one mystery solved but
who is this cat?
People ask how I write something daily; I confess I wonder about that, too, but I am so appreciative of people’s financial support and interest in reading this column, driving me to write. I also enjoy it! But I don’t know what I will discuss some days much earlier than I sit down to type the initial sentence. (I have always told people I was the most intuitive seminar leader who ever walked into a topic at the National War College….)
I laid awake this morning thinking about yesterday, settling on two mysteries of the second part of the day: Harry Truman and the boom. In the half hour after I pulled back the covers, the news settled the second mystery for me.
We were sitting on the couch yesterday afternoon, me just having opened the computer to write about Tian’anmen, when the windows bowed a bit. We looked at each other, expecting some further noise or something. Nada. Yet we had each seen it, sorta of seen it, then wondered what on earth we heard or felt or something.
There was no classic boom I remembered from the sonic booms of the ‘60s when they were pretty common. Instead, there was this weird thing where the windows appeared to bow inward, the sheers moved, the plants on the balcony rustled, yet we heard nothing further.
Sirens whined as emergency vehicles crossed from Eastport into Annapolis proper but that happens most days, especially on the weekends when we have so many visitors. As I think back, the sirens coincided with whatever the event so it wasn’t a cause and effect.
We went back to our routines a couple of minutes after this occurred but social media went into high warp. Was it UFOs? Could it have been a supersonic SR-71? Was it some blast here on the ground in Annapolis? What WAS it??? Inquiring minds wanted to know.
News this morning indicates F16s scrambled about 3.10 yesterday afternoon when a private plane did not respond to urgent identification calls as it flew in unauthorised airspace over the District. As we all likely remember from the post-9/11 protocols, the Air Force responded to this potential threat against the nation’s landmarks and leadership. When the National Command Authority orderes the U.S. military to respond, it is immediate and decisive (China: are you listening?) in meeting the assigned task.
Coming within hours of video circulating about the most recent PLAN actions 450 feet from a U.S. ship, what occurred yesterday afternoon is a reminder of our agility. It’s easy to create a linkage out of what is probably coincidence but China examines every single thing it can find as evidence of our aggression; they would be well served to note our defensive actions as well. Turns out they are not the only country which thinkings about defensive actions; they just define their actions differently than we do much of the time.
Tragically, the private jet subsequently crashed in the Shenandoah Valley, killing the family onboard. The ‘hotwash’ of the incident may reveal why the pilot did not respond to identification requests but that was a fatal decision in that it apparently threw the pilot off. There is no, repeat no indication the F-16s directly caused the crash.
In light of the loss of life, talking about Harry Truman’s peculiar feline behaviour does not merit conversation. I love my cats but I am sorry when I read of human deaths. Suffice it to say Harry continues mystifying me which likely will recur in our discussions ahead.
Wishing you a safe week. We should never take anything for granted. I do close with a new discovery from last night. FIN