Louie

The Sound of Freedom! That's how the Whidbey Naval Air Station advertises itself. And what a loud, glorious, soul-throbbing sound it is when the jets fly low overhead, suddenly kicking in the afterburners as they accelerate up, up, up! The roar moves through you, from head to toe, grounding you as you watch the impossibly heavy craft soar. This is the base for the jets that serve on aircraft carriers, and they practice touch-and-go landings on a strip the size of the carrier, three or four at a time, taking turns, around and around. You can hear one coming - where is it?? suddenly it zooms out of the trees right over your head. It hooks a curve, sinks out of sight and sound. And then another! and another! and then they're gone as quickly as they appeared.