Fly Bys

Liberation, digital sketch, Jamie Hurst

In a few days Kuwaitis will be celebrating National Day and Liberation Day (two separate days; National Day celebrates Kuwait and Liberation Day commemorates the end of Iraqi occupation from the first Gulf War (side note: President George Bush Sr. is still looked at very fondly here as are some aspects of American culture such as McDonald's). In preparation for the biggest celebration of the year, the military started practicing for an air show this morning. There are no laws here regulating how close to or fast aircraft can fly over buildings so you can imagine how loud it is when fighter jets break the sound barrier as they zoom directly over our building.

The first time it happened (that I was aware of) was a few months ago when they were preparing for a different air show. According to the news, things were deteriorating with the ISIS situation in neighboring Iraq and although everything here was status quo, I felt on edge. One day I was nursing Noah down for a nap when I heard the jets pass over. I tired not to completely freak my freak as it is said baby can sense such things especially when nursing. As soon as I could, I put him down to look out the window. There were four jets and three helicopters circling and circling. Just as I tried to calm down, a coast guard boat flew by at top speed in the direction of the helicopters. That isn't unusual but I was getting myself worked up. I called Gman to see if he knew what was going on, as the person who leaves the house every day I assume he knows all of the happenings in Kuwait. He had no idea.

Now I'm used to hearing fighter jets fly by several times without notice. Luckily Noah sleeps right through them. I can't. It's not just the noise, I want to watch them fly. Every time I watch them I think that must be the coolest job ever. How amazing would it be to fly in a plane like that? The adrenaline rush you must get every time…

Remember Top Gun and how bad ass all those guys were in the 80s? "baby, baby, I get down on my knees for youuuu…" Let's never forget the beach volleyball scene. Amen.