ATTENTION IN THE AREA, ATTENTION IN THE AREA. 4 DAYS UNTIL RECOGNITION FOR THE CLASS OF 2012.

holy crap. it starts in less than 2 days. Its gonna be crazy. but we're all more than ready to get this done. its weird to think that in less than a week we'll be normal people again. but this is going to be the longest weekend of my life. so it will probably feel like more time than that. Enough about that though. I don't want to think about it too much.

I know last time I posted it was right before that round robin. that thing was nuts. it was definitely the hardest training session we had all year long. Shawn looked like he was about to die haha. that was pretty funny. He had this crazy dazed look on his face when we got to this one CQ. I'm pretty sure we all had that look on our face at one point or other though.

And I also mention New Mexico. My paper work actually did get approved at the very last minute and I got to go. It was a lot of fun. we won 5 of 6 games which put as at 3rd in the tournament. the drive there and back sucked, but it was worth it. They're making a "B Team" now because of how many people there are and they're making me one of the captains so thats cool I guess.

Whats NOT cool though is that I started getting sick again yesterday with a fever and headache and chills and the whole nine yards. so I was on bed rest today which was really nice. And I seem to be getting better so thats cool. As long as I'm better by Thursday then I'm happy. Cuz theres no way I'm missing recognition. Aight well I'm going to keep resting it up and this is the last post I'm doing before recognition so I will catch everyone on the flip side. pray for me... seriously.

ATTENTION IN THE AREA, ATTENTION IN THE AREA. 15 DAYS UNTIL RECOGNITION FOR THE CLASS OF 2012.

Well... it sure is getting close now. Since the last time I posted a lot has gone down. Some good. Some bad. Hundreds night was awesome. It was probably the most fun we've had at USAFA during the whole year. For those of you who dont know what it is, its the 100th night till the seniors graduate, so while they go out and party we decorate their rooms. Austin, Shawn, and I did Knblock and Harding's room as well as Kulumani and Dougherty. We turned Knoblock and Hardings room in to a honeymoon sweet which was pretty funny. and for Kulumani and Dougherty, we tin foiled EVERYTHING in the room. It looked really good when we were done with it, but it took about 6 hours to complete with the three of us working on it. If you wanna check it out, go here and check out the sweet video I made. That weekend was also fun because Michael was in town to visit Courtney. So we hung out a little bit during the weekend. He seemed to enjoy himself out here and is thinking about moving out here. We'll see if that happens.... lol. Then last weekend was the National Character and Leadership Symposium hosted here at USAFA. there were people from all over the world here for that, which was kinda cool. We got to hear from sweet speakers like a retired CIA Spy, and Gene Kranz who was the head mission controller for the Apollo 13 mission. In the movie, he's portrayed by Ed Harris (the one with the vest). Anyway he was a really great speaker. Unfortunately that night we also learned of our restriction. That kinda sucked, but I didnt really have anything planned that weekend so it didnt really bother me. They lifted the wing wide restriction this week, but our Squad Comm restricted us again. Funny story about that. As tradition would have it, we all decided to fail the last knowledge test on purpose by writing in "2012 Never Falter Never Fail" for every answer. Long story short, our Squad Comm wasnt too happy about that so we're once again restricted this weekend. And they took our cell phones away on Monday for the whole fiasco. Oh well. We have a chance at earning them back though. Yesterday they handed out 3x5's that had ridiculous excersizes on them like "4 mile rifle run" or "19 sets of 50 rep 4 count flutter kicks." If all of the tasks are completed by Monday, then they'll give us our cell phones back. and I think everyone is going to do it. so thats good. In about an hour though, my life is going to suck immensely. The reason? Well this weekend is a silver weekend, and part of it is a round robin that starts at 1645 and goes till 1800. Round robins are basically high intensity training session in which every squadron in the Group has a shot at beating you. We've only done one, and it sucked, so I'm guessing this one will be no different. Whats worse, I'm still pretty sick. but I'd rather just man up and go out there to help out my classmates than be weak about it and skip out. Probably not the smartest decision health wise, but I wont feel right if I dont go. Lord willing though, next weekend I'll be heading to New Mexico with the Air Force Ultimate team for a tournament down there. They invited me to go so I'm going to go ahead and send the paper work up and see what happens. Its the weekend before recogntion so I dont know if they'll approve it. Well I need to start getting mentally ready for this Round Robin so I shall post again sometime later...

