Chapter 15

Christmas vacation was getting close, now. The early part of the girls’ basketball season had gotten under way, although it would take something of a break over the holidays. There were a couple non-league tournaments scheduled over the break, mostly to keep the kids sharp for when things got serious after the New Year.

On nights when Becca only had practice, Bree would walk through the chilly weather to the Women’s Fitness Center near downtown and do her workouts and running inside, under the guidance of Mrs. McPherson. The trainer indeed knew a lot about fitness, and she was in superb shape herself. Bree was learning a lot from her, and expected to be in great shape when the track season started up, now only about three months away. They would be long months in the Spearfish Lake winter, but Bree planned to put them to good use.

After practice broke up, Becca would drive by the fitness center and pick Bree up to take her home. Becca was still a little surprised at the change that had come over her sister; she’d never shown much interest in sports, other than being supportive as a spectator at her own games. At least these days Bree didn’t take a book to her games, or to Jared’s wrestling matches; there were almost always one or more of Bree’s friends with her, and she had more interesting things to do than read. That didn’t mean Bree was above curling up in a chair at home with Perky in her lap while she was reading a book; currently it was Ernest K. Gann’s Fate Is the Hunter, another aviation book, of course.

As far north as Spearfish Lake is located, the nights get much longer at that time of year, and the sun had set when Becca and Bree drove into the yard just a few days before the holiday break. There was a strange car sitting there, but that wasn’t worthy of comment; there often was someone seeing Jackie about a sign, or occasionally someone seeing Mark about a dogsled.

There was enough room in the steel shop building to park the car inside, but someone had to get out and open the door; that meant Bree, of course. Once they had the car parked, the two of them gathered up their books and workout clothes, and walked across the driveway to the house.

No one was in the kitchen when they went in, but they heard Jackie call from the living room, “Girls, come on in here. We’ve got someone here we’d like you to meet.” The two girls went into the living room, to find Mark and Jackie talking with a distinguished-looking black man wearing casual clothes.

“Girls,” Mark grinned, “I’m pretty sure we’ve mentioned Colonel E.J. Seasprunk to you in the past. He was nice enough to drop by and say hello.”

Both Bree and Becca had heard the story, of course. Colonel Seasprunk got up from his chair to greet them. “You must be Becca and Bree,” he smiled, shaking each of their hands. He was shorter than Becca, but taller than Bree; slender and wiry, like Mr. Emerson. “I’m very pleased to meet you, especially you, Bree.”

“Well, I’m pleased to meet you,” Bree replied with considerable awe. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Your uncle Mark and aunt Jackie have been telling me that you want to follow in my footsteps,” he smiled. “I’m very proud to hear that.”

“Well, I hope to,” she replied. “I really want to go to the Air Force Academy and eventually get to fly fighters, but there’s a lot I don’t know about getting there.”

“That’s part of why I’m here,” Colonel Seasprunk said. “I’ve wanted to get together with your folks and catch up on old times, and that’s what we’ve been doing all afternoon. But from what they have been telling me, you’ve been working hard to get yourself ready for the Academy. My experience there was a long time ago, but I’ll try to help you where I can.”

“Wow, Colonel Seasprunk, I don’t know where to start,” Bree said. “I guess I caught the bug to go to the Academy from Uncle Mark, but there’s still a lot to find ut about it.”

“To tell the truth, that’s one thing we share,” he grinned. “I caught the bug from him, too. At least from him and that little Cessna years ago. I had my first flight ever in that plane nearly forty years ago, and seeing it again takes me back to my childhood a little. I still remember him talking about having wanted to go to the Academy but not being able to, and that may have been the start of it for me, too.”

“I don’t remember that,” Mark shook his head. “I always thought you picked it up somewhere else.”

“Well, the initial idea came from you,” Colonel Seasprunk smiled. “I remember sitting in the seat of your little Cessna and listening to you tell me that if I worked hard enough I could be anything I wanted to be. That was an awesome message to lay on a very poor little black kid, but it gave me a vision of the fact that I didn’t have to grow up and be what most people expected of me. It was quite a trip, and I’m still a little surprised that I made it. But let’s sit back down and I’ll try to pass along a little wisdom I may have attained over the years.”

They sat back down; Bree and Becca wound up on the couch facing their visitor. “You know,” Mark said, “when I remember back to those days, it still seems like an awesome step for you to make.”

“It does to me, too,” Colonel Seasprunk smiled. “Girls, I don’t know what your folks have told you about Twillingate, the town I came from, but it was very small and very poor. We literally had a one-room schoolhouse there, and somewhat amazingly for the day, both the black kids and the white kids went to it, and always had. I grew up there after the segregation days, but the town was so poor there had never been enough money for two schools even during those times.” He let out a sigh and continued. “At that, few of the kids, black or white, ever made it through the eighth grade, which was only how far the school went in those days. Most of the kids had to drop out pretty young because they had to work to help support their families. I had to work too, and it was tempting to think about dropping out to help support my foster mother and father, but they wouldn’t have it. They’d never had a lot of school, but they knew what school meant and they insisted that I get everything out of it that I could.”

