Twas the Flight before Christmas
Well another year has passed, yet memories still remain.
The following was posted each and every year by my friend Mark. Each year he would alter it somewhat to reflect pilots that had come and gone. In keeping with tradition – I post it here. – Stuart a.k.a. Magnum_VF
‘Twas the Flight Before Christmas…
‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house,
Not a pilot was stirring, not even Mag’s mouse;
All the 18’s were stored in the hanger with care,
In hopes that FA II soon would be there;
The pilots were restless at home in their beds,
While visions of FA II danced in their heads;
And JinkX in Old Maine, and I in PA,
Had just settled down for a long family stay,
When out on the tarmac there arose such a clatter,
Mag sprang from his bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window he flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen Snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,
When, what to his wondering eyes should appear,
But Archer, and Executor, and Firefoxx he feared,
With these little old Pilots, so lively and quick,
Mag knew in a moment it must be some trick.
More rapid than Raptors his courses they came,
And Foxx whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;
“Now BIGNAP! now MERLOCKE! now OPPPS! and GIGANTOR!
On THE_SWORD! on Q-TIPS! on SLASH! and ROADRUNNER!
To the pit of Mag’s Eagle, do we have the balls!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!”
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, they mount to the sky,
So up to angels ten their waypoints they flew,
With a plane full of beer, and Kuchinator too.
And then, in a twinkling, Mag heard on the roof
The swilling and jawing of each little goof.
As Mag drew in his hand, and was turning around,
The wheels of his Eagle were leaving the ground.
It was loaded with pilots, and painted bright red,
But the question on his mind, “Which way would they head?”
A bundle of six-packs were tied to each wing,
and some fifths of Vodka, among other things.
His hands how they tremored! His eyes were aflame!
What could they be up to? What excuse could they claim?
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the skin on his face was as white as the snow;
The rumble of tailpipes he felt in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;
He pondered, if maybe, it might be ol’ Basalisk,
who plotted and planned this all out with the Silverfox.
Then in came Rokaku, a right jolly old elf,
And laughed when he saw Mag, in spite of himself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon Magnum knew he had nothing to dread;
Rok spoke not a word, but led Mag to his truck,
Then did some wheelies through the snow and the muck,
He turned on the radar installed in the dash,
And giving a nod, said “We’ll be there in a flash;
When they pulled up at BearForce’s, the welcome was hearty,
See the pilots together had thrown Mag a party.
And Mag heard Foxx exclaim, with a voice full of cheer,
“WE JUST BORROWED YOUR EAGLE, TO HAUL ALL THE BEER!”
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good flight!
****Gen. Firefoxx_VF AKA Mark
In loving memory of Firefoxx_VF
Football
Okay Sports Fans. I know that it has been oh something like 3 months, 1 week, 1 day and about 15 hours since the 2007/2008 Football season drew to a close. But we have already had the 2008 NFL Draft for crying out loud. the mandatory training camps are underway, the rule changes have been set. it’s time for the 2008 NFL Season to start already!
Sigh. Guess I have to wait 3 months, 24 days until the start (Giants vs Redskins). and a mere 10,281,600 seconds until the Patriots play!
My Wish for You in 2008
I had – at first – intended to write about Coffee. For whatever that may have been worth. Instead I got this email in today – how could one top it. But in future posts I have much to talk about, some things to celebrate, some of sorrow and some that touches deep inside.
For now though – enjoy this. Read more
oh lucky me
Two notable events happened this past week. Now while I do not miss 6 feet of snow a year (like NH has), we got about 8 inches last weekend. I really did enjoy it. Scenes like this one I do not get to see much anymore.
(Guest Post) The Wonderful (and not so Wonderful) world of the Internet
I have asked Michael to do a guest post for me on my blog here. I am sure you will find Michael’s style of writing; depth of curiosity and demeanor to be one of a young man that can accomplish much in life – if he so chooses. – Stuart
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The Wonderful (and not so Wonderful) world of the InternetThe Internet plays an incredibly big and important role in my life. I guess that the same can be said for most if not all people (under the age of 85), with the difference that my life would’ve been completely different (read worse) if it wasn’t for the Internet. Read more
Humanity
Every once and awhile along comes a story that would humble most anyone. This time it is a story of a Team, Team Hoyt.
Dick and Rick Hoyt are a father-and-son team from Massachusetts who together compete just about continuously in marathon races. And if they’re not in a marathon they are in a triathlon — that daunting, almost superhuman, combination of 26.2 miles of running, 112 miles of bicycling, and 2.4 miles of swimming. Together they have climbed mountains, and once trekked 3,735 miles across America.
It’s a remarkable record of exertion — all the more so when you consider that Rick can’t walk or talk.
Of Mice and Men
Don’t ask me why I picked that for a thread title – it just came to me. There were a few things I wanted to talk/write/muse about this post but first and foremost is my new ride.
You see, my 1995 Geo Prism (Toyota Corolla) Died with 191,257 miles on it. Overheated bad and kept on running until I slowed down. I bought the car January of 2000 for $3,800 with 90,514 miles on it and that equates to roughly $ 0.0377 per mile. Not bad really. It certainly owed me nothing – and still got 40mpg up to the end. Read more
Ok, so the Headless horseman freaks the hell out of me.
I was talking with Krissi on what freaks someone out – because. Okay, back up – call it a snowballing type of thing to make Maddy happy – but I went as a clown this year on Halloween. Go figure – do you know that I cannot remember dressing up for Halloween since I was about 12 years old?
You’re wondering what I looked like aren’t you?
All right – all right – here I am.
Getting Unplugged
It’s funny how terms change isn’t it?
I can remember when Unplugging or Unplugged meant you unplugged from the outlet.
And then it was the craze for MTV’s unplugged. And artists released unplugged albums – meaning no electrical instruments. It was a craze – everyone was releasing unplugged albums.
The Face of Moronic Proportions
The new iPhone came out today. If I thought Att/Cingular were worth a monthly fee I may consider it. But they are not, and I would wait for the second incarnation of this gadget before plunking down serious money for a cell phone. – yes a cell phone.
Guess I somehow lack the understanding of those who get caught up in the apple cult craze.. I certainly cannot imaging celebrating at dropping close to 500 bucks like this dude.
And I certainly cannot fathom paying 500 bucks PLUS another 300 to get people to stand in line for you – like these two girls got.