Top Gun

On Tuesday morning my sister-in-law and I drove to the base to use the gym. I had recently mentioned to my brother that I had never been to his work and I'd like to sit in a jet. He politely declined my request, as apparently there's some danger in letting a civilian sit in an F-15 cockpit. I'm not sure what danger that could be. I wouldn't push any buttons, geesh guys. So even though I wasn't allowed to sit inside the jet, we stopped by his hangar to see where he works.

As we arrived on base, my SIL handed me the phone and told me to dial such and such a number to tell Joel we had arrived. She was in the middle of rambling about something else when a male voiced answered the phone. "We're here!!!" I exclaimed, and the voice responded, "What?" "I said we're here, we're at the base." "Uh... who is this?" I then realized that in my over-excited state I had ignored the fact that this did not sound like my brother. "Um, this is Meghan" and finally my sister in law told me to ask for my brother as this was the department phone, not a personal line. Oh, right, guys.

My brother showed us around the hangar - pointing out jets, filling me in on his job, explaining procedures. And then he said "This is my office", as he opened a door. I expected a small office. Instead, we walked into a room full of people, and my brother politely pointed out the guy who had answered the phone. "ohhh... you're not my brother" was the only thing I could think to say.

We saw the runway, went back into the hangar where I stared into a very dark engine and then climbed up the ladder to look at a cockpit (I did not get in). And the smartest thing I could think to say was "it's like Top Gun."

And there you have it. My brother's pretty cool - have I ever mentioned that? We just stayed in his warm and cozy house, which he took from an old, decrepit, miniscule house, to an open, light, and airy house. He did 95% of the work himself, after work, on the weekends, and on vacation time. He's pretty amazing. Plus, he introduced me to rock 'n' roll, which is also one of his major life accomplishments. Hats off to Big Bro! (I love you!)

And there you have it. This is the kind of entry you get when you complain that I don't mention you on the blog :)