you could go out to the LSO shack and video tape jets bouncing
While us middies were waiting to watch the flying eagles practice some night FCLP's I ask the LSO if I can take video of the bounces, he asks "can you make sure the light doesn't go off," I say "sure, I did this last year, I'm a pro at it" his reply, was "if the light goes of I will take your fvckin camera and throw it away." So I double checked all the settings and made sure I was ready to go.
Flash forward 45 minutes, night vision has adjusted, having a blast watching the class who's motto was "Quality Spread," and in the middle of watching a dragon land on the deck and then fly away, all of a sudden this blinding light shatters my world. My brain is in a hailstorm. "How the FVCK did this happen, the light switch is off, the camera is in night mode, WTF" I fumble around with the phone/camera and look at the flash, which is off, which doesnt make sense, there
is light, but its not coming from
my phone. Thats when I look over my shoulder behind me to the two midshipmen who were standing so as not to get in the way of my amature video, and see that the intense blinding light which had been the bane of my existence was NOT MY FAULT! It came from a midshipman who was not assigned to my squadron, but to VFA-125 but that we had invited out of courtesy. He had recieved a cell phone call at o'dark thirty, and the LED's on his phone lit up the night like that first hour in Baghdad 15 years ago.
Although I had analyzed the situation and determined its source in about 2 and quarter seconds, the LSO didn't have that luxury, In his mind there was only one cause of the hazard that could kill one or more of the studs already inches away from death, precariously floating around in the night, and that was
me. Cursing and screaming at me split seconds after I had aquitted myself of all charges, I found myself in a situation that looked... pretty bad. After affirming my innocence, I in my infinite wisdom just thought to myself "stupid middy" and
continued filming as though
nothing had happened. So when he stepped out of the shack and saw me acting in what seemed like mocked defiance he couldn't have been more pi$$ed.
I tried to tell him. I tried to yell, over the ear plugs, and the cranials, and the headphones, and the engines with thier combined 44,000lbs of thrust, and over his anger spooled to military power, and explain in the few seconds that I had available that it wasn't me. I tried to point at the true offender, but ended up pointing at air. I knew I wouldn't win so when he said "*string of expletives deleted* put that [phone] in the car," I did. I double checked with the midshipman that
did not slink away to make sure that my phone wasn't the culprit, got the confirmation that I needed and sadly tossed my phone/camera into the suv and went back to the dazzling spectacle that seemed slightly dimmed.
An eternity rounded to 45 minutes later, there was a pause in the bounces, and our LSO slowly took off his headphones, and earplugs, and calmly asked what went wrong. I deliberately paused before giving my answer fully expecting the offending midshipman to sound off, and was rewarded by testimony vindicating me of all charges.The LSO's verdict "you can go get your camera back." The blow off valve working, I joyfully went back to documenting the landings, thankfull no one died, and that I kept my word.
Later that night I was introduced to Spooners and got to meet some real American heroes. Moral of the story, I used to wonder why the fleet hated middies, now I fvckin hate middies.
)
excited as hell