The Blue Angels are in town for Seafair, which usually means more traffic jams than normal because they shut down I-90 over the lake, where they perform. The Monkey King mentions that instead of instilling a sense of pride or technological wonder, they are a reminder that we are at war, all-day, every day.
And I have to concur. This time last year I was working for a CCG company on an upper floor of a Bellevue skyscraper, and there was a lot of gallows humor about jets and highrises, in particular since we were looking out level at the planes, not up. This year I'm beneath a canopy of trees, so the jets are heard, not seen. But all I hear is the rumbling roar of the engines, and I think of people for whom the sound of turbines is not a sign of enjoyment, but a cue to seek cover.
More later,