Bekah v. Sonic Booms

FAA Investigates Possible Sonic Boom

Officials Investigate Boom

POSTED: 2:38 pm CDT June 20, 2007

UPDATED: 2:56 pm CDT June 20, 200

OMAHA, Neb. -- A loud boom was heard before noon, and Sarpy County officials said they are checking on what may have caused it.At about 12:30 p.m., the Federal Aviation Administration told KETV NewsWatch 7 that the sound may have been a sonic boom created by a couple of F-16s that were in Omaha's air space at about the time of the boom.

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KETV NewsWatch 7 received several calls from people who said they heard or felt a boom in Douglas, Madison, Sarpy and Cass counties in Nebraska, and Council Bluffs, Iowa. Shirley Jefferson, in Irvington, said the boom shook her house. Treasure Baker, who lives at 1917 Military Ave., said her house shook and the dog went crazy.People as far away as Tabor, Iowa, and Fremont, Neb., also reported the boom.The Sarpy County sheriff said he had investigators on their way to investigate a gas regulator that was found on its side on Sheridian Road and 36th Street between Bellevue and Papillion.Several firetrucks were also on the way.

(From KETV)

Someone's gonna be in trroooubbbble.

Yessir, big trouble. Because breaking the sound barrier in a plane like that is illegal.

I knew I wasn't going crazy when I was sitting in my room and I heard a loud BOOM and then my entire house shook like it was on a fault line in California.

Bekah v. Life Change

Tonight I packed up 27 years of my father's life. Tomorrow is his last day as the Vice Commander of the Air Force Weather Agency. Tomorrow is his last day of military service to the United States Air Force. I pulled pictures and plaques off the wall, some of tours I remembered, some of those I had only heard of. Put a scrapbook of Desert Storm in a box and as I picked it up I caught a glimpse the yellow and red, white & blue ribbons that had been pulled off the small flags that my mom, sister and I were waving when he hopped off of that truck and walked across the airstrip when he returned from war. The various coffee cups he's collected as gifts from units he's led and been a part of were piled into another box with his Jelly Belly jelly bean dispenser as well as his subwoofer and speakers that he swears can rock out any room. It's time like these, the promotions, the changes of command, the retirements, that I really learn about my Father, the Colonel. The troop he led into Iraq during Desert Storm, his time in Somalia, the various leadership positions he's held, pretty much his character as 'the Colonel,' because I don't see that side of him at home.

The next two weeks are going to be a lot tougher for me than I think I'd initially imagined. Because despite the fact that I am not a member of the military, this is my retirement too, and essentially my excommunication from an exclusive club -- the military dependent club -- which coincidentally enough is pretty much the only thing I've ever known. It's hard to explain, and unless you too are a military dependent, quite honestly, you'd never understand. It's scary. But here's to being scared, here's to change, here's to a new beginning.