ATTENTION IN THE AREA, ATTENTION IN THE AREA. 33 DAYS UNTIL RECOGNITION FOR THE CLASS OF 2012.

So its been a few days since the last post. and 40 days is well under way. It does suck, but I've adjusted to it alright. So what are some of the crazy things we have to do you ask? Well, the Squadron ROE's are probably the most ridiculous. Heres as many as I can recall at the moment:

-We have to greet 2 and 3 degrees by their first, middle, last name, and hometown. We have to greet Firsties by their first, middle, last name, hometown, and AFSC.
-We have to greet the aircraft painted in hallway alcoves with manufacturer, alpha numeric designator, name, and nickname.
-We have to do racetracks, so no crossing halls.
-Zoolander is in effect, so only left turns with a duty, honor, country twist
-The buddy system is also in effect when in the squadron, which seems to be the most annoying rule
-We have to be in UOD from Reveille to TAPS.
-19 pushups when entering the squadron.

Those are the ones I can think of at the moment. I'm sure I'm missing some. Anyway, i still dont have the names memorized, or the forty eleven thousand names for staff lists. but I think we're all getting a little apathetic about it. I mean we take it seriously, but some stuff is nearly impossible to do, which is kind of the point. 33 more days... This weekend was alright though. On saturday we woke up and the entire class went to the Carlton House, which is where the Superintendent lives. That was pretty cool. its a huge house- pretty much where the president visits when he's in town. And we got permission from General Regni's wife to TP the house for our day during 40 days. so that should be fun. Yesterday Shawn and I went snowboarding at Keystone. it was pretty fun, but conditions could have probably been better. It was a little icy, but it started snowing and got better towards the end of the day. Had to write an english paper last night though and that sucked. I can already tell this is going to be a long week. but this weekend is going to be pretty awesome. Michael is coming to visit Courtney so we're all going to hang out at some point. its also hundreds night weekend. so on hundreds night we'll be at rest from 1630 to TAPS in the entire cadet area. which is crazy! thats going to be a lot of fun. Austin, Brett, and I are going to get McCaskey's room. I'm thinking tons of post its and jello and stuff. alright im headin out so ill talk to you later...

ATTENTION IN THE AREA. ATTENTION IN THE AREA. 48 DAYS UNTIL RECOGNITION FOR THE CLASS OF 2012.

Its a bit unreal. it seems like yesterday I was saying my last good-byes at In-Processing. But a lot has happened. and I have to admit that this has been the most amazing year of my life. I've learned more about myself than I ever have in my life up to this point. That has definitely come at a price though, whether it be physical pain, incredible mental stress, or overall frustration. And its not over yet. with about a month and a half to recognition, the hardest part of freshman year is scheduled to begin in about one week. I think all of us are pretty ready to tackle this task and rise to the occasion. Its been a long road and we're ready to get it over with.

On to more recent updates, things have been going alright i guess. Ive definitely had some tough moments in the last couple weeks, but I'm pushing through. Had altitude chamber on thursday which was a pretty good experience for the most part. lots of briefings, but i believe it will be some valuable training to have. Tonight we had bible study at the Warricks. It was a pretty good. had a good topic that I think I need to constantly be reminded of. Its especially one that cadets need to here just to keep us in check. After the study, we played a pretty good game of knock out. haha i couldnt believe i won one of the games, seeing as i suck pretty bad at basketball. After that we chilled in the living room while Austin and Holly played the guitar and piano. good times. then the LT took us home. and now i sit here before you. I think im going to head to bed though. I'll try and update a little more often. key word being "try." im not sure whats going to happen when 40 days hits so we'll see...

So I'm sitting here in the living room with my mom. As we were sitting there, from the kitchen the sound of wine pouring in to a glass caught our ear and warmly reminded us of some of the funny Christmas traditions our family has accumulated over the years. Sitting there for a second, we gathered a few, so I thought I'd write them down while they were still a little fresh in my mind.

-The sound of wine hitting a glass around Christmas time has always been a sure clue that my Dad is getting himself in the mood to write the Christmas letter. Who knows what motivates him to pour the wine....

-When decorating the Christmas tree, there's this old red ornament we refer to as "sputnik" due to its "pokey" nature. No ornaments are hung until my Dad ceremoniously hangs it. Then the decorating may begin!

