The Meaning of True Freedom

Big Dave · 10-07-2007

I know a pilot who is friends with the guy who wrote the below passage - another pilot. I had it passed on to me, and I thought I'd share it with y'all as it really does put a few things into perspective.

Being away for 5-6 days at a time can be tough sometimes. But when you're flying alongside men and women who have been away from home for a year and a half escaping death every day, it makes my grievance somewhat petty. It's much easier being an enthusiast, looking at it as a camping trip on a widebody airliner.

As an enthusiast, the coolest things were the ferry flights probably. People talk about how they were on an airline flight with only 30 people on board...and it was like having the plane to themselves. I've had long ferry flights with only two pilots and a mechanic sitting in the cockpit, and a 247-seat widebody....literally to myself. I'd put on my iPod and walk up and down the two aisles singing to myself, to use seat cushions to build a bed or a mini-office. Serving myself a Coke, and maybe have a bag of pretzels....or seven.

Some of the memorable things for me will always be what unfortunately many other took for granted. I would go to Qatar and pick up troops that were only days out of fighting in the streets of Baghdad, on their way home to their families for the first time in 12-18 months. Some were tired, some excited, but none looked depressed. I spoke to many who said they lost friends, some still in shock by some things that had happened. But all were proud of their own efforts and what they did.

To sit next to these brave people and talk with them, to fly over Iraq, to stand in desert sand, talk with Generals, hold a rifle that has killed enemies.....it's beyond words. Perhaps one day a grandchild of mine will ask me about 9/11 and the wars after it....and I'll have something to say in regards to having been present where history was being made.

Specifically, I remember standing on the ramp in Kuwait when I had a few minutes to myself. It was nighttime, 107 degrees, but actually very comfortable without a sun beating down on you and with little humidity. I turned around a few times to look at the airport, kind of taking it in....thinking that just 16 years ago, 11 American soldiers died to take back that very airport from Iraqi troops who had invaded this "small and helpless ally" as George Bush Sr. once said. And there I stood, an American, now very safe in that foreign land. Were bullets whizzing by where I stood? Am I standing where a body once laid?

I remember standing at the door of one of my planes in Norfolk, VA. The man counting passengers said we were missing one person, and I walked up the jetbridge to see if he was on his way to the plane. I got to the beginning of the jetbridge and saw that it was a SHE that I was waiting for. A mother, saying goodbye to her husband and child who was no older than 2. She was crying and was having a difficult time saying goodbye. She turned around and finally started to walk towards me. She looked me in the eyes with tears rolling down her face and I felt my own tears matching hers. It took everything in me to not wrap my arms around her and hug her.

Not to sound corny, but you see these cities, walking around the streets of former Soviet states or what have you, and you see the value of our country. You develop a true understanding of what freedom is. You see people who live in a class system, and accept it because they know no other way of life. People who look unhappy, and don't even know they are miserable because they don't even know what happiness is. Their time is spent trying to get enough food to feed their families or not get mugged or killed in the process. In other words...survival.

Then, on approach to JFK, I see the skyline and I know I'm almost home. It's night, but everything is lit up OF COURSE. I go through Customs, which is pretty strict and actually secure. I see people from around the world in the international terminal who have desired to come here. They are smiling, too. I take the subway home, a tiny example of our strong infrastructure. I take the 10-minute walk home from the subway at any hour of the night....safely. I sleep in my comfortable bed that doesn't break everyone's bank to buy. I wake up and have food available too. If I miss a meal, it's because I'm too busy having fun or earning a reasonable paycheck. I turn on the computer and access information that I have complete freedom to read and learn from other ideas without being jailed or hung...

...and I see people whine and bitch about our country who have no clue how good they have it.

That is what I've gotten from my experience. Great pride, and sadness from society.

P.D.J.

10-07-2007	#1 (permalink)
Big Dave Vote Conservative! Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: East Sussex, UK Posts: 513	The Meaning of True Freedom I know a pilot who is friends with the guy who wrote the below passage - another pilot. I had it passed on to me, and I thought I'd share it with y'all as it really does put a few things into perspective. Being away for 5-6 days at a time can be tough sometimes. But when you're flying alongside men and women who have been away from home for a year and a half escaping death every day, it makes my grievance somewhat petty. It's much easier being an enthusiast, looking at it as a camping trip on a widebody airliner. As an enthusiast, the coolest things were the ferry flights probably. People talk about how they were on an airline flight with only 30 people on board...and it was like having the plane to themselves. I've had long ferry flights with only two pilots and a mechanic sitting in the cockpit, and a 247-seat widebody....literally to myself. I'd put on my iPod and walk up and down the two aisles singing to myself, to use seat cushions to build a bed or a mini-office. Serving myself a Coke, and maybe have a bag of pretzels....or seven. Some of the memorable things for me will always be what unfortunately many other took for granted. I would go to Qatar and pick up troops that were only days out of fighting in the streets of Baghdad, on their way home to their families for the first time in 12-18 months. Some were tired, some excited, but none looked depressed. I spoke to many who said they lost friends, some still in shock by some things that had happened. But all were proud of their own efforts and what they did. To sit next to these brave people and talk with them, to fly over Iraq, to stand in desert sand, talk with Generals, hold a rifle that has killed enemies.....it's beyond words. Perhaps one day a grandchild of mine will ask me about 9/11 and the wars after it....and I'll have something to say in regards to having been present where history was being made. Specifically, I remember standing on the ramp in Kuwait when I had a few minutes to myself. It was nighttime, 107 degrees, but actually very comfortable without a sun beating down on you and with little humidity. I turned around a few times to look at the airport, kind of taking it in....thinking that just 16 years ago, 11 American soldiers died to take back that very airport from Iraqi troops who had invaded this "small and helpless ally" as George Bush Sr. once said. And there I stood, an American, now very safe in that foreign land. Were bullets whizzing by where I stood? Am I standing where a body once laid? I remember standing at the door of one of my planes in Norfolk, VA. The man counting passengers said we were missing one person, and I walked up the jetbridge to see if he was on his way to the plane. I got to the beginning of the jetbridge and saw that it was a SHE that I was waiting for. A mother, saying goodbye to her husband and child who was no older than 2. She was crying and was having a difficult time saying goodbye. She turned around and finally started to walk towards me. She looked me in the eyes with tears rolling down her face and I felt my own tears matching hers. It took everything in me to not wrap my arms around her and hug her. Not to sound corny, but you see these cities, walking around the streets of former Soviet states or what have you, and you see the value of our country. You develop a true understanding of what freedom is. You see people who live in a class system, and accept it because they know no other way of life. People who look unhappy, and don't even know they are miserable because they don't even know what happiness is. Their time is spent trying to get enough food to feed their families or not get mugged or killed in the process. In other words...survival. Then, on approach to JFK, I see the skyline and I know I'm almost home. It's night, but everything is lit up OF COURSE. I go through Customs, which is pretty strict and actually secure. I see people from around the world in the international terminal who have desired to come here. They are smiling, too. I take the subway home, a tiny example of our strong infrastructure. I take the 10-minute walk home from the subway at any hour of the night....safely. I sleep in my comfortable bed that doesn't break everyone's bank to buy. I wake up and have food available too. If I miss a meal, it's because I'm too busy having fun or earning a reasonable paycheck. I turn on the computer and access information that I have complete freedom to read and learn from other ideas without being jailed or hung... ...and I see people whine and bitch about our country who have no clue how good they have it. That is what I've gotten from my experience. Great pride, and sadness from society. P.D.J.
	"When once you have flown, you shall forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been, and there you shall always long to return." - Leonardo da Vinci