The PDK CAP Meeting

I'm happy to say that tonight's meeting was a success! :)

The meeting started off with promoting members that obtained a new ranking, then announcements about how they were setting up a rotating schedule about who was on call for missions and placing members in aircrew teams, then a safety briefing (a REAL one!) and then the main presentation was a guest speaker who was the head of the police safety division to talk about safety/preparedness.

All of that only took about an hour and they operated like a well-oiled machine. About 30 members were there; two being women. They still had rankings and such, but there a few guys in leadership roles and they all worked together. The main commander of the group gave the talk on safety, based on his experiences in the military.

A couple of things I took away from his talk (which were very timely, I might add):

1) If you EVER don't feel safe enough to go in an airplane...for whatever reason, trust that reason and politely say no. They will understand.

2) Another one had to do with leaving the last squadron I was in and I don't remember how... guh, I'm tired! But something that made me smile and think how I made the right decision.

The guest speaker was neat too. He mentioned how everyone needed to be prepared for an emergency and especially people my age were really unprepared because they never thought anything could happen to them and weren't prepared for it.

I recognized some guys from past SAREX's and from air shows. I stayed after to meet the people I had been emailing and other people wanted to meet me too. My last squadron, mostly everyone ignored me, although some would say hi... and only one really took an interest in me... and we all know how that turned out.

Mostly everyone here wanted to shake my hand and talk with me. I shook one guy's hand and sort of recognized him. I asked if he was at a SAREX I was apart of and he answered that he was... and other events we had been too together and he knew of me very well. I helped put away some chairs and one of the guys who got promoted started talking with me. They all went out for drinks after the meetings and he invited me to come with. I declined, not being the drinking type and was just visiting the squadron anyways. He insisted, so I spent the next hour hanging out with them and chatting. The commander even joined in. He said they were friends outside the squadron too because they worked so hard together inside the squadron.

At the table, they kept telling each other to try and recruit me harder. Then we finished the evening with shaking hands and "I hope you stay", "So you are staying right?", "Come back soon!", "Please consider joining, we'll have so much fun!", etc...

In the last squadron, I was all gung-ho about joining from the get-go and no one really said that to me. Pleasantries were exchanged, but no begging for me to join. It was basically "you'll either join or you won't" sort of attitude. Once I remember, Merlin chased a new guy out. Told him that if he was already set on staying, then there was really no need for him to stay during the meeting. He should only stay during that particular meeting if he wasn't sure about staying. That's not very welcoming.

I told them I'd definitely come back and I will. But I sat around that table, watching them all have fun... and I did join in a little, but I'm still a little shy at this stage... and I remember how much fun I had with the people I met at my last squadron and started missing them a little. The commander says they are all like family and it looks like it. I still can't help having reservations.

They are running a SAREX this weekend and invited me to join. I haven't trained as Observer in a looong time. Probably since the last SAREX my squadron had, actually. A month ago? Two months ago? I don't know...

I hesitated and told them how I hadn't trained as an Observer for quite some time and had forgotten a lot of it. They said that's why they constantly train and that's what this exercise is for. I'm just used to Merlin telling me I had to be 1000% proficient before doing something like this or I'd embarrass him.

There are some CFI's in this squadron and they all let me know that they'd train me (outside of CAP) at a reduced rate or even free. All I had to do was tell them I was looking for a CFI. I hate it, but I'm not quite ready. I'd like to study on my own for a little bit more. Maybe I'm a little shell-shocked still, who knows...

Oh yeah... that's another thing I learned tonight - not aviation related, but missing someone(s) doesn't mean you want to go back or want them back. It's just that - missing someone. Maybe missing a time that person represented. And it's okay to miss them, to miss that time... just as long as you aren't looking back and trying to move forward.

OH! Now I remember the 2nd thing he brought up during the safety briefing. I knew I'd remember if I just started typing and tried not to remember it - It's okay to fall sometimes and it's perfectly okay to fail. The more times you fall and fail only indicate your willingness to try. After failing/falling, mourn for a little bit/take some time off if you have to, but get right back up again and try again. I thought it was very timely for now.

In one of my favorite movies of all time, Angels in the Outfield (1994 version), there's a line that Danny Glover says:

"You can't go through life thinking everyone you meet will one day let you down."

So here's to letting in the new and saying goodbye to the old. I'll go to another meeting or two, talk with the commander (perhaps asking pointe blank if there's any drama) and consider going to the SAREX this weekend. They seem nice, well-organized and well worth my time. I'm really glad this meeting went well. Really, really glad.