-The conclusion of the tree decorating marks the beginning of the throwing of the ting. Theres this decoratory glittery thin sticks that are straight at one end and spirally at the other, and rather than pass an opportunity for fun, we (we being my dad, sister, I) throw them at the tree as if they were spears. Simply sticking them in the tree is too easy and civilized.

-Also not passing up a chance to spruce up the mood, my parents address their presents to eachother with something other than their names. these include things like "From: The Man... To: The Woman" or maybe "From: The Boss... To: The Secretary" (I'll let them duke it out for who's who in that one) Me and my sister may make feeble attempts at this, but theyre not usually as funny.

-We always walk Candy Cane Lane every year with the Dawsons on Christmas Eve. Its fun. Although those that have ever walked it with me know what I eventually want to do ;)

-I cant forget my childhood either. Back when we lived in Florida, we would drive out to this Christmas tree farm before it got too cold with some friends of ours in Fort Walton Beach. We would make a day of it. We'd pick out our tree and decorate it slightly and then come back later and cut it down when it was closer to Christmas. Although I always remembered the initial trip because we would make a day of it- picknicking and such. and Dad would always let me drive the truck on his lap. That was always a highlight. There was a cotton field on the way home that we stopped at once and picked a couple branches of cotton that we kept for years. I'm pretty sure if I looked hard enough I could probably find them somewhere.

-And of course before bed on Christmas Eve, Dad always reads "The Night Before Christmas" to all of us, regardless of how old we get. I guess one of these days he'll read it to young kids again ;)

Well theres other little things here and there that I'm sure I'm forgetting, but those are a few that bring back fond memories. Anyway I'm off to pick up a friend from the airport. Good night and Merry Christmas....

Just read my last post. and i can confidently say that things are a little better. better is a loose term though. because i THINK that things have gotten better, but it could be that im just getting used to the craziness. we havent been restricted in a long time though, so thats good. and I've earned the respect of a lot of people that it takes quite a bit to earn from. I think my Squad Comm is pretty happy with me, which is always a good thing.

and man am i glad its the weekend now. this past week was brutal academically. there were points where i was stressed more than ever. thats the thing this place does for you. it makes you realize that you can get through ANYTHING. I've completed tasks here that i would have never thought possible about a year ago. which is making me realize why a degree here is very valuable not only in the Air Force but in the civilian sector. People know that we can get things done, no matter how much of a mountain it will be to surpass. that gives you a lot of pride too. but even you dont see it in yourself till you leave here. because everyone except your classmates treats you pretty crappy. then you go out in the civilian world and you know why you do it from the smiles you get from random strangers as you pass by in uniform. sometimes i take it for granted and hate doing it, but its an honor to wear this uniform and i wouldnt have it any other way. and like i said in the last post, you have to relish in the small pleasures you encounter, and blow them up to be something not as important as they really are lol. but it will make you feel better about things if you can do that.

well its gettin late so im gonna end it for now. cant. wait.

Well... its been quite the past few months. you wanna talk about a dramatic life change. its funny that my last post was about how badly i wanted to get in here. and dont get me wrong, i wouldnt change a thing. but life has just sucked. incredibly. And i feel the only way i can get all this frusturation off my chest is to write it down.

Everything has just been building and building until today i realized that freshman year just never lets up one bit around here. i think i kinda fooled myself in to thinking that it would start out really rough and slowly get a little more lax. And this wouldnt have been an issue if the environment around me didnt slowly start to advocate this. Cuz thats exactly what was starting to happen. we were all stuck in the squad this weekend due to the failing average on last weeks knowledge test and it was becoming quite evident that people had a lot of excess energy they werent being allowed to expend, so when the power went out and all hell broke loose, so did the trust of our squad comm with us. and the thing that makes me mad is that the upperclassmen were rooting us on as all of the "shenanigans" continued, later pretending as if this didnt happen. thats a bunch a bull. Dont ever encourage us to do something and then later stand behind the one scolding us and shake your heads at us like you werent there. that shows very poor leadership in my opinion. and you cant argue with that.

Courtney told me the other day that its important to follow the rules but at the same time be able to look back at the dumb stuff you did that wasnt exactly the "right" thing to do and go "man that was awesome" and to a degree i agree with her. but i think my fellow four degree classmates are missing the point of that statement. if youre going to do something "against" the rules, dont do it right in front of the upperclassmen. it just goes with the saying theres a time and place for everything. and they havent quite figured that out yet. im trying to have somewhat of a fun freshman year, but at the same time, i dont want to be restricted in my room every weekend because we had "fun" for a moment during the week. its not worth it to me, and essentially disrespectful to those of us who'd like to actually use our passes. I think all of us need to get away from here for a little while, and thats never gonna happen if this keeps up.

