There is a story in Beaufort that while filming Prince of Tides, Barbara Streisand became annoyed with the noise of the fighter pilots flying overhead. She called the CO of the airstation and told him she was tired of hearing that noise. His response - "Ma'am, that 'noise' you hear is the sound of freedom."
After living in the flight path for the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort for two and a half years, I have grown quite accustomed to the thunderous boom of the fighter jets that fly above our house. When we first moved here, I heard that beautfiful sound and got chills. It was so humbling to realize that we had moved here to be a part of something so much greater than ourselves. As time has passed, I find that I don't even notice them anymore. Kind of like the the little girl in The Polar Express who after several year stopped hearing the sound of the bell from Santa's sleigh.
Well just before lunch, i was sitting at my desk and I heard the most wonderful sound. A sound so loud and so powerful I knew it could mean only one thing... The Blue Angels are here! With the air show this weekend, the Blue Angels have been flying around downtown Beaufort. If the sight of their royal blue jets with US NAVY written in bright yellow doesn't make you proud to be an American, nothing will. The sound alone makes my eyes well with tears.
It's funny how we react emotionally to certain things. Sometimes all it takes for me to feel patriotic is to see a USMC sticker on someone's car. Sometimes it is an 18 year old Marine recruit waiting in line at the exhange who tells his buddy "I've been waiting for 13 weeks for this Snickers bar" that makes you realize that this little boy, this stranger, would die for you. And sometimes it is the sight and sound of a an angel that reminds you that it takes great and brave men and women to experience the kind of freedom and security we have in this country.
Well if that noise I hear is the sound of freedom, let freedom ring!
After living in the flight path for the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort for two and a half years, I have grown quite accustomed to the thunderous boom of the fighter jets that fly above our house. When we first moved here, I heard that beautfiful sound and got chills. It was so humbling to realize that we had moved here to be a part of something so much greater than ourselves. As time has passed, I find that I don't even notice them anymore. Kind of like the the little girl in The Polar Express who after several year stopped hearing the sound of the bell from Santa's sleigh.
Well just before lunch, i was sitting at my desk and I heard the most wonderful sound. A sound so loud and so powerful I knew it could mean only one thing... The Blue Angels are here! With the air show this weekend, the Blue Angels have been flying around downtown Beaufort. If the sight of their royal blue jets with US NAVY written in bright yellow doesn't make you proud to be an American, nothing will. The sound alone makes my eyes well with tears.
It's funny how we react emotionally to certain things. Sometimes all it takes for me to feel patriotic is to see a USMC sticker on someone's car. Sometimes it is an 18 year old Marine recruit waiting in line at the exhange who tells his buddy "I've been waiting for 13 weeks for this Snickers bar" that makes you realize that this little boy, this stranger, would die for you. And sometimes it is the sight and sound of a an angel that reminds you that it takes great and brave men and women to experience the kind of freedom and security we have in this country.
Well if that noise I hear is the sound of freedom, let freedom ring!
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