now I have some explaining to do

A not-so-little side note here:

My daughters have LOTS of opinions about my blog. Zexi wanted me to change the background to black...said it looked better. Then, she said she thought my username BonnieGirl (cause I'm a girl and ride a Bonneville T100) was also LAME and to change it to Sweet But Deadly.

The history of Sweet But Deadly goes back to the Gulf War and a very talented artist named Warren Trask. I was serving in the USAF during the Gulf War and was deployed to the U.A.E. We spent a LOT of time there with nothing to do for many months before the war kicked off. I think I was wandering aimlessly through tent city one day when a couple guys hollered at me from their homemade second story patio (in tent city, mind you)and invited me up for a Ritz cracker or something equally impressive...it's been too many years to remember.

Anyway, Warren and I both had daughters back home and chatted about them and shared photos, that kind of thing. We must have both worked night shift (7pm to 7am) and ended up hanging out throughout the war.

Warren was given permission to paint nose art on the F-16s. He did an incredible job and his work is still displayed in the Smithsonion Museum in Washington D.C. One day he shared an idea he had about a new piece he wanted to paint:

The head of a woman with the body of a scorpion crawling out of what looked like a hole blown in the side of an aircraft. He hemmed and hawed about needing a "model" for the work. I told him I would be flattered if he used me for the art on one condition. I wanted a wedding ring to be prominent in the art, and to make sure it doesn't make my nose look big. (Okay, that's two conditions, but I digress)
Here's the result




This was a contributing factor in me purchasing a motorcycle helmet with the graphics of a scorpion.

I treasure this nose art. I think it's a very cool piece of history. When I was about 21 years old I made a list of things I wanted to do before I died; things that would make my life more interesting not just for me, but as an old, shriveled up great-grandma sharing stories with family. Being painted on the side of an F-16 during a war wasn't on it, but I think it'll make a great story for future generations just the same.