I just got a letter. Wait, I got a letter! Why’d I get a letter? Wonder who it’s from.
“Greetings fellow American,
This letter is a request from the Blue Angels. Due to resource availability - runway reconstruction, we request use of your facilities for final preparation for our spring show. If you accept our invitation, please reply via letter to the following address:
CENSORED
FOR LEGAL REASONSThank you for your consideration,
Commander Spitfire
Blue Angels”
Immediately, I type a letter of confirmation.
“Dear Commander Spitfire,
Thank you for your letter. It would be my honor to host the Blue Angels. Included is contact information, which will be my most reliable means of communication:
(xxx) xxx-xxxx - Mondays-Thursdays - normal business hours
(xxx) xxx-xxxx - After Hours
(xxx) xxx-xxxx - Fridays and Weekends
I look forward to hosting your squadron. Please let me know if there is anything I can help you with.
Sincerely,
Split Scimitar “Max”
Immediately, I grab EIFL-65, a Jet Stream Blue C6 Corvette ZR1, after placing postage stamps on the envelope. At the post office, I drop a few cents on postage due, but as soon as I get it posted, I call Rosalina.
“Hello?”
“Hey, you home yet?”
“No. I’m stuck on 210.”
“Where?”
“Just passing Foothill.”
“Do you want to meet me for lunch?”
“Sure.”
“I have news to share.”
“Okay. Where do you want to eat?”
“You feeling anything in particular?”
“Not really.”
“Fair enough. Where are you?”
“I’m at the post office. I’m just about to descend Cajon [Pass].”
“Be careful through there. I hit bad traffic when I left.”
“How bad?”
“Worse than normal, even with that contraflow.”
“That’s still there?”
“Yeah. I’m surprised too.”
“Well, I’m just about to leave, so, um, are you okay with diner fare? I’m kind of feeling breakfast for dinner.”
“Sounds good. You want to go to our usual?”
“Sure. I’m just a few exits away from there anyway.”
“Perfect. I’ll try and get there ASAP.”
“Sounds good. Bye.”
As soon as I close the phone, I fire up the car and get onto I-15. Opting for the less crowded right lanes, I haul ass through Cajon Pass making good time by the 210. Admiring traffic the other direction, I take my sweet time here, gently slowing to the new cruise speed of around a mile a minute.
When I roll in, I park and wait to see where Rosalina ends up. A few minutes later, she rolls in with her Jeep. Touting a new vehicle registration with front and rear brackets present, she parks in another row, where it’s more open.
We share a smile before I ask, “how’s the Jeep?”
“I can’t complain.”
“Good to hear. Shall we?”
“Let’s.”
When we get seated, we place our order for food and drinks quickly before I break the news.
“You’re not gonna believe this, but I got a letter from the Blue Angels. Get this: they want to use Victorville because El Centro needs to be repaved!”
“You can’t be serious.”
“I can’t be certain if it was the real thing. Although, let me ask around. I might be able to verificate that document.”
“Hey, I received a letter from someone claiming to be Blue Angels. What do you know about runway reconstruction at El Centro?” I text Rainbow Dash.
Before long, our food arrives, and after we dig in, I get a response.
“Yo! You got it?! Spitfire’s gonna be so thrilled!!!”
“It’s true?”
“Yeah! We’re desperate for new runways! They both need to be repaved.”
“Why wouldn’t one runway get worked on at a time?”
“We’re leaving for Pensacola soon anyway, but after a piece of equipment went down, figured they may as well start early.”
“Well, if it helps your case, please let Commander Spitfire know I accept. My contact information is enclosed in a reply letter.”
“Awesome!! I’ll let her know. She’ll call you with further details.”
“No problem. I’ll see you soon.”
After I affirm Rosalina, I ask if we should make excuses to not be home when they work. She laughs and avoids the question by snatching the bill from me.
After we roll in, I replace the car and get another text from Dash.
“Hey, can you ship a car of mine?”
“Sure. Origin and Destination?”
“From Pensacola to Palm Springs.”
“You live in Palm Springs?”
“Yeah! I never told you that?”
“I mean, I remember you going through PSP at Christmas, but I figured that was just because of El Centro.”
“Oh no. I just spend most of my time on the road with the Blues.”
