Love Those Marines!

 Nancy and I loved watching the Marines perform maneuvers. In the above video, we observed the plane landing and taking off. 

This is a small airfield in Hearne, TX, and the military contracts with the powers-that-be to use it for training purposes.

Our hotel was filled with these young service people, and many of them were long-timers in the military.

Since they were on training drills, I assumed they were all recruits. Nope. Many had been in for years.

Nancy, Terrell, and Gay

Terrell has been a Marine for nineteen years and loves the Corps. 

Nancy, Rick, and Gay

Rick and Terrell were checking out and planned to explore a bit of Texas before heading back to Okinawa, Japan, their base. We were fortunate to have their presence for two days, and they were interesting and informative. 

We received permission to watch the group parachute from the plane. We were keyed up for this adventure.

Even though we arrived at the airfield at 8:00 pm, it was still a hot, windy time. The guys had told us they would take off at 8:15. We drove as far down the gravel road as we could and then waited.

There were no delays with this plane! It taxied by us at 8:15 and was airborne a few minutes later. I waved like crazy when it ambled by us. A few of the Marines returned my gesture.

We were thrilled  about thirty minutes later when we saw the parachutes descending. 

They look close, but I know they aren't. I asked if they felt like they were falling. One told me the velocity of the wind prevented the feeling. I don't plan to ever find out what he meant!

My friend, Nancy, captured my joy at seeing the men parachute from the plane. I'm a proud citizen of the United States of America. So is Nancy.

We waited after dark to see if they returned, but if they parachuted again in the blackness, it was too dark for us to see. When we heard a horse and rider approaching from a field, we decided to leave. After all, we were out in the middle of nowhere, and the Marines were up in the sky someplace, not close by to protect us from the unexpected.

Gazing at our Marines and their bravery is an experience to remember.

A girlfriend trip is a good thing to do too. I'm fortunate to have Nancy in my life. We've been freinds since we were kids. She married first, and I was her Maid of Honor, then a few months later, she was my Matron of Honor. No need to tell you how long ago that was!

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