I am sure most of you have been following to some degree the miracle that just transpired on a flight from New York to Dallas.  Southwest 1380.

Ex-Navy Captain Tammie Jo Shults demonstrated the skills, acumen, and mien that made her a top Navy pilot and instructor.   Because even though her Boeing 737 lost an engine, had debris puncture the cabin, which forced a loss of pressure and stability to the flight, Captain Shults managed to get her plane safely down to 3000 feet where sufficient pressure would exist to protect all but 1 person on her flight-so she could execute an emergency landing in Philadelphia.  And, instead of crash-landing, she pulled off a landing that many a plane in perfect conditions fails to deliver.

Which brings up another point.  Until about a decade or two ago, most of the US airlines obtained their fine pilots from the Air Force or the Navy.  Because once their commissions were complete, these folks found ready employment in civilian aircraft.

Because of that, most flying was safe- and we passengers were in great hands.  Oh, sure, sometime a plane would have a problem.  (Avionics were barely developed then.)   And, until this particular flight, the last time someone perished (other than via heart attack or a terrorist bomber who was shot and killed while boarding a flight on Pearl Harbor day in 2005) on an American jet was in 2001! (Right after the mass deaths that occurred on 9-11-2001).

(OK.  That’s not quite true.  Because somehow we don’t count the deaths that result from some commuter flights.  Because those turboprops lack the shroud that should protect the plane from catastrophic engine failure.  And, SW 1380, with a big jet engine, experienced just such a catastrophic engine failure, destroying the shroud (which was found on the ground in Blue Bell, PA) and the plane’s cabin.)

Except for the one passenger (Jennifer Riordan, A’H) whose head was sucked out of the plane cabin and died from blunt force trauma to the head, everyone else walked off the plane in Philadelphia.

And, those folks will be forever changed.  Most will recognize that each day of their life is an absolute blessing.  They will hug their kids, their spouses, and their friends.  It’s the only gift the terror of such a near death experience provides.

No, I haven’t done the scientific experiments to prove those facts.  Not that I haven’t tried.  But, as was simply explained to me, such a study can’t be performed experimentally.  Because we have no clue who will be subject to a plane crash or failure right before it happens, so we can have true before-and-after data.

Anecdotally, I know my “facts” are true.  I know too many folks (mostly because I have sought them ought, to compare experiences) who think like I do.  Who hug friends (yes, we don’t care what the current #MeToo politically correct rules demand) when we see them.  (Of any gender, I might add.)  Who know that each day we get to share with our loved ones is an absolute gift.

That’s the life portion of this blog.  Almost.

Because today is also the 19th anniversary of another terrible event.  The Columbine Disaster.  19 years ago, two deranged American-born terrorists murdered 12 of their fellow students at their high school and also maimed 21 others.  It wasn’t the first episode of gun violence in America- and certainly hasn’t been the last.

The most recent escapade was at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.  This past Valentine’s Day, 14 February 2018.

And, these students took it on themselves to change American attitudes and our way of life.  With a protracted, focused social campaign, marches, and activism.

Which is why across America today,  at some 2000 schools (and most of the ones in the DC Metropolitan area), high school students will simply walk out and demand that America limit the ability of folks to buy assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, and powerful weaponry.  (No one has to walk out of Columbine High School; it has been closed for the anniversary of the massacre since it happened.)

A large contingent is expected to be present in DC at the White House, for which the National Park Service has already granted a permit.

As I said before, change is coming.  And, it is the younger generation that almost always leads the way.