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The Airshow; something I look forward to each year in late June. But this year brought a new twist. I had contacted the organizers to try to get additional access this year and they offered me a media pass. Delightful. But, what does it mean?

It meant I needed to submit some personal information to the government to confirm I was a decent person and they would, in return, allow me to utilize the scissor lift and access cool places. That much I gathered from my conversation with Col. Reil. Details were slim.

In fact it was not until Thursday the 24th that I received confirmation that I was on the list and I could pick my media pass up the next day at noon. This messed up my schedule a bit on Friday but not a big deal. I could still probably make a shoot in the afternoon without difficulty.

There are times to play smart and times to admit you're dumb. This was one of the latter. I would earn no respect by pretending to know my way around the media pool at the airshow, from the Guard or the photogs. My ego was the only potential casualty and as I have very little self esteem, what's to lose? (ok, I'm kidding). It always bothered me when people pretend to know what they're up to. I've found that 50:50 people are willing to help you out when you're out of your comfort zone. I wanted to pull from the years of experience around me.

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