Sitting at home while a Noreaster dumps snow outside, recovering from a trip to Little Rock, AR. Both cats are parked nearby, keeping an eye on the Giver of Food after a week of having a friend drop by to keep them from starving in my absence.
It was a visit to a family member training up at the Home of the Herk. Nearly done with check rides and such, they'll be joining an active squadron and looking at deployment real soon now. I've already written a brief diary on some of what we did; this will summarize the rest of it.
Climbing Pinnacle Mountain was a memorable experience, especially every time I tried to use my legs afterwards. There's nothing like being in shape, and I'm not. The views from on top are great on a clear day, which we had. You can see for 20-30 miles in every direction. Located west of Little Rock, you can see the towers of downtown from the summit, and the broad windings of the Arkansas River across the landscape. A prominent landmark, it's one of the reference points the Herks flying out of L.R.A.F.B. use all the time; two flew over while we were sitting on top taking in the view.
Little Rock has made an effort to deal with its natural surroundings by incorporating the river into a system of parks and trails; it's worth exploring, based on the brief look we had at part of it. The Murray Lock and Dam has a spectacular foot/bike bridge spanning the river. The Army Corps of Engineers flag flies over the lock. It's an example of the kind of thing federal government can do - at least when it's something those running the government want it to do.
While man has had a huge impact on the area, it's nice to see the locals are beginning to appreciate the idea that bringing humans and the land into closer contact is a good thing. Ironically, the original rock formation that gave the city its name has been reduced to a mere nubbin. I'm guessing that was a side effect of the rise of the railroads. Several massive spans still cross the river downtown, though none of them carry trains. A trolley system runs through the area though. It's a short link in a larger regional transit system. Many freight rail lines criss-cross the region.
We took a side trip the next day to Hot Springs, Arkansas. It's an eye-opening experience. There's a national park in the center of the city; it predates the national park system as it was first declared a Federal Reservation predating Yellowstone. It protects and preserves the natural hot springs that give the area its name. The observation tower on the central peak gives an outstanding 360 degreee vista of the area. The lower enclosed viewing deck has exhibits that give the local history. It's an interesting cross section of American history: the battle over natural resources versus commerical exploitation, organized crime (the Chicago Mobs liked to hang out there on vacation), the wild west (The James Gang staged several robberies in the area), natural disasters (several floods and fires), presidential politics (Not just Bill!), baseball, American medicine (hydrotherapy along Bathhouse Row - a National Historic Landmark), racial inequality, and show biz. Truly, we could have spent more time there and wish we had gone further - about another hour down the road is America's only diamond mine, where you can keep what you find. Some days are just not long enough.
During downtime back at our base for the trip, I got yet another look at cable TV. We don't have it at home, and having spent time channel surfing, I think Springsteen is still right. It's scary to think people watch cable news channels and think they're informed. On the other hand, it's nice to see this show again even if only in reruns. I also spent a lot of time rereading a book I picked up some time back; it's fantasy but a good read if you can buy the initial premise.
L.R.A.F.B. is actually in Jacksonville, AR. The city also is home to the Jacksonville Museum of Military History. The deceptively small white frame structure holds some very powerful exhibits. The area has a long military history. A number of battles took place in the region during the civil war; photos, illustrations, and artifacts bring it to life. I couldn't help but wonder how things might be in our military today if some traditions had lasted. The museum has an account of two Confederate commanders who got so angry at each other over management of a battle with Union forces, they ended up dueling with pistols and one was killed.
There are some World War One displays, but a much larger section on World War Two. Numerous original posters on the walls re-evoke the times, warning how loose talk at home can hurt the troops, and others calling for effort on the home front. Rationing so all could get a fair share, buying War Bonds to support the war effort, posters encouraging people to save, conserve, and contribute. Those people knew how to fight a real war. As it happens, WW II may have saved Jacksonville. A town of a few hundred with dirt roads and not much else, it changed when a major munitions plant was built there for the war effort, and ended up employing thousands who'd never been exposed to a major industrial effort like that before. It transformed the community. L.R.A.F.B. is built largely on the site of the plant.
Speaking of which, there are exhibits in progress for more recent conflicts, including Vietnam, and a nod to 911. There's also quite a bit on the role of the Air Force in the area since the airbase went into operation. At one time Arkansas was the front line in the Cold War. A set of missile silos across the state loaded with Titan II missiles armed with thermonuclear warheads sat ready for launch for two decades. Bill Clinton was governor when one of them blew up in the silo, with the nuclear warhead landing on the ground a short distance away. Ronald Reagan was the president who was able to end the missileer's long watch by getting the Russians to agree on arms limitations. It puts the GWOT in perspective to be reminded of those times.
