Hi everyone,
This is Lindsay. First off, let me say that I forgot my Ipod on this 12-hour flight. After watching The Book of Eli (GREAT FLICK!) I scrolled through the music Jukebox on my monitor and found...::drum roll:: please....
The complete albums of:
- Led Zeppelin
- QUEEN
- The Best of Jimi Hendrix
- Them Crooked Vultures
- Pearl Jam
- and The Ramones to name a few! I am SAVED!!!!!! My flight would not have been complete had I not been able to let the LED OUT like I do back home in Houston every night at 9:00 when I listen to 93.7 The Arrow. I thought I was going to end up listening to the airline music channels filled with elevator music, and Sade singing "Smooth Operator." You know those tunes that they play in Walgreens late at night when you run in for a pack of gum!? I was dreading having to listen to Kenny G tunes for 10 hrs (sorry Kenny).
Could this flight be any cooler??
Yes!! Get this:
Ariana and I are sitting together. We get settled in and the gentleman sitting next to us says hello and asks us how we are. We introduce ourselves and he says his name is Rickey. It just so happens that Rickey is headed back to Japan where he is stationed in the Navy at an Air Force base south of where we will be visiting other bases. In conversation, we learn that Rickey has been stationed in Japan for over one year and lived in my hometown of Spring, TX for over six years!!
He is a huge movie buff like me and enjoys console gaming. I am a PC gamer myself and have a lot of friends that play on console as well. We even like the same games!!
I think that it is so neat how you can meet perfect strangers and end up having so much in common.
More than that, Ariana and I are honored to sit in the same row as Rickey. These guys endure so much. Just this flight alone can be so grueling and a hassle to get back and forth from the base to home in the U.S.
Rickey is 22 years old (like me!).
The life that they live is a service to our country. It is a service to you and to me...so that I am free and able to express my thoughts and words to you all as I am doing here. It is in the little things that make me stop and think about my life compared to others.
I think on behalf of myself and the other five Texans Cheerleaders, we are thankful after this past Memorial Day. This trip could not have come at a more fitting time. It is important to not only remember all of the individuals in the armed forces who have lost their lives, but to also remember those men and women who are currently serving, like our new friend Rickey.
If we can, we will shake every single hand of every military individual within our reach at every base that we visit this trip. We will express great gratitude toward everyone serving in the next few days.
If we can pass the warmth and love to these men and women through a simple handshake, smile, and a hug, I hope that we can help them feel a little bit closer to home and a little closer to their families somehow.
Meeting Rickey just lit a fire inside of me and I can't wait for the rest of this trip. It is going to be incredible.
