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| And the Blues play on... |
Crap happens, as we all are well aware, and when it does all you can do is brace for impact and hope for the best. That's what happened to me, in a nutshell. I knew that, eventually, I would come back - and those of you who really know me pretty much knew it too - and here I am.
Adding to the downward spiral that my real life became late 2018 and early this year, the total loss of Naval Air Facility El Centro and the six sim setup I created hit me a lot harder than I could have imagined. Throughout my thirteen years in Second Life I developed a thick skin. I owned a few regions, spent thousands of hours creating true to life environments, lived in them, called them home... and lost them. As time went by the expression "they are just prims" became adequate and exact, I would shrug and move on to the next project but... Not this time.
Some day I will post here the El Centro history so at least it will live on as a record of what was and is no more. So we remember. And then came the demise of my beloved Miramar.
Naval Air Station Miramar was thought by many to be one of the top tier military installations of its kind in Second Life, among very few others. For nearly three years it stood tall and proud as a symbol of the United States Navy in this virtual world we live in. A true home to many and a familiar sight to countless others who flew to and from it over the years. Nearly 24,000 flights in NAS Miramar's history are a testament to this fact. The last flight out of Miramar was a JAS-39, taking off from runway 18L at 23:43 hours on December 12, 2018. And then it went dark.
I would like to take a moment here to thank my sisters in arms and friends Vickster Kühn, An Rainbow, Jenny Kaz and Margot Fenring along many many others who supported NAS Miramar when it became rough for me to hold it on my own. I owe them all a debt that can not be repaid.
Losing El Centro was hard. But the loss of Miramar was one of the most impactful setbacks I endured in the last 13 years in Second Life. Putting the two losses together with the turmoil my real life had become made me come to a halt. And think it over. Little by little, I started to come back in world as my life and state of mind allowed... And now, as we near the fourth Independence Day Air Show performed by the Blue Angels, on their fourth consecutive year of aerial demonstrations in Second Life, I can say I am back. Not as I would like to, but as I can be. My focus in our esteemed Third Fleet is on the Demonstration Squadron, of which I remain Angel 7. As for my place in the Fleet's command, due to my present condition and current inability to rebuild NAS Miramar (which I will), I stepped down from the Trident, being replaced by a fine officer, Commander Chrissy Dehner, that along with Captain Vickster Kühn and Commander An Rainbow will continue to provide leadership to Third Fleet.
So... After a long pause, it was time to hit play. And so it begins again.
Thank you for waiting.
Captain Asra "Cougar" Kron
NFDT / Angel 7
