The Night Before Selection

'Twas the night before selection and all through the apartment, not a creature was stirring except me and my remote. The liquor in my glass was poured with care in hopes that selection time would soon be near. My roommate was nested all snug in his bed while visions of RI sims danced in his head. And Top Gun over and I in my bed had just settled down for a long Texan nap.

When out in the hall there arose such a clatter. I sprung from my bed to see what was the matter. Away to my cell phone I flew like a flash, flipped it wide open and looked at the screen. The sun on the breast of the parking lot cars gave the luster of mid-morning objects afar. When what to my wondering eyes should appear but one missed call from Phone Watch and 2 from my friends. With a voice mail message telling me it'd started early and to get there quick. I knew I wasn't late, but got dressed in a lick. More rapid than eagles my razor blades shaved my face, and I dressed and stumbled and tied each boot lace.

"Now backpack, now wallet, now cellphone and car keys!" "On and out door, lock door run to the car!" To the top of the causeway! to the base front gate!" "Now show ID, salute and dash away all!"

As dry leaves before the wild hurricane fly, so to the squadron parking light I flew. With a car full of gear and a nervous Ensign too. And then in a twinkling, I heard from the ready room. The meeting was across the flight line and I'd better zoom.

Down the hallway the CO came with a bound. He was dressed in all green, from his head to his foot, and his clothes were nomex and his boots the color of soot; a large white letter he had in his hand. He looked like a peddler making a stand. His eyes how they twinkled! His mouth was drawn up like a bow and the sides of his head were as grey as stone. I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself. A wink of his eye and a twist of his head, soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread. He spoke but few words as he went straight to work. He filled the room with talk then turned towards me with a jerk, and laying his finger towards me and giving a nod, "Tailhook in Meridian to you and to all good luck!"

- I leave for Pensacola tomorrow morning to learn how to use an ejection seat and to be issued a lot of the required gear. It's called "D-Jet" for some reason and should be a great way to see a lot of my friends still training down there. I'll finish that, come back to Corpus pack for 2 days and then leave for Meridian, MS the next weekend. I'll then go to Lemoore, CA on June 18th for Centrifuge training and after some more down time, I'll start school on July 21. I'm pretty excited and even though it's kind of a long story, I'm very lucky to have gotten tailhook... my CO even said that something like that like a lot of things it's 5% hard work, 5% preparation and 90% timing.