Reflection in a blue car hood [Seattle] Polaroid SX-70 w/600 film

25 Random Things About Me, Continued:

9) Of all of the secrets I'm loathe to admit, this tops the list: I saw the movie "Top Gun" senior year of high school and became infatuated with two things: Tom Cruise, and naval aviation. I decided I wanted to be a Blue Angels pilot, and much to the great dismay of liberal parents, joined Navy ROTC my freshman year of college. I spent two years of the late 80's playing with guns, marching in formation, wearing a uniform to class once a week, getting drunk with jarheads, and voting for Bushes and Quayles. Eventually I came to my senses, declared myself a pacifist, and left ROTC. Luckily, the late 80's were a time of big military cutbacks, and they let me walk away without penalty (they could have made me pay them back or enlist). I did learn a lot from the experience, and I even got to fly in an F/A-18 Hornet once. I will probably not ever get to live down having had fantasies about Tom Cruise.

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