But one thing i have been getting good at is finding the small pleasures in life, however miniscule they are. like right now im sitting in this section of the library thats secluded from just about everything, but at the same time it looks out over the area where the bus dropped us off for in processing. I have a feeling im going to be spending a lot of time here. its completely quiet to the point where all you can hear is the sound of the overhead lights humming. i like being in my room with my roommates and all, but ive forgotten how comforting and nice complete silence is, most likely because i havent been around it in a looooong time. it brings back memories though looking down on the footsteps where we received our first "briefing." i cant believe its already been like 3 months here. but at the same time i can. a lot has happened. even ive changed. but its days like these that really make me miss home. id give just about anything to have 20 minutes at home with my family right now for a good sit down dinner. its hard to accept the fact that that will never be the same. because "home" is a loose term. i havent quite accepted the fact that my home is here now. i doubt i ever completely will. the countdown to thanksgiving continues though, and hopefully things get a little better.

I've been wanting to do this for a while, but couldnt for a couple reasons. in fact i wasnt sure if i was ever going to do it. but here i am. sitting in this chair with an Appointment from the United States Air Force Academy. and while its still somewhat fresh in my mind, heres my story.

When i was in the fourth grade, i heard about this place called the air force academy, and just the name was enough to have me sold. i mean, in the fourth grade that sounds pretty cool! so i asked my mom and dad how you get to go there. and they told me you have to be very special-you have to be chosen. so once again my fourth grade mind process mistakenly concluded that you had to be noticed by this academy without any type of application process. i didnt even know what an application was at this point. so i figured, at the age of ten, that i was going to try my hardest to achieve this mountain of a goal. and this was the driving force that has brought me to be the young man before you today.

I began throwing myself in to just about any type of activity where you get "noticed." whether that be sports, church stuff, pretty much any type of extra curricular. but my parents also mentioned grades. so i was putting just as much if not more effort in to my school work. from 4th to 7th grade i kept this process going as best i could, and i have to admit that it showed. I still hadnt gotten to do anything SPECTACULAR yet though, and i had been looking for something like that for a while. by this time tho, i had figured out there was an application, so i didnt have to be noticed solely by the institution, but i was still on that path so i figured why not keep going. and in 8th grade i got the shot i was looking for. its a moment i credit as the start to my leadership career. i was chosen to be drum major of approximately a 60 member band. now if that doesnt get you noticed in middle school, i dont know what does. but i did it. and i excelled at it. and for the first time i realized i really liked being a leader.

so i continued this in high school. and by the time i got to high school, i had done my research and i knew exactly what the academy was looking for. i was ready to mold myself however necessary. they want you in varsity sports. so i made varsity soccer as a sophomore. they want you in leadership positions. so i got involved in AFJROTC and currently serve as second in command to our unit. They want youre SATs and GPA to be high, somewhere in the top 4% of your class. im #7 out of 354. and they want you in extra curriculars. so i started flight training, instructing at the middle school, staying active in church functions, and just generally getting involved in the community.

My junior year is when everything seemed to come together, though. i had the unique opportunity to attend the National Youth Leadership Forum in Washington, D.C. in the fall of 2006. Then i was selected to represent Vanden High School as the sole delegate to California Golden Boys State in the summer of 2007. Following this i was selected to represent my AFJROTC Unit CA-20011 at Aerospace & Technology Honors Camp at Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, living and working amongst the Top 1% of all AFJROTC Cadets in the nation. I seemed to have everything set to go. and i thought it was. there was no stopping me now. i'd been waiting so long for this and now it was within reach. but its funny how God takes advantage of the most important situations to show you something.

