Thursday, February 21, 2008

A Blast from the Past or, How We Helped Win the Cold War

OK, so that may be a BIT of an exaggeration. I mean, the Cold War ended in the late 80's or early 90's depending on your viewpoint. But in 1996, our college octet, Witness, did a mission trip of the vocal variety - we sang our way through the Northwest Territories and Alaska with the ultimate destination being Providenya, Russia.

I can still see the runway in my mind: a tiny, bumpy strip of asphalt with mountains looming on either side. Our 10-seater Beechcraft approached over the Bering Sea, whitecaps looming periously close - at least it felt like it at the time!

Even though officials didn't let our plane or pilots stay while we were in the country, we spent a wonderful couple of days putting on concerts and getting to know the locals. When we left, a few officers posed for a picture with Heidi and I - let me tell you, at the time I thought those boots and that passport pouch were so totally perfect for my Arctic Circle adventure. :)

4 comments:

Michelle said...

Oh dear, were you FIRED??? Three posts in one week must mean you are employed again....

Texan Will Travel said...

Do you mean UN-employed? No, I haven't been fired - I apparently have been INSPIRED. Or guilted, which is a distinct possibility giving our heritage. :)

Unknown said...

Ahh, memories. We do look like some serious 90's nerds in that picture. Remember how serious all the Russians were, trying their hardest to look scary in their military uniforms? It was fun times.

Texan Will Travel said...

I remember being scared when we arrived at the airport and they were debating whether or not they would let us in the country. I mean, given all the controversy, should we really be wanting to get in? And we were NOT nerds. We were so cool! :)