Geraldalann
....to my beloved Uncle Glenn and to my beloved cousins Jim, Susan and Robin....in the name of my beloved Aunt Janice (preceded in death by my parents Bill and Beulah) I thank you for all the memories with which your family has blessed mine....one particular memory I'll share here....at age 5 , 6 or so, formed while on vacation, Uncle Glenn, on one of the tours he gave us of his Air Force Base, said, "...watch the wheels of that aircraft taking off..." ....lo and behold the wheels disappeared up into it's belly....shortly after that he said, "...look up...!!!" ....I looked up and saw reflected in the sun a huge shiny airplane in flight above us....then he said, "...look behind it..." ....and there it was---that great big shiny airplane was dragging a parachute....although unsure on this point, if memory serves correctly he explained that it was a "test" to see how an airplane would react if its drag parachute inadvertently deployed amid flight....that "parachute test" memory served me so well that it surely guided me into the future where, as a Navy Scientific and Technical Aerial Photographer qualified to certify for flight on nearly every aircraft in the military's inventory as an Aircrewman, I found myself photographing parachute testing procedures at the Winter Home of the Blue Angels above the same ground and over the same waters that only a decade earlier saw the parachutes filmed and tested for the Mercury and Gemini space capsules....what a life I've experienced thanks to the foundational memories laid by Uncle Glenn, Aunt Janice and family....my love and respect to you and yours....geraldalann @ gee mail dot com....
