The ice cream shop across the street has a sign in its window advertising a “military memories” breakfast at the local Veterans of Foreign Wars post tomorrow. The breakfast is to benefit the Old Soldiers’ Home in Chelsea, Massachusetts, which is a good and honorable cause.
The poster includes martial images of American military might including a soldier, a warship, and a couple of fighter jets. Being an admirer of all flying things, I looked closer to clarify whether the twin-tailed aircraft was an Air Force F-15 Eagle or a Navy/Marine F/A-18 Hornet. Much to my surprise I realized that it was a Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker, a Soviet fighter. On a poster for an event benefiting US veterans. Oops!
That would be like advertising a brunch for retired priests with an image of an Orthodox monk. Not the same thing at all.
So, I come home and point this out to Melanie and all she can say is: “You’re so weird.” What? Why?
My son-in-law flies the Hornet. I’ll ask him if he thinks you’re weird!
I’m sure glad you didn’t write the analogy portion of the SATs, Dom:
U.S. F-15 fighter is to Soviet Jet as:
A. British frigate is to Spanish galleon.
B. Cat is to dog.
C. Catholic Priest is to Orthodox Monk.
Hey, I’m not the one who made the mistake. I’m the one who noticed the mistake. A Flanker bears a superficial resemblance to the F-15 because they both have large vertical tailfins, but anyone who’s familiar with fighter aircraft will immediately see the difference.
For one thing the Eagle is all sharp edges and angles while the Flanker is rounder and bulbous.
So, I come home and point this out to Melanie and all she can say is: “You’re so weird.” What? Why?
Well jeepers, Dom, if you don’t know why you’re weird I’m certainly not going to tell you!
Actually, I remember a similar story a few years back of a billboard in Russia promoting the Russian military…which used an American fighter jet as one of their montage (an F-15, I think).
Russian veterans were not amused.