: A September 11th memory
My September 11th memory is a memory, amazingly enough, that didn't happen on 9/11, but two days later.
Back then, I lived in Edgewood, and drove up Highway 151 to get to O'Connor, taking the back way (FM 1560) to get there and back.
One of the big things about 9/11 was the grounding of all aircraft. It took about three hours to completely clear all airspace. No overnight packages, no business meetings across the coast, and no going abroad, unless you were on a cruise.
Where I get on 151 (basically where it starts) is adjacent to Kelly Field (or Kelly USA, or whatever you want to call it.) They made C-130's there, and still do. Where 151 South takes a sharp left to merge with US Highway 90, the main airstrip continues on. You can see the lights from the highway, brighter than the lights on the highway.
So, I was driving home on September 13th, heading south on 151 getting ready to merge with US 90 when I got flown over by a C-130. And I realised it was the first plane I'd seen airborne in almost 24 hours.
I enjoying seeing contrails in the air. I like seeing these bird marks no bird could make. Whether they're exhaust or frozen water in the stream of the aircraft, they are thin tracings on the sky. Sometimes I search out the sky looking for them. I usually can find a few, or their telltale traces.
And I realized, after two days, I hadn't seen a one.
Anyway, my two cents. I finished grading the BC tests today. There's a clear delineation -- I can tell there's a group of students who "get it" and a group that "doesn't get it."
How to deal with the latter? Well, that's an adventure for another night. I'm bushed after a day with the boy (shots, and poopy clothes, and all in between.)
I'm off to bed.
~MP
My September 11th memory is a memory, amazingly enough, that didn't happen on 9/11, but two days later.
Back then, I lived in Edgewood, and drove up Highway 151 to get to O'Connor, taking the back way (FM 1560) to get there and back.
One of the big things about 9/11 was the grounding of all aircraft. It took about three hours to completely clear all airspace. No overnight packages, no business meetings across the coast, and no going abroad, unless you were on a cruise.
Where I get on 151 (basically where it starts) is adjacent to Kelly Field (or Kelly USA, or whatever you want to call it.) They made C-130's there, and still do. Where 151 South takes a sharp left to merge with US Highway 90, the main airstrip continues on. You can see the lights from the highway, brighter than the lights on the highway.
So, I was driving home on September 13th, heading south on 151 getting ready to merge with US 90 when I got flown over by a C-130. And I realised it was the first plane I'd seen airborne in almost 24 hours.
I enjoying seeing contrails in the air. I like seeing these bird marks no bird could make. Whether they're exhaust or frozen water in the stream of the aircraft, they are thin tracings on the sky. Sometimes I search out the sky looking for them. I usually can find a few, or their telltale traces.
And I realized, after two days, I hadn't seen a one.
Anyway, my two cents. I finished grading the BC tests today. There's a clear delineation -- I can tell there's a group of students who "get it" and a group that "doesn't get it."
How to deal with the latter? Well, that's an adventure for another night. I'm bushed after a day with the boy (shots, and poopy clothes, and all in between.)
I'm off to bed.
~MP