I always wanted to fly planes.
I'll admit (because I can't hear you laughing) that it started with Top Gun, as cheesy as that sounds - my favorite parts weren't the volleyball scene or the locker room scene or that whole "Take My Breath Away" montage...
It was the flying, and I decided right then that I was going to join the Air Force when I finished high school just so I could fly an F-14.
My dreams were dashed, though, when (while flipping through the many patches to be had) I lamely struck up a conversation with somebody vaguely military-recruitery (is that a word? IT IS IN MY WORLD) about how someday I wanted to join up. He informed me that, due to my - well, my assets - I'd never fly a plane in the Air Force. (Even at 12 I was sporting more than your average cup size... and I looked older than I was, so it was only vaguely creepy that he took note of my boobs rather than out and out pervy.)
I was pretty embarrassed, and never thought of joining up again. I had gotten the distinct impression that women weren't exactly encouraged to join that particular branch of the military, which seemed horribly unfair but (being 12) didn't seem like something I could fix.
So I was pretty thrilled the other day when I heard that the surviving members of the WWII Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) were finally being honored!
Here's the Morning Edition bit... you'll love it. Give it a listen!
I really loved the coverage given to it, in particular all the photos!
I wish I'd known about these amazing women back then...
I would have fought harder.
1 comment:
Recruiter Guy was full of crap! You could have been a pilot. My mom was too short to fly so she was a mechanic during WW II. :)
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