Into the wild blue yonder...

Hey everyone! Let me introduce you to a dear friend of mine, Mark West.

It's his birthday on the 8th, so I am dedicating this post to him!

Mark and I have been friends for nearly half of my life! (for those of you who don't like math, that's about 14 years)

Mark has essentially been adopted into my family-- even my extended family knows and loves him, which is a pretty rare occurrence. Mark is a Second Lieutenant and a pilot in the US Air Force. He has a Bachelors degree in Aviation, AND an MBA in Marketing from West Minster. He's so smart! Unfortunately, he moved all the way to middle-of-nowhere-ville Oklahoma, so I don't see him nearly as often as I once did. :( 

I recently had the pleasure of his company for a shake date at Iceberg while he was in town for the Hill Air Force Base Air Show. He wore his "fire proof pajamas", while I put on real clothes (I figured he deserved to see me in real clothes rather than scrubs). It's mighty impressive to see 6'4" of flight suit with all those military emblems and his name on the pocket! I suppose I didn't think about it too hard until I witnessed something I don't see very often: While we were sitting outside, eating our shakes, a young man (looked to be in his 20s), a complete stranger, approached Mark, extended his hand, and said "Thank you for serving and defending the country I love." I was truly touched. And impressed with this young man's gratitude and the sentiments it evoked in my heart as well. It was a very special Memorial Day Weekend moment for me. And Mark, I am proud of you and grateful for the choice and sacrifice you've made to serve our beloved nation.

Mark also brought his helmet for me to try on. I think he really just wanted a picture of me wearing it as future blackmail material or something. ;) Let me tell you though, I'm not claustrophobic by any means, but wearing that helmet made me feel very confined. Most likely because there was no oxygen flowing through the face mask though.

I think I'd make a pretty good looking storm trooper, since I doubt I'd make it as a fighter pilot. 

What do you think?

Oh, and Mark-- I'm still waiting for my F-16 ride! ;) (heck any military jet would do!)