I started my application process as soon as i had time in the summer of 2007. i was filling out forms left and right and everything was running smoothly. It came time for the medical examination, and i wasnt that worried. i knew i had some hearing loss, but its very subtle and i hardly notice-i mean ive gone through all of school maintaining an above 4.0 GPA, so i didnt think it would matter. then i took the hearing test. and the results came back. and the letter arrived. "we regret to inform you that you are medically disqualified due to hearing loss exceeding medical standards." i was livid. i had worked almost my whole life to get this and now it was out of reach because of something i have absolutely no control of. my dad once said that the things in life that are the most frusturating are the ones that cause problems you cant fix. and this is a problem i cant fix. its a part of me. and i have to deal with that. but i realized thats what i had to do. i had to deal with it and overcome it. so i began the medical waiver process. and the people at the department of defense review board are in no hurry to get your paperwork done. and thats understandable. theyve got a lot of other crap to deal with. youre not high on their priority list. but this is hard to accept when your dreams have just been crushed. but i carried on with life. finally after what seemed like eternity i was up for re-evaluation. so i scheduled another appointment and had another hearing test. through the grace of God i passed this one falling right on the margin of standards. so i thought i had it this time. i mailed in the results and was ready for my profile page to read qualified. but it didnt. and didnt. and didnt. and no matter how many times i kept coming back to that page and seeing "disqualified" the pain in my heart and mind was exactly the same every. single. time.

but then finally i got a phone call from the review board. expecting great news, i answered and got a different story. "Yes Mr. Helton we'd like you to take an additional test at a military facility to rule out retrocochlear pathology with an emphasis on military adaptability." my angry side was ready to come back with "What the heck is retro cochlear pathology and what does that have to do with me serving my country?" but i restrained myself and pressed on. but i was frusturated beyond belief. do these people not know that its now march and other 18 year olds across america are finding out theyve got their appointments and you havent even looked at my application yet?? youve got to be joking... but i played along, the whole time asking God why? i was ok with learning something but i wanted to know what it was. but that would defeat the purpose now wouldnt it? so i took the test at a military facility (which was another fiasco id love to talk about, but ill save that for another day) and once again passed the test. the results were in and i didnt see how anything could go wrong now. and one month later i was correct... for a few moments. they had granted my medical waiver and could now look at my application. another couple weeks of waiting and my application saw the board. and the board decided i was qualified. yes! i thought, im in right? no. "Mr. Helton, you are a qualified candidate with no vacancy. the entire freshman class has been filled and unless a vacancy opens, you wont receive an appointment"

this is the part where i am livid again. you mean to tell me that while you were taking your precious time reviewing my medical waiver and requesting additional tests, you went and filled the ENTIRE freshman class? but what was i thinking. its the military. theyre liable to do just about anything. ok fine. i dont know why you brought me this far, God. and i dont kno whats suppose to happen next. but i give up. the situation is yours. you can have it. ive done all i can. now its in your hands. ill start planning for UC Davis, maybe ill be able to move out. who knows. but guess who called me on monday morning? it was my congressmans office. and you know what they said? "Zack, Ive got some great news. i just got off the phone with the Academy Admissions Office, and theyre going to offer you an Appointment!"

For the past 9 years, ive been waiting for this moment. and it was finally here. and i nearly dropped to my knees in the emotion of it all. i was in. i AM in. After all the crap i went through and after all the time i wanted to throw my fist through a wall in frusturation, i. was. in. and i realized the glory of it all. God wanted the situation. and He wanted me to surrender it wholeheartedly without any mental reservation. and i got what i wanted. and i cant thank Him enough now.

the reason i wrote this post, though, was to show those of you who casually walked by and said "Dont worry, you'll get in" why i hated those words. because that was an absolute that i couldnt freely believe. on the other hand i dont blame you at all for saying that. you just wanted to comfort me, and i appreciate your care. that was also quite a bit of motivation to keep going and get in. cuz i didnt want to have to tell all of you that it didnt happen. but it did. and i can rest. this is my story. and i thank every one of you that had a part in it.

