I was planning on writing a post about how much fun I had at the Thunder Over the Rock Airshow yesterday but I’m sitting here watching news coverage with Pittsburgh officials speaking regarding the shooting yesterday and I just can’t. I mean every other week there’s another shooting, another murder, or some other heinous crime and it’s just too much. It bothers me how much hate there is in this world. The killings of Mollie Tibbets and Celia Barquin Arozamena really got to me. And when I heard that Celia’s killer plead not guilty I literally threw something at the TV. He told people he had an urge to murder someone, the cops found his knives he used, and he plead not guilty? What the hell? Don’t give me any of that “not guilty by reason of insanity” bullshit. You killed someone. You’re guilty.
And let me be clear about one thing- this is NOT a post regarding gun control or any type of politics. This is a post saying there is too much hate in the world and too much violence. I refuse to live in a world where people can’t go to worship they way they choose. I refuse to live in a world where I have to tell my stepdaughters they can’t go out for a run or go play a round of golf by themselves. And most of all, I refuse to live in a world where this is the norm. And the worst thing? There’s nothing I can do about any of this crap that’s happening. I can’t stop someone from killing someone. I can’t stop someone who thinks other people should die. The only thing I can do is to be open minded and be a good person. I just don’t get it. I’m a pretty opinionated person but even I know that not everyone is going to agree with me 100% of the time. And guess what? It’s not MY job to change their minds. I get so pissed at Facebook posts that claim that everyone who doesn’t like like the poster is immediately wrong. Should people be open minded? Yes. Should people try to listen to and understand opinions and values of people who are different than them? Yes. Does that mean they have to change their minds? No. And stop hating on people who are different than you! There are 7.5 billion people in the world. Not everyone is just like you. Get over yourself. And while you’re at it- educate yourself and be a better person. Be the good in the world.
Ok, onto better and happier things! Once again, my husband was right. That’s twice this week I’ve said that. This weekend is the Thunder Over the Rock Show at the Little Rock Air Force Base. My husband told me about it and I figured it would be something to do rather than sit in the house. I am soooo glad we went. It was amazing. First of all, I didn’t realize how HUGE the Little Rock Air Force Base is. When we parked and walked ( probably a mile!) to the actual event, we saw people parachuting in. They had so many planes out for display and tours and shows going on all day. It was really heartwarming so see so many Air Force men and women talking to kids and giving them tours of the cockpit of planes. I didn’t realize how big some of those planes are! One of the largest planes was named Travis. I had to take a pic and send it to my cousin Travis. Mostly because he likes anything mechanical and anything that goes fast!
During the afternoon, we saw 2 planes called the Twin Tigers do some stunts. These tiny little planes were flying around and spinning like crazy. At the end of the day, we saw the Thunderbirds. Holy crap! This is by far one of the coolest things I’ve seen in my life. There were 6 F16 fighter jets flying in formation and doing the most incredible stunts. Several times they would have 4 flying in formation and one would fly over really low and break your eardrums. James and I decided that a jet engine is the loudest thing we’ve ever heard. I can’t imagine the skill and concentration it takes those pilots to fly 6 enormous planes in the air and flip them around at the same time. They also had a huge building dedicated to STEM for kids. They had a lot of interactive displays regarding engineering and you could tell kids loved it! The entire thing was so well organized and so fun that we are telling our family and friends to visit next year so we can take them. Oh- and did I mention its FREE? No admission charge, no parking fees, just free to go in and walk around. They did have food and drink vendors there so that’s all you had to pay for if you wanted too. I think that amazed me the most. They can’t possibly make any money off of it- it’s all an appreciation type thing. I have no idea if Omaha Air Force Base does anything like this, but if they do, I ‘d encourage you to go!
In other news, my stepson ran in the state cross country meet in Iowa yesterday. He placed 36th out of 150. I was so happy for him! The team got 4th place but the 3rd place team only beat them by 3 points. Of course, the top 3 teams got medals! It’s the first time the boys team has made it to state so it was pretty cool that they placed as high as they did. And this was one of those days where we really were torn. We had fun at the air show, but constantly had our minds on his meet. That’s one of the things that isn’t easy about living away from your family and something we have to get used to. My husband booked the tickets for my stepkids and stepdaughter’s boyfriend to visit over Christmas. We’ve already began texting back and forth about what food to make when they visit. Hey, getting the food right is key for having teens in the house!
And that’s all for today. I’m determined to have a good day regardless of what is going on in the world. And I’m turning off the shouty news shows because I don’t need to hear people arguing about it. I’m choosing to spend time with people I can actually talk to.
Have a happy Sunday!
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