In all seriousness, in response to the OP, here's what AH is to me and "who I am" when I'm here.......
First, like I'd wager 99% of us here, I'm an airplane nut- particularly prop-jobs and warbirds. I became interested in WWII when I was probably 5 or 6 years old, and begged my mom to buy me the "American Heritage Picture Story of WWII" in the bookstore..... I poured over that casebound book for years, all 600+ pages of it. I grew up with an uncle who was a pilot in the USAF ("hauled trash" in C-141s) and retired a bird Colonel, now flies commercially for US Airways. All I ever wanted to be in life was a pilot.
I got my pilot's license in 1992 while an AFROTC Cadet, then found out a year later in 1993 I could not fly after failing the eye exam, this after having earned an appointment to the Air Force Academy. I
stupidly gave up my dream, thinking I had no chance of being a military pilot, and went about the rest of college trying to figure out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. Fast forward almost 20 years, and I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up.
I've worked for two large corporations, and have been in sales in 3 different industries, currently owning one small business while working as a sales rep for another in a completely different field. The economy sucks, and life financially has been pretty much a struggle. Work and family life is hard enough, doing it in a bad economy in a job that is 100% commission based is a nice source if you're ever looking for a way to be really stressed out.
AH for me is a lot more than a game... it is an escape, a catharsis, a place where I go to be the person I want to be on the inside when I have to smile and be polite to a rude client. I was always involved in sports in school, and am probably too competitive for my own good, although I've learned to not worry so much about that as I've gotten older. But my goal as a 'toon pilot is to be the best squaddie and countryman as I can to the green guys, and the worst nightmare I can be for the red guys. I run my mouth too much on 200, I know, but I like to talk a little smack here and there, like back on the football field. I like to think that here, just like there, when the whistle blows and the game is over we all shake hands and are still really just a bunch of guys who have a lot more in common than we probably even realize, and all love the same thing.
to all you cartoon pilots, even the ones on the other sides, just for being here and being part of something that has helped keep me sane for the past nearly 3 years.
