Exciting Moments

EXCITING MOMENTS

I have had several occasions to experience real excitement. The first and what is my favorite was in the B 47 bomber each time we would take off. We would get to the end of the runway and prepare for the take off roll.  The airplane was parked with all six engines at 100% power and the  brakes were locked. The countdown would go to 3, 2, 1, TAKE-OFF. The airplane with lurch forward, throw me into the back of my seat, and it would accelerate continuously till we got to the go nogo spot. Fortunately, that was an experience that I had many many times and I loved it every time..

Another occasion which I experienced many many times was to climb to the top of the highest building either inside or outside. Very often I would climb to the roof and stand up on the roof to be able to survey the land around. There was a particularly wonderful place to do this at the Fort Calhoun nuclear power station. While we were building and starting up the Fort Calhoun plant, I was able to climb the ladder up to the top of the containment building, which is the highest building on-site. It is a round building with a rounded roof  and has  stairs which made it possible to climb right up to the center of the building. Then I was standing directly above the centerline of the nuclear reactor and, as I stood there, I could see everything on the property. I could see the river to the east and the highway to the west. I went up there to see how everything was going many, many times during the construction and start-up periods.
Another exciting time was every time I get close to a roller coaster.  Unfortunately, that was only about a half dozen times but I took advantage of every time I was close to one and I’ve loved every minute of every ride.