Raccoon

Like me, my classmate Jack Storer is one of the baby boomers that John Mulaney made fun of in this SNL monologue, “cramming for some WWII quiz show.”  Nevertheless, if you take the time, you will be privileged to hear one of those great WWII stories that Jack shared and is now thankfully preserved in this clip.  SSgt Spratt crunches you into the ball turret next to him and drags you along as he and his failed parachute plummet to earth. 

I think this memory probably altered Sergeant Spratt’s DNA. His vivid recollection brushes over the fear that he must have felt on this and the rest of his 39 combat missions.  You know he must have thought about Mission 12 often. You will also be struck by Sergeant Spratt’s detailed recall of each crew member’s name after all these decades and the role that each played in this exploit. 

Sharing these memories with others who care is not only cathartic, it also honors those who rode with you. 

Those who receive Checkpoints might have read Cadet Wing Commander Haeley Deeney’s journal entries (June 2020) describing the chaotic and harrowing days stemming from the Academy’s reaction to the COVID outbreak. She paints a picture of altered cadet life and talks with pride about the resolve and leadership of her classmates.  She grieves for her two classmates “gone, but not forgotten.”  It is clear that she will remember this time for the rest of her life and when she thinks of it, a certain aura will descend over her. 

I’ve tried to find the right word to describe this phrenic condition and I’ve come away unsatisfied.  There’s something too impersonal about “nostalgia” and the Portuguese word, “saudade,” leans towards the future.  So I made up my own (I think):  Gemutlichzeit, a cross between gemutlichkeit and zeitgeist.  I define it as “warm feelings, recalled fondly but tinged in wistful memory, for the people and ambiance of an exceptional time, event and/or place.”

When I remember the day I left the Academy, I’m immersed in my own little Gemutlichzeit. It was a sunny late morning, and most of us were in the upper lot of the New Dorm packing up our shiny cars, hugging girlfriends and parents, saying goodbye to one another.  After all the time I spent detesting the place, my warm, leaving thoughts now are about you my classmates and how we shared that time and place.  Each time I think about that day and others like it, the same feeling washes over me. 

I feel bad for Raccoon. Something has torn at least this part of the Academy experience from him.  I wish him well, but I also wish he could benefit from our bonds. He will always be part of my Gemutlichzeit.  

What dribble. Thanks, Jack, for the link.  Best to all of my classmates. [Pictured: Donk, Daisey, and Raccoon, USAFA Blue Course, circa 1975)