fun week... but bitter sweet. the week started off with the posting of a bulletin on myspace sunday night. it was a buddy of mine named eric jemera who said "go to kcra.com and vote for Vanden for Game of the week so that they will come and film the game on friday." so i figured why not, ill be the bigger man and support the football team even though a lot of em always talk crap about soccer. so i went and voted. but when i saw the standings i had to laugh, cuz it looked like one of those fruitless ventures as we were in third place with only about 800 votes and the leader had about 1800. but then more and more bulletins were being posted. and sure enough we passed up the school that was in second place, and before you know it, vanden was on top. but Rodriguez (the school that WAS in first place) realized this and began their voting once again. now each person wasnt limited to how many times they would vote so we would manually refresh the page, vote, then repeat the process for hours on end to stay in the race. after about two days of this, we were searching for other options as this method was starting to get old. by this time our entire school, even people that have never cared at all about football, was voting online every night. so our info tech class discovered that by setting up macros, we could hit "play" and leave our computers to do the voting for us. so all the info tech computers, physics laptops and home computers had macros on them a couple days later, which i credit as the biggest factor in this whole thing. so not only was this experience good for uniting our school in our fight against rodriguez, but it was educational too in that a lot of us, myself included, learned how to properly set up a macro, which i think is a pretty cool thing. voting ended last night at 9 o clock and it was a battle with Rodriguez the whole way for the victory. and what was the outcome? well lets just say that KCRA will be doing a live broadcast at the Vanden Stadium in about 3 hours. so thats cool. but that wasnt the bitter sweet part of the week. Wednesday marked my last high school soccer game. we had a nice game, also against Rodriguez, but they got us in that one. but we played our hearts out and had fun. the important thing tho is that moments like that are starting to happen a lot more lately. it seems like every time i turn around im like "well thats the last time ill do that" which is a strange feeling. i dont think its really hit any of us yet that a year from now, we're all going to be gone. huh....

Hello. My name is Zack. and I've been sober for 18 years. yes you guessed it. im blogging on the age old topic of underaged drinking. but "underaged drinking" is a bit to negative for this blog, so lets refer to it as "drinking under the age of influence." a little longer of a term but what i mean by that is those directly affected by the drinking age in such a way that they are not allowed to do so are being told and forced not to do so by those that are allowed. hopefully you can follow me with that one at least like 50% or so. if not, the following will try to make it more clear. Also, just as a disclaimer, i have no idea if either side of this debate will be swayed at all to think just a little differently, nor do i really care, because my parents have pretty much made up their mind already. i am simply putting my side of the debate on paper.... err blog. so to start it off, what are the conditions i would be pressing for if such a change were to occur? well its quite simple. i believe that given the right conditions, an older aged teenager should be allowed to drink at their parents disgression and ONLY under their supervision if both the parents and teenager are capable of handling the situation responsibly. and i have come to that thesis through the careful consideration of both sides of the story. so what are both sides of the story, what are their strong points, and what are their weak points?

we begin with the most recent traditional viewpoint: the drinking age is and should be 21. and believe me, if you're going to comment anything the slightest bit antagonistic to this viewpoint to someone about 30 or older, you had better have some evidence. and heres why. statistics that have been collected over the past few decades point to one conclusion. drinking before the age of 21 results in disaster. however, statistics do not leave very much room for hypothetical situations. because hypothetically speaking, many and arguably ALL of the "disasters" were caused by those not responsible enough to handle their safe drinking responsibility. those that ARE responsible enough but underage now find themself between a rock and a hard place. on the one hand the law still remains, and as far as trying to prove the law otherwise-the law was primarily based on statistics.

so who do i know that would fit the hypothetical situation..... o yea! its me! just to give you a picture of why this is true, consider the following. the government trusts your local high school dropout who now works at the 7/11, has already been divorced, and is thousands of dollars in debt to have a beer because his 21st birthday was today. the government does not however trust 18 year old Zack Helton to have a beverage with a little more class (lets say a glass of wine) even though his total GPA is 4.23, he is broadcasted to graduate within the top 3% of his class of 354, was accepted as the sole delegate to Golden Boys State California, represented the top 1% of somewhere in the ballpark of ninety thousand AFJROTC Cadets in the nation at Aerospace & Technology Honors Camp in New Mexico (which might i add cadets who attended this camp showed so much potential that the government decided to cover ALL expenses for this trip, including airfare, food, room and board for the week. you do the math.), is second in command to an AFJROTC Unit of around 140 cadets, holds the Head Instructor position for the Golden West Mustang Marching Band of around 60 students, and has recently taken it upon himself to push for the Team Captain spot of his Vanden Varsity Soccer Team. through his busy schedule, he also finds time to do another thing the government combined with the FAA trusts him to do- Fly a freakin airplane without the assistance of anyone else in the cockpit or aircraft. so yea. the government makes sense when it says i cant have a glass of wine. but i cant really make that statement without opposition because the government cant go and take a look at every person's resume under the age of 21 in America. but that person's parents sure can. which brings me back to my thesis. if the teenager and parents of the teenager are responsible enough, he/she should be allowed, under the parents supervision, to have. a glass. of wine.