Oh wow!

Almost 12 hours of sleep!  There were a few brief wake-up moments interspersed...

Sometime today, I got up and turned off the air conditioning unit.  I guess when the ambient temperature drops below 90, Fall has arrived!  At least to us "Arizonans."  I just turned it back on though... 94 is starting to push it!  I just turned it to "fan" as it is not so much feeling the heat, it is the stuffiness or lack of air circulation.

Feeling better today.  I might even venture outside for a walk, grab a soda, just feel the warmth of the sun.

A few days ago, I had the opportunity to pause and watch as two Chinooks flew overhead.  These are the big, twin rotor, helicopters... the Jolly Greens, or the Flying Buses.  A few hours later, I once again paused as I saw several Blackhawk helicopters in the air.

I have had the opportunity once to see a Blackhawk up close.  A long time ago, as a paramedic, I responded to an accident that had a large number of injured.  As the call progressed, the IC requested multiple helicopters.  One of the helicopters that eventually responded was a Blackhawk... a Marine helicopter that responded from right here in Yuma, way out to the East, and somewhere a little South of Tucson.

At the time, as the adrenaline was coursing through my body, I didn't appreciate the magnitude of this.  Now as a since then Flight Paramedic/Nurse, with a limited experience in aviation... this in retrospect, was a big-@$$ rotor!  Heard, learned, and read a few days later, that this helicopter would not land on the pad at a local hospital... chose instead to go to a high-school football field.

Now, when I hear the jets, I quickly pause and determine which side or direction are they coming from... and then I look in the opposite direction to catch a glimpse of them!

I am scheduled to work the next few nights... perhaps on my next off-stretch, I might find my way over to the airport for breakfast.  Yuma International Airport, is a "joint use" airport.  MCAS and private aviation.  Who knew one could look out of a window and watch a commercial aircraft taxi... and right behind it watch a vertical take off!