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Remember

I'll never be a memory.

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I got lost in Japan 3 different times. in June 2004 I was an exchange student in Nagoya for 2 weeks. anyway, one time I forgot which bus to get on but then was able to just barely decipher a map and figure out where to go with my like preschool level japanese skill

another time, I got off the bus but went down the wrong street to my host's house. and had to have her son meet me and show me the real way

the last time, I missed my bus stop and stayed on not realizing it had already passed it. and then rode till the end of the line. I was the only person left on the bus and we pulled into a giant parking lot next to this huge cemetery. the driver said something in japanese, parked, turned off the bus and opened the doors. so I got out and walked down a country road outside town back the direction we had come. until I found a payphone. I was SOOOOOO god damned lucky they still had pay phones back then. if this happened in 2020 I might have been fucked unless they handed me a temporary cell phone to use. I didn't even have a cell phone back then, in america (got my first cell phone in like 2007 or something)

i'm actually surprised thinking about it now that 2004 japan kept some around, but thankful they did

I once got so drunk in Nashville from drinking too many Long Island Ice Teas and puked in a garbage can. My friend got everyone on the sidewalk to chant my name while I was letting it all out

I got lost in Hannah Barbera land at King's Island when I was 12.

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I remember going fishing with my uncle and grandpa, and it was great.
Took tons of snacks, magazines to read.
Caught more fish than either of them.
Caught the biggest.
Caught the only non crappie fish, a catfish, by it's eyelid, the poor thing.
Ate em.

Got the worst sunburn because I thought I wouldn't need it sunscreen.

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My cat max died in my arms when I was in 5th grade after school

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inloveanddeath0 posted...

My cat max died in my arms when I was in 5th grade after school

oh god. I'm so sorry. I'm sure Max appreciated you being there though

Zikten posted...

oh god. I'm so sorry. I'm sure Max appreciated you being there though

Yeah it was a massive heart attack and he was only 2. My dad was devastated. I was pretty shook for awhile

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i was temporarily staying in Rhein-Main AB because of an airport expansion. i was new to the shop and was left behind with a small ground crew. i worked the flightline as a tech fixing planes. every plane that left had my signature on it to leave when i was working. however, the airport i was working in had to shutdown completely and i was brought up to frankfurt to report for duty. there wasnt much work to do so our shop usually worked just days and left a skeleton crew at nights. our efforts ensured theres nothing to do on the nightshift.

took a party bus into frankfurt. went to bars and clubs. partied at a rave in a street. drunk dancing and partying in frankfurt. someone mentions the red light district is nearby, the stairs and strip clubs. so we go to a place called the stairs...

anyways, Construction continued with for some time but that was the last time Id go to frankfurt until my tour in germany was over. one night i was working the night shift. our ramp was full. we can only support about 14 planes, 9 in each parking spot, 2 in the taxiways between the rows, 2 in the hazard spots, and the couple in taxiway pulled towards the active runways. usually its the 1st planes launching. at night no flying late nights or the wee hours cause of local complaints.

the construction for expansion was still ongoing. the ramp expansion was done but incomplete with markings. it was in the twilight hours. i was getting a plane ready to launch for an early departure. i see our expeditor going to each plane on the ramp and planes were shutting down shortly after. aircrew leaving their planes to come into our shack. my team finally got our turn to shutdown and come in.
the truck got the aircrew on our plane. i told them i would walk in cause i had some stuff to close. they said to hurry. i felt there was an urgency but not an emergency. radios were silent so no emergency right...

i walk in the shack. i see our breakroom full of officers and enlisted together glued to the big screen tv. theres an atmosphere of focus and concentration in the room. nobody talking but whats being reported on cnn. i look around to see whats going on but i didnt want to break the concentration in the room. felt like everyone would look at me at that point. then they showed the moments after a plane hitting one of the twin towers.

i was in shock. we knew this was no accident. i looked at my coworkers as they see me in disbelief. my systems guide aircraft and im running everything in my head over and over on how it can possibly happen. cnn still reporting and guessing at the cause. officers pacing on whats to come waiting to hear anything. then as live broadcast was ongoing, the 2nd plane hit the other twin tower. time stood still for me. everything happened at once. i realized we were about to go to war. the pace picked up pilots were about to change flightplans. i felt ready to take on the world at that point. we were going into one the longest day of our country.

september 11 2001. that day they opened the expanded flightline. went from 14 planes max parked to over 30 planes in hours. by the time morning came, we were parking rows of aircraft in unmarked spots. truck left us to guide rows of incoming planes not the spots. the aircraft would be parked and the aircrew would shutdown immediately instead of getting debriefed in the plane. they went in to be debriefed at command post with our expeditor.

the day shift could not enter the base. the base locked down into the highest threatcon. i stayed that day til the afternoon parking planes. i was relieved from duty as folks from the dayshift arrived. i was one of the last to come in after hours on the flightline.

i lived offbase in a small german town about 30min away. i was in shutdown mode since i left to go home. i took off my bdu jacket and crashed on my bed. the toll of being up for more than 24 hrs and working kicked in. you see we were manned to support about 12 planes not the extra 30 that came in. i noticed my phone light as i entered my duplex. i was gonna check it later after i rest. the phone rang and being a light sleeper i knew i wouldnt be able to rest.

i reach out for my cordless phone in my bedroom. it was my mom calling. she said she was worried about whats happening and shes worried about me. i can hear the sadness in her voice and thought i should listen to her. she did the talking. i continued to listen just to ease her worries and all you know. i reassured her i was fine but busy. i told her i dont know whats happening but my shift just ended and i was a bit tired than usual. i basically recapped what i saw on cnn. just waiting now on orders. eventually she concluded our conversation and realized i needed to get some sleep.

worked 7 on no days off until we were augmented by reserves from memphis. they pretty much took care of their own planes and help us when they were free. i got letters from kids in Mississippi and all over sent care packages for us and those in forward deployed locations.

anyways i got more stories about what happened there.

everything went through our base. the injured, those that gave their lives for the country, pows, and the moab that were dropped. i saw our injured being carried off planes. i marshalled planes for human remains and helped bring them home. i spent nights being present for the fallen in a c5 and c17s full of coffins. the 1st casualties the tower told us HR onboard and thered be a brief ceremony for them as they get transferred off the aircraft and onto their to the first US soil on their journey to return to their respective families and homes. as the war on terrorism continued more coffins were being being transferred to our base and we couldnt do the ceremony anymore...tv cameras were present on our flightline. i was there when the pow special c141 aircraft landed. i was on the wings of a c5 (the fn huge plane) inspecting the top of the wings when concert for supporting our troops was happening at the base and in an hanger nearby. there were 2 squadrons there, the home station and transit. i was in the transit side.

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