LOUD AND QUIET

The Blue Angels roared over our heads as we sat on the long grass at Cavallo Point (formerly Ft. Baker) right across from San Francisco. I thought of Disney's "Fantasia" and the ending symphony as we watched the performance. First we saw the blue jets, then their trails, and then the heart-thumping crescendo of the engines, which reminded me of the shriek of the orchestra's brasses and the booming of the kettledrums. The jets turned at the Golden Gate Bridge and zoomed back across the city skyline, skimmed the tops of sailboats, left their trails behind, then as a group they climbed straight up in the sky, again the clap of their engines -- louder than any of the other planes that we had watched that day -- until they vanished in the sky, returning with a nose dive and a screech as they twisted in the air down towards the bay.

During the silence between the jets' sweep, I watched two vultures sail over tall trees looking for prey -- their quiet flight a counterpoint to the jets. Closer to us, the monarchs dipped and twirled their wings over the lawn before they came to rest on the path through the tall grass. A dragonfly buzzed by, and then as I sipped my coffee, a yellow jacket hummed near my hand, hoping for a drink.

The insects disappeared as the jets crossed overhead again, this time so low we could read the words, U.S. Navy, printed on their undersides. Again, their white trails followed by the ear-splitting boom of their engines. A grand finale to our day.

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With today's post, I have continued writing about the five senses: my first commitment for Inktober.

How are your Inktober commitments working?

I hope you stay with the one thing a day that you have chosen to do.

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