Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Dropout (05/12/11)
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TITLE: Gone, But Not Forgotten | Previous Challenge Entry
By Virgil Youngblood
05/19/11 -
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“Look, Mama,” the little boy shouted, pointing toward the western horizon. “Do you hear them?”
“I see them, Colby. Aren’t they beautiful?”
“What’s wrong with that … Oh, that one is falling, Mama.”
“I see it. Look, Colby. One is coming back. It’s going to the one that stopped flying.”
“Will it be alright? Why did it fall?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know what happened to it.”
The goose that fell would soon die. Two days earlier she had eaten berries from a low hanging bush behind hole 4 of the Cinco Lakes Golf Course. The shrub had been sprayed with insecticide.
The gander that returned was the mate of the goose that collapsed. They had been together for over twenty five years. He stayed by her for two days after she died. His soft pleadings and sorrowful mutterings were to no avail. When a coyote could not be intimidated by the gander’s hissing and honking cries, and claimed the goose, the gander reluctantly moved to a pond of water. It would soon join a flight of geese passing by and continue the journey.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
A large, exuberant crowd at NAS Fort Worth had claimed their viewing space on the grass near the runway with lawn chairs and blankets. The exhibits and air show had been spectacular.
Colby and his mother had enjoyed every moment of it. A smudge of blue cotton candy on Colby’s lips was especially noticeable against the whiteness of his teeth when he smiled.
The Blue Angel’s, closing out the show, began with a demonstrating of a C130 Hercules’ amazing ability to land and take off from an extremely short space. They called their airplane, Fat Albert. It transported their gear wherever they went.
The Navy and Marine’s best pilots followed, flying F/A-18 Hornets through screaming turns and barrel rolls in unbelievably close formations. As the sun was sinking on the western horizon the Blue Angels had one final event to perform.
“Mama, it’s so loud when they fly by. I still hear them with my hands over my ears.”
Kathleen hugged Colby against her. “Just one more, little man. We have to see this one.”
“Why, Mama?”
“It reminds me of Daddy.”
“My Daddy?”
“Yes. Here they come.”
From the south six F/A-18 Hornets raced toward them, flying north in ‘V’ formation. Smoke trailed behind them. A bugle, amplified by the public address system, silenced the crowd with the haunting sound of Taps.
The precision formation was about to pass in front of them when one jet dropped out of the formation, climbing almost straight up before veering toward the red ball of the sinking sun. The ear splitting sound of the jets roared past, and then faded to silence. Some people clapped, other’s cheered.
Colby tugged on the hem of his mother’s tee shirt, making the 101st Screaming Eagles logo bounce up and down. “Mama, I don’t understand about Daddy.”
“Did you see that jet that left the others and went into the sunset?”
Colby nodded.
“That’s called the ‘Missing Man’ formation. It’s to honor soldiers, like your daddy. We never want to forget them, Colby. Always remember that.”
“I will Mama. And I’ll always remember another first time.”
Kathleen was puzzled. “What time was that? Are you talking about the goose that fell?”
Colby licked a spot of blue off a finger. “The first time I had cotton candy. That’s important to remember, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is.” The fading rays of the setting sun twinkled on Kathleen’s wedding ring as she smoothed Colby’s damp, curly hair. She reached down and picked up the peace quilt her grandmother had given her and folded it. “Your daddy liked cotton candy, too.”
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I really liked your comparisons and the dialogue and pictures you painted through your words were beautiful.
Using the V-formation pattern and the response of the male geese to his beloved mate touched my heart-"The gander that returned was the mate of the goose that collapsed. They had been together for over twenty five years."
The formation of jets that followed the "Missing Man" symbolized the dedication of these pilots. As the lone jet "dropped out of the formation, climbing almost straight up before veering toward the red ball of the sinking sun" it really spoke to me.
Your message reminded me that when others "drop out" because of death or circumstance it is our mission to be there for them, to pay tribute to them and to carry on, heading for the "Son." Well done! Thx for writing this!