Formation flying
Delray Beach, FL, December 2010
About this photo: We continue to share double-themed photos as part of our latest Thematic theme. It's not too late to share yours; just follow your mouse here.I'm an unabashed fan of the old movie, Top Gun. It's moviemaking at its bombastic-Hollywood worst, with more cliches and hackneyed passages per minute of screen time than virtually anything else you'll ever watch. To add to the fun, it's chock full of discontinuities and silly mistakes that make every viewing an adventure.
Yet somehow it all works, as it's a hellishly fun romp that doesn't seem to lose its appeal with the passage of time. It's managed to become a cultural touchstone of its era, a movie we all subconsciously quote from, and one that will easily hook us in when it appears on some obscure movie channel late on a Friday night.
It's also nice to see Tom Cruise before his sofa-jumping days. He was actually a decent actor once.
So when this fleeting avian scene appeared in my viewfinder, I instantly thought of this movie, and the central relationship between rebellious Maverick and his reluctant-enabling friend and backseater, Goose. Somehow, when you're in the sky, you've always got to trust the guy behind you to watch your six.
Your turn: Who do you trust? Why?