“That was Brother Erasmus and Ethylene,” Mark explained. “I’m sure you remember Jackie and me talking about them.”

“It sounds like he was pretty wise,” Bree nodded.

“He may not have had much schooling, but he was very wise,” Colonel Seasprunk smiled. “He’s been dead for a while, but having him and Ethylene take me in was the best thing that could have happened to me. I have no idea who my real father was, and very little memory of my mother. I understand it’s pretty much the same for you.”

“I think we have pretty good memories of Mom,” Becca said, “but we have no idea who our real fathers are, except that they’re not the same. Mom never told us anything about that.”

“That’s what your folks have been telling me,” Colonel Seasprunk said. “But it looks to me like the two of you got about as lucky as I did in that regard, to have a couple very good people take you in when you were orphaned. That’s something we share, and we were both lucky in it happening for us. In any event, the schooling I had in Twillingate had to end in the eighth grade, but I wanted to go further in school. In fact, I knew I had to. Only a handful of kids from Twillingate had ever even gone to high school, and for whatever reason they didn’t run school buses there. The nearest bus stop was eight miles away, but Twillingate was a small town, and people knew I had the desire to better myself and were willing to help. All the time I went to high school, someone drove me to the bus stop and picked me up after school. Mostly it was Paul Thibodaux, who your folks remember, and a couple of other people they may or may not remember. Since those people had that kind of faith in me, I knew I didn’t want to let them down, so I worked very hard in high school. When I graduated, it was a very proud day for the whole community, and I remember wishing your folks had been there to see what they started.”

“We would have been if we’d known,” Jackie said.

“We tried to get in touch with you, but nobody had your address,” Colonel Seasprunk explained. “These days it probably would be easy, what with computers and the Internet, but we never dreamed of those things in those days, especially in a poor little town like Twillingate. I haven’t been back there in several years now and many of the people who cleared the way for me have passed on, but while much has changed, much has stayed the same. It always was a poor town but managed to stay rich in spirit, and that much has managed to survive.”

“So how did you get into the Academy?” Bree asked.

“It was a stroke of luck, and I didn’t know much about it till years later. Now, you probably know something about the appointment process for the Academy, don’t you?”

“Yes,” Bree replied. “Probably not as much as I should, though.”

“Believe me, in the next couple of years, if you really want to go to the Academy, you’ll find out a good deal about it,” Colonel Seasprunk smiled. “Admissions to the service academies are almost all done by congressional nomination. Each congressman names nominees from his district, and each congressman does it a little differently. Sometimes, it’s pure political backscratching, although I have the impression that it’s less the case now than it used to be. My understanding is that most congressmen now use a combination of things like high school grades, test scores, and dedication and determination of the applicant, demonstrated through essays and other accomplishments. They’re also looking for things like leadership and initiative. Your flying will most likely play a big role in the selection process.”

“I know I’m pretty young,” Bree said, “but I think I’m already a pretty good pilot for my age. I got my SSA Silver badge in one flight in the 1-26 last fall, and it wasn’t the easiest flight I’ve ever made. I want to try for a leg or two on my Gold Badge next summer if I can, plus maybe fly competition if it works out. I plan on getting my glider private next summer, and my power private the summer after that. With a little bit of luck I may have my commercial ticket about the time I turn eighteen, and if I get into the Academy I might have it before I go.”

“Yes, your folks have been telling me you’re quite accomplished as a pilot, especially for your age. That’s not a bad thing, Bree. It could help your getting nominated to the Academy, and will be a big help once you’re there. They fly gliders at the Academy some too, and while I’m no expert I have had some time in them. They can be very educational.”

“How about athletics?” Becca asked. “I’ve been pushing her about that.”

“They’re important,” Colonel Seasprunk sighed. “Perhaps not as much as a part of the admission process, although I’m sure it’s something some congressmen look at, although I can’t tell you how it applies to you. But when you get to the Academy, they become more important, for a number of reasons. There is a self-discipline process involved with athletics that’s important and will help you in other ways. In addition, at the Academy you’re expected to take part in intramural or intercollegiate athletics. That was almost my downfall, since I’d never played any kind of organized sports in high school. Not that I didn’t want to, but because of my having to get rides to the bus stop and then a longer trip to school, it was logistically impossible. Fortunately I was in good shape from the work I’d had to do around home, but I had to learn the simplest things about sports.”

“How did you get through the selection process?” Bree asked. “Was it difficult?”

“In a way, that’s a bit of a shameful story,” Colonel Seasprunk shrugged. “Don’t get me wrong, I was grateful at the time to receive my nomination, but it was several years before I found out the details of why I’d been nominated.”

“What was that?”

“Bree, at the time things were much more divided along racial lines than they are today. It still matters in some places, but not anything like as much as it used to. To be charitable, the congressman representing our district at the time was not the most enlightened person imaginable on racial issues, and he’d been taking some political heat over it. My understanding, while I will admit to having learned about it third hand, was that he decided to name one qualified black candidate in his nominations, just to show that he was more tolerant than he really was. As it turned out, I was the only black candidate to apply, and I’m sure I must have been named over the heads of better-qualified white applicants. If so, I don’t know the details, but it worked out well for me in the long run.”