We had dinner one night at Gaucho's Grill, a restaurant dedicated to the art of -
Churrascaria is a 300-year-old tradition stemming from Brazil where ranchers BBQ large portions of marinated beef, pork and poultry on skewers over an open fire pit. Gaucho's celebrates this tradition in Little Rock by carving 14 varieties of skewered meat table side.
Decadence. Sheer delicious artery-clogging waistline-expanding decadence. The genius of the American way of life is how we can borrow from other cutures those things which enhance our own vices. ;-) Definitely worth seeking out if you're in Little Rock. For an after dinner treat, we followed it up with the surreal Blades of Glory. John Rogers at Kung Fu Monkey had this to say:
-- Blades of Glory: Although enjoyable, it's the first time I've said after watching something: 'You know what would have been funnier? More incest."
Thebox office is hard to argue with on this film. We enjoyed it.
We got into the air base for a few hours on the last day of our visit. We drove past the flight line with lots of Herks sitting in the rain between flights. Saw some of the facilities, and a lot of earnest men and women in uniform. What they do is not a game, a talking point, or a photo op. It's a job, but more than just a job.
We spent a little time walking around a memorial area, displays of aircraft that once stood ready on the front lines, and are now standing for all of those men and women who served so that they would be ready when needed. It's hard to look at the beauty of the sculptured lines of a B-47 and reconcile that with the missions it was designed to carry out. The paradox of war is that it requires the pursuit of excellence in the service of destruction, turning creativity upon itself. In America we tell ourselves we prepare to do this in the hope that others will thus be dissuaded from challenging us. The perfect military victory is one in which no shot is fired, and no one dies. We are a long way from perfection, and the price is heavy.
(edit - addition) We tell ourselves we (meaning Americans) don't start wars, but of course we do. It's now official policy - strike first, ask questions later. We're in the hands of people who think there's no point in being the last superpower if they can't use that power to get what they want. Chuck Schumer in his book Positively American has a telling analogy. To paraphrase, the biggest kid in the school yard has a choice. He can make friends or throw his weight around. If the latter, maybe nobody can beat him in a fight one on one, but he spends all his time fighting, has no friends, and the rule the other kids have about no ganging up gets waived in his case. If he chooses to make friends, he can sit back, be respected for his authority, and not spend all his time looking for a fight. It's an easy thing to see in the abstract, but a bit harder in the specific when people you know and love are components in that superpower machine. (end addition)
Stopping in a base store, there's a big selection of clothing, sundries, books, tools of the trade, and other items. Military life is not easy, though there are inevitable attempts at humor to soften it. A card with a soldier holding an MRE saying "I like food..." and inside "Please send me some." A mug with a cartoon of a rearview mirror and a slogan saying (as best as I can remember) "Happiness is seeing Iraq in this."
Having a family member in the service can really focus the mind. They're doing what they want, what they trained for - but putting all of that to use and the possible price...
Getting to the airport at an ungodly hour for the trip home was an extended anti-climax. The plane for our flight never made it in the night before. Instead of Little Rock to O'Hare to Stewart, the weather had us flying on two other airlines to Cincinnatti, to Detroit, to Stewart and added about 12 hours to the trip. The most strenuous security check I've had yet - and they didn't find everything. Four hours of waiting in Ohio. Five hours in Michigan. CNN headline news - all day long the same stories with the same lack of real content. Air terminal fast food. Trying to think of who to call with the cell phone. Sitting in Detroit watching a stream of airliner after airliner launching into the sky on the power of distilled dinosaur remains while musing what the point of it all is. Trying not to think too hard about the life I'm returning to, nor the possible life of the one we left back in Little Rock.
Eventually we boarded the plane for the last leg home through darkness, snow and turbulence. Our bags got off the plane; the system worked. The long drive home, dodging a small herd of deer who'd decided to cross the highway exit ramp about the time we needed to use it. Hauling a week of mail out of the mailbox, getting into the house and being greeted by anxious cats.
A day of rest and cleaning up today. Outside the weather alternates between snow and rain. Life - for now - goes on.
post script. I've made several edits to this since originally posting it a couple of hours ago. This week past while on one level just a family trip, has confronted me with the up and down sides of being an American in this time and place. Arkansas is beautiful, and there is much there that is good. This is true about a lot of the country. But, there are also things going on that make me think sometimes the only thing holding this country together is collective ignorance of our history and groupthink refusal to see inconvenient truths. America's greatest moments have come in facing those downsides and dealing with them. Our greatest disasters have come from putting on blinders.
We must not let what is right with America blind us to what is wrong, just as we must not let what is wrong cause us to forget what we can do to make it right. Day by day, that's the war we need to fight, and that's the war that should go on.