One More Word About The Intrepid

There was one thing I forgot to mention last night about my day on shipboard. I saw people doing the creepiest thing I've ever seen in my life.

Right where I was herding tourists there was one of those helicopters like the ones you used to see on MASH all the time, with the spaces for the stretchers on either side. And parents were actually encouraging their kids to lie down on the stretcher places so they could take photographs. And telling them to smile and make funny faces.

I cannot tell you how weird this feels to me. The only possible reason I can think of for doing such a thing is to make an antiwar comment...you know, "Stop war! This could be your child!"...and this was very clearly not what these characters were doing. Surely they wouldn't have been laughing so much if it had been.

I also felt that it was in some way dishonorable. This was NOT a prop plane, from the look of it; I think it had actually seen service. I just felt that what these people were doing was disrespectful. That plane could have saved lives, or at least gotten soldiers to a place where the dying would be a little easier...and now it's a cute location for photographs.

What on earth is the matter with people these days?

Love, Wendy