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This time, I went. As promised in an earlier blog. And I was impressed. On Saturday, I attended the 13th McDonald’s Air & Sea Show at the Fort Lauderdale beach. Along with hundreds of thousands of others. I had never gone to the event before and this was the busiest I’ve ever seen the beach, by far. All those locals and tourists piled out of bus after bus at the Galleria Mall for the trek over the Intracoastal bridge and down to the sand where they could see our American military in action. No one seemed to mind the long walk. I know that I didn’t. The weather was just about perfect, with the sun hanging against a nearly cloudless sky. The temperature was in the low 80s and a pleasant breeze blew in off the sea to keep things comfortable. And the turquoise Atlantic waters were clear and comfortable. Those who went to the show on Sunday enjoyed the same conditions. What more could any of us have asked?
Of course, we weren’t going for just any day at the beach. The Air & Sea Show is billed as a public salute to the men and women in the armed forces, a display of support. If the public was saluting, the military returned that salute with style. I’d never watched a mock amphibious landing by the Marines, or stunt maneuvers by Army helicopters, or skydiving teams plummeting in long free falls before opening their chutes to land with pinpoint accuracy. I watched all of these and more on Saturday afternoon. Of course, there was some amazing flying by both military and civilian pilots. I’ve flown in an F-4 supersonic Air Force jet and so I have some appreciation for the stresses these aerial maneuvers create for the aircraft and those inside them. I was in awe at the skills of these pilots.
I also spent a lot of time watching the crowd at the show. There was a surprising diversity of people there, from small babies to the very elderly, folks of all races, a total mix of women and men. They included many spectators I wouldn’t have expected at this event, especially some of the young women who appeared as enthusiastic as their boyfriends. I suppose this shouldn’t have seemed unusual. After all, two of the six Air Force Thunderbird pilots in the show were women. Male or female, young or old, the wide array of humanity on the beach was pointing and smiling and saying “wow” a lot. From what I could see, everyone was having a good time. In that way, the Fort Lauderdale beach was doing what it does best year round – offering a wonderful place to play in the sunshine. Last weekend's beachgoers had some fairly remarkable company.
Of course, we weren’t going for just any day at the beach. The Air & Sea Show is billed as a public salute to the men and women in the armed forces, a display of support. If the public was saluting, the military returned that salute with style. I’d never watched a mock amphibious landing by the Marines, or stunt maneuvers by Army helicopters, or skydiving teams plummeting in long free falls before opening their chutes to land with pinpoint accuracy. I watched all of these and more on Saturday afternoon. Of course, there was some amazing flying by both military and civilian pilots. I’ve flown in an F-4 supersonic Air Force jet and so I have some appreciation for the stresses these aerial maneuvers create for the aircraft and those inside them. I was in awe at the skills of these pilots.
I also spent a lot of time watching the crowd at the show. There was a surprising diversity of people there, from small babies to the very elderly, folks of all races, a total mix of women and men. They included many spectators I wouldn’t have expected at this event, especially some of the young women who appeared as enthusiastic as their boyfriends. I suppose this shouldn’t have seemed unusual. After all, two of the six Air Force Thunderbird pilots in the show were women. Male or female, young or old, the wide array of humanity on the beach was pointing and smiling and saying “wow” a lot. From what I could see, everyone was having a good time. In that way, the Fort Lauderdale beach was doing what it does best year round – offering a wonderful place to play in the sunshine. Last weekend's beachgoers had some fairly remarkable company.
posted by LauderBLOGGER at 1:35 PM
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