Expat Dreaming

"You're at Kimpo USAFB, Korea, 1952 . . . that piercing whine you hear is a flight of F-86 Sabre jets running up for take-off. In a few minutes, you're going to be airborne with Major Pattaya Dana, clashing with MiG-15's . . . and at the speed of sound, 33,000 feet above the earth, where winner and loser are determined by whoever manages to get . . . the edge." *

Ok, reality check -- I'm in a bathroom in a room at the A.A.Hotel in Pattaya, Thailand using tweezers to pull hairs out of my sixty year old (Jesus, I am starting to look like my father) face. After that I'll shave, and shower, and brush my teeth 'till they bleed.

I gave Fa two hundred baht yesterday to buy a pair of those white jeans I love to see her in. Hope she has them on. So, I'm not about to be airborne over the skies of Korea. Just dreaming I guess. But wait a minute--aren't I livin' a dream? How many men would like to be hittin' the boardwalk this morning to engage the enemy? Ok, the girls are not exactly the enemy but it is for sure engagement.

"You're at South Pattaya, Thailand, 2009 . . . that deep throaty roar you hear is a fighter group of mongers running up for boardwalk engagement. In a few minutes, they're going to be crossing Beach Road, jumping the curb, crashing through the bushes with Dana, clashing with hookers . . . not above the earth but under the palm trees, where winner and loser are determined by whoever manages to get . . . the edge."

Fighting MiG-15's over Korea, dressing to go meet Fa: I guess life is just dreams. But they are good dreams--man dreams. Dreams of engagement, glory, and happiness. I'm a lucky sixty year old man. I'm still dreaming and still dropping out of the clouds with both guns blazing. In a couple of minutes I'll have my arms around Fa.

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* Blazing Combat, c2009, p. 145.

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