“Okay. Nice. Um, the obvious question: what kind of car is it?”
“Porsche 911 GT3.”
“GT3 or RS?”
“Plain GT3. Not worth the extra 0.2 seconds to 60.”
“The Blue Angel says to the airline pilot.”
“IKR!”
“Just give me a date and we’ll make it work.”
“Anytime before we come to Victorville.”
“Let’s do it.”
“I’ll let you know. I’m off duty tonight.”
“You can join my wife and I for dinner.”
“Awesome. I like her!”
“Glad you do. Cya!” “Hey, Rosie! You want to go to dinner with Rainbow Dash?”
“Sure. Where does she want to go?”
“Don’t know. Since we just ate, I didn’t ask.”
“Yes, let’s. Good excuse to get out of the airport.”
“Yeah. So you’re onboard.”
“Yes.”
“Yay!”
After I turn on the tv and grab a snack, I receive a call from area code 850.
“Hello?”
“Hi, is this Split Scimitar?”
“Yes, this is he. Please, just call me Max.”
“Alright, Max! Commander Spitfire with the Blue Angels. How are you this evening?”
“Much better that you called. I don’t know if Miss Dash already told you, but I did send a letter of response. I accept with humble honor, and look forward to hosting your squadron.”
“Great! If it’s not too much trouble, would you mind helping us out with the move? Fat Albert can only hold so much.”
“Absolutely. I have a trip coming up, but unfortunately I don’t have dates on that yet. What day do you have in mind for moving?”
“Um, well, our spring show is slated for the last weekend in March, and we’ll need a few days to perfect the routine. So, within the next few days?”
“Can be done. I’ll try and put my Pensacola trip between now and then.”
“Wait, you’re going to Pensacola?”
“Yeah, a buddy of mine needs a car shipped.”
“Oh. Well, just let me know when you‘re available.”
“Absolutely. Is this number a good one to call back?”
“This is the best one.”
“Okay. Sounds good.”
“Hey, listen, thank you so much for doing this.”
“You’re welcome. No problem whatsoever. Though I have to ask: why not go to Imperial, or Borrego Valley? Palm Springs even?”
“Well, Imperial and Borrego Valley are too short, and Palm Springs has noise abatement.”
“Oh yeah, and they ban formation flight too.”
“Yeah…”
“Does the city of Victorville know you’ll be in yet?”
“I haven’t told them yet. We just finished for the day.”
“Okay. If you’re going to send like a letter of intent, just to let them know you’ll be in my aerodrome.”
“Sounds good.”
“A pleasure to speak to you. I’ll let you know when I get back from Pensacola. You prefer call or text?”
“I’ll get it either way.”
“Okay. I just prefer text. Thank you.”
“Yeah, no problem. Talk to you soon!”
“Goodbye.”
“Bye.”
With that, I tell Rosalina, “Alright, it’s official. We ship Dash’s car and then help the Blue Angels move. All I need to do is work out a date to grab it.”
“Okay. Let’s try and work it out at dinner.”
“Remind me if I forget.”
“Of course.”
“You want to drive?”
“I don’t care.”
“Neither do I. It’s your call.”
“I’ll let you have this one.”
“Alrighty.” “Hey, you’re a Palm Springs local. Where do you recommend?”
“Whatcha feelin?”
“We’re good with anything.”
“You want steak, or seafood, or something a little less formal?”
“Any recommendations?”
“I mean, there’s a pretty good poke place I like. Right next door is a Tommy Bahama.”
“If you want Tommy Bahama, we can just go to OC. Get Sprinkles Cupcakes afterward.”
“Dang, that sounds good.”
“You want to do that?”
“Yeah! You mind if I spend a night with you? I’d rather not drive I-10 through the desert at night.”
“Hey, Rosie. Wanna spend the night in Newport? Dash is asking since she doesn’t want to drive I-10 at night.”
“Yeah. I’m okay with that.”
“Let’s do it.” I tell Rainbow.
“Awesome!”
After we toss our things into the Corvette, I check the time and Rosalina gives me a time stamp. “Challenge accepted.”
I-15 to 91 is about as heavy as we get, but once clear of the last toll plaza, radar detector picks up none, so I let her sing in 6th. The carpool and the left lane are surprisingly friendly until I-5, no surprises there. Once we clear the 405, I let her shout through 3, 4, and 5 before the 73. Off the freeway at MacArthur, I met my first Challenger, a hellcat Charger in B5 Blue.
