VIP FOR A DAY!

I feel the need... the need for speed!!!!

Maverick & Goose, TopGun

Anyone who knows me knows I'm hardly a VIP, in fact, I'm an anti -VIP! I don't crave luxury, privilege, or special treatment. On the contrary, I take some pride in how little all that means to me. And now, with that being said, I have a good story for you :)

A few weeks ago, my dear friend "K" emailed me to tell me that she had recently spent some time with the Mannix family, who are mutual friends from my our old "Navy days" in California. Kevin Mannix is now serving as the Commanding officer (affectionately termed "the Skipper") of the Blue Angels, and the LOVELY Mrs. Mannix and I go way back (it's hard to roll the dice when you're laughing THAT HARD!!). Kevin relayed to "K" that he would like to offer that the boys and I attend an upcoming airshow as his guests. So we all got hooked up via email, and with a wee bit of schedule juggling, I had a plan. CDR Mannix had even offered to include a couple of extra tickets so the boys could invite friends along ~ Sweet! I never told the boys, and I set it up with the other parents to remain a surprise. The boys knew we were doing SOMETHING on Sunday ~ something out of the ordinary~ and by the beginning of the week they had figured out that these friends were somehow involved, but they were still clueless as to what we were doing. Because I will tell you ~ I can keep a secret!! As the weekend approached, I was hounded with more and more questions - "Why can't you tell us? Won't you just give us a hint?" and "Who's gonna be there?" along with lots of guesses.

Sunday morning finally rolled around and I woke up Chico and his friend who slept over and gave them a little direction as to what they should wear and what they should take. Meanwhile, MissS, at whose house the other boys had slept, was doing the same. We loaded up in the car to go pick up the others and be on our way. But as I began to back the car out, I noticed it didn't feel right. It almost felt lopsided, as though - "surely I can't have a flat tire (?)" -so I hop out, and yes, I could and did have a flat tire!! And not just kinda flat- completely flat!! And it was time to go! I thought for a moment (what's Plan B?) and figured I'd call MissS and start my search for a Plan B there. Sure enough, she and her DH came to the rescue, so fast-forward twenty minutes and the boys and I are en route (only barely behind schedule) in her ESCALADE; which again, luxury is not my thing, but it is NICE!

Through email Kevin let me know that our tickets would be left at the front desk of his hotel, and that we probably wouldn't get a chance to visit because on Sundays they leave very quickly after the show to head back to Pensacola. That was a bit of a disappointment because we hadn't seen him in three or four years and I knew the boys wouldn't really remember him unless they got to see him again up close and personal (although he's TOTALLY unforgettable (!) but they were young :)

As we cruised down the highway (in VIP style!) the questions kept coming; the suspense was driving them crazy! When I pulled into the hotel parking lot, they were completely confused! Feeling quite smug and self-satisfied, I told them I had to pop in to pick up something, asked them to wait in the car, and headed for the front desk. I smiled and gave her my name, and asked for the tickets. "I have nothing for that name", she responded.

("WHAT??") So I repeated my name, and threw CDR Mannix' name in too for good measure, but got the same result. Again - time for a plan B! At the last minute that morning I had re-checked the name of the hotel and scrawled it, along with Kevin's cell phone number, on a slip of paper which was back in the car in my purse. I thought surely, he must already be at the field by this time and would probably not have his phone on him, but he did. It turned out he was still at the hotel and told me he'd meet us in the lobby in a couple of minutes. "C'mon yall! We're going In!" I told the boys, who had no idea WHAT to expect anymore! "Is it someone we know? Is it someone famous?? Is it Tony Romo??" (LOL!! "Tony, I've asked you to meet us here today because...") Anyway, a minute later Kevin came into the lobby (in regular clothes) and I gave him a big hug and re-introduced him to my boys - "Boys, you probably won't remember him but this is my friend Kevin Mannix.." then I introduced him to their friends. I could see a flicker of recognition in Cub's eyes as he struggled to place him! Chico and the others were super polite, but obviously at a loss as to the meaning of this introduction! So I (only a LITTLE dramatically) re-introduced him as "Commander Kevin Mannix and OBTW, he's THE SKIPPER OF THE BLUE ANGELS!!!!!" :) THAT got 'em!! He chatted with us for a few minutes and handed me the VIP passes and it dawned on them why we were there! "We're gonna get to see the Blue Angels!!"

Kevin had suggested we might want to grab lunch before we headed out and that seemed like a good idea. He recommended the Subway up the street, and the boys agreed that sounded good. Then he thanked us for coming, and we said our goodbyes. A few minutes later, we walked in Subway and two Blue Angels (in regular clothes) were ahead of us ordering their sandwiches. How could we tell? Because they certainly have a look about them AND their rental car had a big Blue Angel decal on it. Cause that's how they roll!! We were all too shy to approach them, so we just stole glances at them until they left! We got our food, started eating, and in walked Kevin (still in his regular clothes). This time the boys weren't so shy, and they had a chance to talk with him for a few minutes while he waited for his food. Then he once again thanked us for coming, told us to enjoy the show, and left. On our way out, two more Blues had arrived, already dressed in their blue flight suits and turning EVERY head!

The VIP passes entitled us to special parking (in our Escalade :), very special treatment from everyone Navy that we came in contact with, and special seats -front row-center of the show - Excellent! It was great!! There were some amazing stunt pilots in smaller aircraft, and a few other military demonstrations, including one by the newer version of the F/A 18 (which my DXH used to fly) - the F/A 18 E/F "Rhino". The boys were off roaming and I was just kicked back in the sparsely-populated VIP section with my sandals off and my feet up on a chair. The flight demo was awesome, the jet was LOUD, the background music rockin', the sun hot and the breeze perfect... It WAS perfect! I felt almost as though I had gone back in time, back to a time when this kind of thing was so normal for me... I fought back the tears as, for the first time in a LONG time, I allowed some of that love and pride I used to feel for the Navy to wash over me. Because beneath it all - during that time the Navy was a huge part of my life too! I realized maybe (perhaps necessarily) I had thrown out the baby with the bath water when it came how I had come to view my life in the Navy. Because beneath it all - I had an experience of a lifetime and met some friends of a lifetime during those years! And that is all part of who I am today; even if it seems foreign now. And for a few perfect moments, my past and the present made perfect sense, and were seamless :)

A bit later, the boys were all back and in place by the time it was the Blue Angels' turn to perform. They were so excited and IMPRESSED to see CDR Mannix all dressed up in that blue flight suit and being introduced with all the pomp and circumstance that accompanies the Blues' show. I LOVE IT! I could see them perform a thousand times and never tire of it! The show was awesome - the speed, the sound, the power!!! The sneak pass is my favorite! One of the boys turned to me and said, "so a couple of hours ago we were talking to this guy at Subway, and now he's flying over us at 700 MILES PER HOUR!" Yeah ~ pretty cool!! The boys LOVED the show! I LOVED it too! We had a wonderful day !! Thank you SO much CDR Mannix!!! We were thrilled and honored to be your guests!!! YALL ROCK!!! Love, RED

PS: next time I'll expect to see YOU there too Mrs. Mannix ! LOL! I'll bring the dice!!