Blue Angels

When Randy and I were kids, seeing the Blue Angels streaking across the sky was a real thrill - we lived not far from Moffett Field and felt a little bit of pride as though they belonged to us - maybe like a sports team. We would run outside if we heard them, which was kind of silly since by the time you heard them they had already passed you.

Every October San Francisco celebrates Fleet Week and uniformed sailors wearing shiny patent leather shoes stroll up and down Embarcadero near the Ferry Building. At some point in the celebration the Blue Angels fly by in a display of something - I’m not sure what.

When we moved to Alameda we discovered that the Blue Angels practice their maneuvers directly over us for a week or so before Fleet Week and Randy still felt that thrill. He was so incredibly cute when he was excited - it made me happy to watch him and of course I teased him about it. We would each be at our desks in the office when we would hear the sound of them coming and Randy would rush from window to window craning his neck to try to see them go by. Which, as I’ve already said, is silly because by the time you hear them….

Sometimes the practice time would be in the news and we would go out to the beach by our house to wait for them and Randy would tell me about fighter planes and breaking the sound barrier and other things I would promptly forget. We would see them go by and watch as the contrails slowly expanded in their wake.

Today I was sitting in a chair reading and I heard them coming and I almost called out to Randy. I looked up as they passed over the house and I saw them perfectly aligned out my bedroom windows - I didn’t have to stand up or even turn my head, they were just right there. And then another set from a slightly different direction, and then a lone plane a little further off.

And then they were gone.