Thought Minion

The toys... oh the toys...

When I was around eight or nine, my parents took me to the yearly air show that was held on the air force base in southern GA.

Normally it was a single fun filled day of parking the next world over, walking to the other side of the universe and then around the whole event... (I was a kid... things were much bigger then)

For those of you not privy to such events... they typically show older and current aircrafts. Some of which are big enough to walk through or take a glance at the cockpit.

Some planes you were able to actually sit in the pilots seat and pretend for one moment that you were the high tech red baron and takin down planes left and right...

...me... i wasn't that big on wanting to be a pilot when I was younger. My reach was beyond the sky... but at the safety of ground level... I thought might like to be an astronomer.

But... other military things interested me like... say... things that would blow shit up.

And there was such a creature there. A surface to air missile system that they were allowing people to get in and rotate it and move it around.

You know I had to... so I waited in line... and waited.... and waited... and waited for like two people... (time seemed to move much slower when i was younger too)

I sat in the chair. Instinctively placed my hands on the controls to either side. It was a lil more high tech than pac-man, but i figured I could manage.

The tour guide...aka the dude that sat behind you and instructed you on what to do was yacking... I don't remember much of what he was saying... it was like he was in the distance. My mind was completing it's matrix upload of how this thing worked and thus I began my move newly acquired mechanical appendages.

I don't remember thinking at all while the blue haze of the world whizzed by in a blur. I just remember feeling.

I remember that I did wonder what would happen if I pulled in the triggers on my controllers. It never occurred to me that they would be locked...but I was careful not to hit them even though every joint in my fingers itched to do so.

Then my time was up. It was sad, but the Thunderbirds where about to perform and we had to get a good place right up front of the crowd.

I remember in the heat of a Georgia summer that it'd be cool if I could get one those toys for christmas...