"Are you with the plane?"

For his birthday present, I took Jer to the Thunderbirds air show held at Alliance Airport in Forth Worth. We were there the majority of today -- 8:30 AM to 6:00 PM -- returning home roasted alive and partially deaf from the engine roar.

Though we both enjoyed ourselves immensely, I think I may have had more fun than Jer. We got to climb into several different USAF aircraft and a Hercules used by the Marines. It was "totally sweet."

While waiting for Jer to return from the car with our ear-plugs, I stood next to a C-130 Hercules used by the USAF. A guy walked up to me and asked,

"Are you with the plane?"

Yeah, we've been together about six months. "Umm... no." I gave him a questioning look.

"Oh, I thought... you were a military person, like with the Air Force."

"Nope." Just because I wear camouflage and sunglasses and stand around an airplane looking very serious?

I told Jer about the incident when he returned. He just laughed. Well, my little troops at summer camp named me "Sarge" because I exacted strict discipline and shouted (had the same effect as General MacArthur after breathing in helium -- not very intimidating).

Our morning was spent taking photos, climbing in various aircraft, and watching air-acrobatics performed by "civies" (civilians). Lunch was meager because my cash was very limited. The Thunderbirds weren't scheduled to perform until 3 PM, so we took a nap under a Boeing 737. (Yes, I can sleep on a tarmac under an airplane.)

By the time the Thunderbirds began their performance, Jer and I were thoroughly roasted and dehydrated. He wanted to go home and eat, but I refused to leave. I was going to watch the Thunderbirds even if I dropped dead of a heat stroke. The performance was breath-taking and made me get all excited like a little kid. Definitely worth a heat stroke and two hours of after-show traffic.