First time...

[Debi]

Wait Benway! You ever notice how a capital G looks like the mirror image of a capital J? Yes, really. The J just got tilted and it’s top bar slipped off and landed on it’s little hooky part.

LOL Sometimes I wake up in the morning and read a thread that makes me laugh. You, Paintman, Benway, Charleh caused a coffee screen spit this morning.

 

[Armand]

I was on a private plane my first time (that I remember) I was when I was a baby but that doesn't come to mind. anyway. My brother in law had two planes I just got out the hospital my brother in law let me take the controls when we were in the air it was fun I noticed the lower you fly the bumpier it is.

 

[Seahunter]

Seahunter, it was both for me.

By age 14, [oops, corrected my age] all of my siblings had moved out so I felt somewhat alone inside my home. As my parents had insisted, I’d spent the prior few years focusing on my friendships and my school (and piano lessons which I hated because I have zero rhythm).

Then we moved to Japan and I lost the two things I cared about most.

I went into a deep depression and withdrew from my family. I did make some few friends but we were living in temporary housing for months. With many people in that hotel leaving the island, it was hard to want to create any deep personal attachments. My school grades went from A/B to D/F.

At some point I got mixed up with alcohol abuse and mixing that with some pills. It took me about three months to figure out I was in serious personal trouble and that I was making everything be about “me”. I didn’t want to be a burden to my parents so I did what worked before and threw myself into some new positive friendships and school.

Everything for me turned around and I was able to discover the beauty of the island. Okinawa is tiny - 60 miles long and between 4-12 miles across. I traveled all of it as frequently as possible. For just a few hundred Yen (like one dollar) I could get taxied away into the island’s biggest city or into the wild. I scoured temples, an abandoned zoo, under water caves, and more. I flourished and grew up.

I’d say that most military families with children can find great personal growth and cultural wealth in deployments to foreign countries. However, I think the kids have to be given the appropriate prep and care as the move can be just as stressful on them as the parents. The kids have no control of the situation; therefore I think for me, I decided to manifest the outside world to look as chaotic as the world inside my head.

Wow, thanks for the great reply, WandS! I definitely can see where it could be both. I'm glad you had the drive to keep it positive and hang around the "right" people.

 

[jadamz]

10 yrs old. San Francisco to Saipan,Mariana Islands. Dad worked there as electrical engineer for the Trust Territory (back then, now they have sovereignty)

 

[Benway]

I was nine. Family holiday and a flight from London to Crete. Exciting stuff! I did have bad ear popping problems though. There was a great lady who gave me boiled sweets to suck and plastic cups to put over my ears. All carried out by me like the coolest science thing ever. But, ouch!

The return trip was more fun. There'd been a storm gathering around the peak of the island all week (I think it was called Mt. Spiros. Most of the people there were also called Spiro from memory) It broke the night we flew out and many flights were cancelled but we were told that our pilot had decided that he was going to do it. Cool! I was baffled by the anxiety from the adults around. Truth be told, as much fun as the flight in had been it was lacking something compared to TV or movie flights and as we took off, lurching around with massive thunder and flashes of lightning, the plane tilting about like Han Solo was flying it I thought (cups on ears and sweet in mouth) that "This is real flying!"

 

[WitchAndShaman]

I was nine. Family holiday and a flight from London to Crete. Exciting stuff! I did have bad ear popping problems though. There was a great lady who gave me boiled sweets to suck and plastic cups to put over my ears. All carried out by me like the coolest science thing ever. But, ouch!

The return trip was more fun. There'd been a storm gathering around the peak of the island all week (I think it was called Mt. Spiros. Most of the people there were also called Spiro from memory) It broke the night we flew out and many flights were cancelled but we were told that our pilot had decided that he was going to do it. Cool! I was baffled by the anxiety from the adults around. Truth be told, as much fun as the flight in had been it was lacking something compared to TV or movie flights and as we took off, lurching around with massive thunder and flashes of lightning, the plane tilting about like Han Solo was flying it I thought (cups on ears and sweet in mouth) that "This is real flying!"

Boiled sweets sound like...plain old yuck. Unless it’s like a donut which is essentially dough boiled in oil.

Your description of the Falcon flight home is hysterical. I can imagine an overly hairy person sitting next to you letting out the occasional Wookie yawl . Somewhere in the background R2 is chirping and squeaking as he roll back and forth through the isle.

 

[Benway]

Boiled sweets sound like...plain old yuck. Unless it’s like a donut which is essentially dough boiled in oil.

Your description of the Falcon flight home is hysterical. I can imagine an overly hairy person sitting next to you letting out the occasional Wookie yawl . Somewhere in the background R2 is chirping and squeaking as he roll back and forth through the isle.

Boiled sweets are just hard sweets in a variety of colours! A web search throws up the name "hard candy" so they are that. Too hard to chew so you have to suck them which supposedly helps with ear popping problems. It was a great flight at the time, but I think I may react differently now!

 

[WitchAndShaman]

Boiled sweets are just hard sweets in a variety of colours! A web search throws up the name "hard candy" so they are that. Too hard to chew so you have to suck them which supposedly helps with ear popping problems. It was a great flight at the time, but I think I may react differently now!

I know the hard candy term; thanks for the translation. For awhile I was envisioning some kind of Medieval, British youth-targeting torture scheme.

You know, “Burn the witch. No, drown the witch. No better yet, ‘boiled sweets’ the witch!”

 

[Lynne]

ROLF! You guys are too funny.

 

[Benway]

I know the hard candy term; thanks for the translation. For awhile I was envisioning some kind of Medieval, British youth-targeting torture scheme.

You know, “Burn the witch. No, drown the witch. No better yet, ‘boiled sweets’ the witch!”

Yeah. I suppose if you are unfamiliar with the name, "she gave me boiled sweets" does sound quite alarming! My eyes are watering thinking about it!