound barrier being shattered, I was with my family at Edwards Air Force Base for a shuttle landing. It's two signature booms shattered high thin clouds, leaving ripples in the sky like a stone in a pond. An image that's always stuck.

Kids, hanging out in the summer, we never equated the Blue Angels with the war. It didn't occur to us that the smog that filled the skies of Long Beach and burned our lungs on bike rides might be filled with jet exhaust. And the impact of shattered sound barriers- well that was just cooler than cool -who cared if it knocked down a house or two. We weren't exactly environmentalist... we were dreaming of going fast, flying high, wing tip to wing tip in tight formation with our friends. Hopefully we've matured a bit in the last four decades. But watching this video that crossed my laptop, old memories flooded through me like cleansing rain and the kid inside me wanted to go fast again... or at least stand on the roof and howl with my buddies at the guys living and flying our dreams.

Late night thoughts on going fast... on looking backwards... on glory days... The guys flying the jets were probably just ten or twelve years older than me, if that. Somewhere, if any of them are awake tonight, they're looking back on that summer with a view from the skies and I can't help but wonder if they smile, or even remember the kids who looked up in wonder from the old garage roof and cheered them on. Thanks guys. We were wishing it was us. Sometimes I still do.

One Voice

It was a much needed, unifying highlight of the '60's - America landing men safely on the moon. It's tough to find someone old enough to remember who couldn't tell you exactly where they were as they watched those men bravely step out onto the surface of a new world. I was 15 years old and working as a bus boy at Phillips Chicken Pie Shop on Pine Ave. in downtown Long Beach. A crowd gathered behind the lunch counter and stared in disbelief, some prayed, we all cheered: just to see them safe... just to see them... we felt a little like the jetson's might really be our neighbors some day. It was an incredible moment.

The moment began with one man- our president -who challenged a nation to lift her eyes to a new horizon, beyond ourselves. Sadly, President Kennedy didn't live to share the world's celebration as some of our own sent home their incredible video journal. But it was his voice, his steadfastness, his inspiration that got the project going, set a deadline from the start and motivated us to believe that anything was possible.

Just one voice changed the way we looked at the world.

I once ate lunch with Jim Irwin, one of the other 12 men who eventually walked on the moon. I asked him all the same questions he'd probably been asked a million times before. I keep his photo, on the moon, autographed to me, just above my desk. He was a humble man who was kind to a young preacher. Jackets for Jesus, our work with the homeless in Los Angeles had just begun. He gave me one of his personal flight jackets to give to a homeless man - Col. Jim Irwin, beautifully stitched in - I handed it out one brutally cold night to a man who cared more about the warmth than the story behind it. I'll never forget watching that jacket walk away- keeping a man, earthbound by poverty, warm, from the back of a man who'd looked down on the earth from the surface of the moon. Jim said the entire earth; billions of people, each with their own stories, hid neatly behind his raised thumb... it amazes me still.

One voice united a generation, one act of kindness kept a man warm, one life- well lived -leaves an imprint on eternity. It's our voice, it's our choice, it's our legacy... so many are waiting for direction. We can change the world, one day at a time.

blessings,

Eric

Beloved Wilson

I'm an alumnus of Long Beach Wilson H.S., class of 1972. The school was big back then, over 3,000 students... today they have over 4,500 students. It could be a university. I looked everywhere online for an old photo of the campus but all I came up with was this signature photo that seems to be used in all their material- Wilson Bruins -those big buildings weren't there back then.

High School was good to me: plenty of friends, more then enough good times and I have fantastic memories of some really great teachers that worked hard to teach me a thing or two... and they did. I suspect most, if not all of them are dead. God bless them everyone.

My major grief in high school had to do with dress codes- THE MAN ruled -and there was no way I was dressing the way THE MAN dictated! Sounds silly now- I'd get sent to the office for having sandals without socks, hair past my shirt collar and a collection of other seemingly meaningless infractions that kept the boat rocking back in the day.

Looking in on the old school- now Wilson Classical High School -everyone in uniforms and totally prep, I was impressed to find the dress code still rides the rules front and center... some things never change. Check it out.

Boys Khaki (tan) pants or shorts (solid color only)

Pants must be hemmed and fitted at the waist and crotch. No sagging pants allowed.
Shorts may not be shorter than mid-thigh.
Long pants cannot drag on the ground.

Girls Khaki (tan) pants, shorts, jumpers, overall, or skirts (solid color only)
Pants must be hemmed and fitted at the waist and crotch. No sagging pants allowed.
Shorts may not be shorter than mid-thigh.
Long pants cannot drag on the ground.
Girls and BoysWhite or cardinal (burgundy) shirts (solid color only).
Shirts must have collars or be a turtleneck.

Non Wilson Logo'd shirts must have a logo no larger than the size of a quarter.
Only white short-sleeved undershirts may be worn.
Undershirts must be tucked in.
All sweaters, sweatshirts, sweat jackets, fleece pullovers, and fleece jackets must be white, cardinal or gold.
No logos are permitted except Wilson Classical, ASB Chartered club, or Wilson athletic logos.
Coats and jackets (except fleece and sweat jackets) may be any color.
Coats may not be worn in the classroom. Only cover-ups in school colors may be worn in the classroom.
No Raiders, Stealers, or Kings attire may be worn.
Hoods must be worn down except when outside in winter weather.

Wilson's now in the top 5% of H.S.'s nation wide- #575 in 2007. Bet they have a chant. I can just see them in the quad- thousands out for a pep rally- "We're #575!" Over and over again, each time louder and louder.

Wilson was a good time. Hope the kids there today are enjoying the moment. Couldn't find it on their site, but back in '72 we had the best theme song- started with "Hail to Wilson..." and ended with a great "bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah..............!" But it was in between that gotcha- we all pledged are hearts to the school. Don't remember in Long Beach State had a theme song. Pretty sure Anderson School of Theology didn't, but "beloved Wilson," did. Life needs a theme song- look how the schools growing: 4,500 students- #575 nation wide... Go Wilson!

Eric