“The men in black, their lips are sealed…”

It took a while, but I finally got the lowdown on those scary black helicopters buzzing downtown last night.

I started hearing them a little after six PM. I was chained to work and couldn’t see over the buildings, but every few minutes something would zoom over. I stepped outside just as a chopper passed overhead. Someone said it was a Blackhawk. Another someone said he saw gun turrets and soldiers. I saw helicopters flying in all different directions. At first it was spooky; are we under siege? I’d heard no explosions, the MAX was still running, and no ominous Emergency Broadcast System disrupted the radio.

Everyone assumed (accurately) that it was a training mission. This was confirmed by TV news. I heard from someone on the ground that they were practicing deploying troops to rooftops in case of terrorist attack, as well as doing rooftop patrols for when political candidates come to town. Sniping the snipers, if you will.

There was also speculation that our city may be ripe for rioting if Barack Obama isn’t elected.

I find it a little freaky when the military craft come out to play. Kinda like 4th of July; you hear the explosions in the distance and wonder what it would be like if this were for real?

In many places it is for real. Let’s hope what happens here stays practice.