Presidewnt reagan's Missing Man Formation

[much cut]

All of us know this poem, but from time to time it's worth rereading.

"High Flight"

I've come to prefer works such as:


An Irish Airman Foresees His Death
by William Butler Yeats

I know that I shall meet my fate
Somewhere among the clouds above;
Those that I fight I do not hate,
Those that I guard I do not love;
My country is Kiltartan Cross,
My countrymen Kiltartan's poor,
No likely end could bring them loss
Or leave them happier than before.
Nor law nor duty bade me fight,
Nor public men, nor cheering crowds,
A lonely impulse of delight
Drove to this tumult in the clouds;
I balanced all, brought all to mind,
The years to come seemed waste of breath,
A waste of breath the years behind
In balance with this life, this death.

Although I appreciated reading this, the mental attitude it suggests is
inconsistant with most pilots I've been privilged to know.

My thoughts flow more to how amasingly lucky I have been to live my life in
these times.