“So that wouldn’t apply to me.”

“Never say never,” Colonel Seasprunk grinned. “There are fewer female cadets than there are males, and I’m sure similar considerations must apply, but the difference probably isn’t as pronounced. And that may also be a reflection of the fact that there are fewer female applicants than males, so there’s a chance that may work in your favor.”

“I sure wish I knew more about it,” Bree sighed. “It seems like chance has to play a big part of things.”

“I’m sure it does. However, and again I can’t tell you the details, I’m sure some congressmen get fewer applicants than others, and my impression is that the number of applicants has fallen off in recent years. You’re also probably lucky that you have no military base in your congressman’s district, so that may limit the applicants he would receive, too. Many children of military people want to follow in their parent’s footsteps, and that makes some districts very competitive. Just guessing, your district may not be quite as competitive. In any case, it varies from district to district, just as the reasons a congressman makes a nomination varies from congressman to congressman. So, yes, it’s a crapshoot, and the only thing you can do to improve your chances is to excel in everything you can that will impress him. You’re going to have to do some research on that yourself, and the best thing you can do is to contact him or his staff soon to get some idea of the criteria he may have.”

“Then that’s definitely on the to-do list,” she nodded. “I’ve been meaning to look into it, but I just haven’t.”

“It could well be that interest expressed early might have a bearing on their decisions,” Colonel Seasprunk said. “Again, I can’t tell you how that might work out, but I would suggest that you don’t delay much longer in the initial contact.”

“OK, let’s jump way ahead and suppose I get into the Academy,” Bree said. “What’s that going to be like?”

“Again, I have to plead no recent knowledge, but there are things that don’t change, too. In many ways it’s like going to other colleges. You’ll have some more or less regular college courses, but you’ll have some that don’t normally appear in colleges, at least for undergraduates. The level of difficulty is higher than in most college courses, at least where a comparison can be made, and you’re expected to maintain a high level of success in those courses. In addition, there are many military things that would not be taught in most colleges at all. As I said, my knowledge is not recent on this, but if you’re still interested in applying, perhaps your parents would be willing to bring you down to Scott sometime. I’m sure I can find some recent Academy graduates who would be able to give you much more up-to-date information than I can.”

“I think that would be a good idea,” she said. “And I really appreciate the offer. I’m sure it will be helpful and give me some idea of how to prepare. But, I have to ask, how about flying? What are the chances of flying fighters?”

“Again, you’re going to be up against a lot of competition. Most cadets get into the flight program, except for those who can’t pass the physical. There is a high washout rate. I have little doubt if you keep up with your flying the way you’ve been going, or at least what your folks have been telling me of it, that you should get through the early stages easily. Only the best students are chosen for the most advanced courses, and only the best of them and volunteers at that, are chosen for fighter training. And there’s still the chance of washing out. I’ll be honest, Bree. It’s a long shot, but you’ve at least taken the first step at improving your odds with the effort you’ve put into flying already.”

“You wound up in fighters, though.”

“Yes, but not without some difficulty,” he said. “Bree, the only time I’d been in an airplane before I was nominated for the Academy was when your folks took me for a ride in their Cessna as a small child, and one airliner trip was the total after that, the one on my way to the Academy. I literally had to start from scratch there, as well as in other things. To be honest, I was not well prepared for the Academy. Oh, I was one of the top students in my high school and that counted for a lot, but I had no idea of the intensity of the Academy, or things that I needed to know that I had no background in. But again, I had a lot of people in my home town pulling for me and I did not want to let them down, so I had that degree of motivation. Especially, in my first year I was struggling very hard to keep my head above water. As far as the flying goes, I mostly have to boast that I have some natural talent for it, and I was able to pick it up quickly in every stage. In my day, the lowest-level flying courses were in T-41s, which are essentially the same thing as a Cessna 172. From there, we transitioned into T-38s, which are jet trainers. The Air Force likes to be very sure of their pilots before they turn them loose in an airplane costing tens of millions of dollars, and with some of the new planes coming along like the F-22, hundreds of millions. For the foreseeable future, only rather senior pilots with very good records are likely to be chosen to fly the F-22.”

Bree got a smirk on her face. “Might that include a very senior pilot with a very good record who I happen to be talking to?”

“Not yet,” he grinned. “And when I got promoted to full colonel, the odds actually decreased. But I wouldn’t turn down the opportunity if it came, even though I’m getting a little senior to be an operational pilot in one.”

“Wow,” Mark said, in obvious awe. “It’s hard to believe what I started when I took you for a ride in Rocinante.”

“As I look back, I find it a little incredible myself,” Colonel Seasprunk laughed. “I’ve come a long way since then. But, you know, I can’t help but sit here and think that you and Rocinante are well on the way to giving a second pilot to the Air Force.”

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