Sensing a cop by radar detector, I give a cutthroat gesture but all he can do is laugh and rev. As soon as the light turns green, I engage the clutch enough to give the slightest forward motion so he knows to set off. In less than a second, the clutch comes back out, but the Hellcat is up and running. Just as the cop gives chase, I drive like I normally would and blend in with traffic. Eventually, we roll into Corona Del Mar Plaza and park right in front of Tommy Bahama. After I set the brake and turn off the engine, a Kona Blue Mustang pulls in right next to us. Timed well and an inconspicuous cover blown by the multicolored locks of hair atop the driver’s head, Rosalina waits for Dash to exit her car before we all exchange hugs and pleasantries.
“I love this look!” I reply.
“Thanks! It’s one of Rarity’s.”
“Because that doesn’t look like something you would rock of your own Accord, so to speak.”
“Yeah.”
“So, you hungry?”
Without answering the question, we head in and request a table. We get asked if we want to sit at the bar, but we pass, opting for a 5 minute wait.
After we get our table, we order drinks and look over the menu. Taking some extra time before we place the order, we start talking about the next week or two.
“Alright, it’s important that we move your car before you move to Victorville. Commander Spitfire will not begin the move until we finish, or next week, whichever comes first.”
“Does she know I’m the client?”
“No. She only knows I’m on a Pensacola trip.”
“Okay, um, I guess we can go get it whenever works for you.”
“We can leave as early as tonight. If it’s in Pensacola, I’ll red eye and do a quick turnaround. Won’t even know we were there.”
“Yeah, you’re not awesome enough to do that.”
“Yes I am.”
“No you’re not.”
“Yes I am.”
“No you’re not.”
“Yes I am. Yes I am. Yes I am.” I reply fighting every urge not to sound singsong.
“Fine. Fine. You win.”
“Never thought I’d hear that from you.”
“Well, people are starting to stare.”
“Never thought I’d hear that from you, what with your “Awesome As I Want To Be” attitude.”
“Very funny.” She responds unamused.
“Yeah, so we’ll do that. You mind sleeping in a jumpseat?”
“I do. I thought we were gonna leave early tomorrow.”
“I mean, if we want to, I can hop to John Wayne if you want to stay here.”
“No way. It’ll be easier if we just leave from your place.”
“True. All the noise abatement.”
“Yeah. I’m pretty sure you’d get pursued to the fullest extent of the law.”
“Go figure. Well, then we have a choice. Newport or Victorville for the night.”
“We’re already here, we may as well stay.” Rainbow Dash says, to which Rosalina nods in agreement.
“Okay.” I respond just before our food arrives.
We dig in and minimize chatter but communicate through offering pieces of entrées around. Fortunately for us, ours taste good all around, but when the bill comes, Rainbow swipes it from my hand and drops her card into it, handing it back to our server in one swift motion before I even have the chance to coax my wallet out of pocket.
“I am NOT being courted tonight!”
“Wasn’t trying to.” I respond with a raised eyebrow.
“I know, but I’ve been babied my whole life. It’s a personal thing.”
“I can understand. Sorry I wasn’t receptive to it.”
After we leave the restaurant, I ask “Do you want dessert?”
“Why not?”
“Cupcakes and/or milkshakes? I’ll get a milkshake.”
“Me too.” Rainbow responds.
“Do either of you want cupcakes?” Rosalina asks.
“I never know what’s available, so we should look.”
With that, we head in and take a look at the list. I ask for a chocolate marshmallow and banana dark chocolate. Rainbow Dash opts for a red velvet with a black & white, leaving Rosalina with the remaining two for a half dozen. What does she get? German chocolate cake (seasonal), and a classic red velvet.
After Rosalina makes note of our choices, I give her money, but she refuses in a way not dissimilar to Rainbow Dash, leaving the two of us to queue for milkshakes, Rosalina telling me what she wants. Once we place the order, I check for Rosalina outside until she beats us to the out.
With dessert sorted for the evening, we head for the beach house. Once a family gem bought as a gift for mom from her three kids, times changed; people changed, and somehow I ended up with it.