They Really Do

Do you ever read bumper stickers? Of course you do, everyone does. You can find a bumper sticker about literally every subject, pastime, destination, passion, or occupation imaginable.
Over the years, I have seen thousands of bumper stickers. Dad didn't care for them. He didn't want to "trash up" his car. I remember when I was younger, we went to a "tourist attraction", a cave in Missouri, I believe. As we were standing in line for our tickets, Dad spied a young man heading out into the parking lot with a handful of bumper stickers to put on all the cars. (Can you imagine, a FREE bumper sticker?) Anyway, after we got to the front of the line, Dad specifically requested that NO bumper sticker should be put on the station wagon parked "over there". We toured the cave, and prepared to leave. As we were piling into the car, Dad spotted the bumper sticker. Diving into the glove compartment, he came out with a razor blade scraper, and proceeded to remove the offending decoration right there in the parking lot. It wasn't an "offensive" sticker, there was nothing obscene on it. Not at all like the stickers one sees on the road nowadays. The only bumper sticker that Dad ever allowed on the car was one that read: "Don't Let Them Be Forgotten", and underneath in big letters: "POW-MIA" (Prisoners Of War, Missing In Action). There was a family in our neighborhood in Florida,whose father/husband was Missing In Action. A man who used to live down the street from us in Tucson, turned up Missing In Action in the 60's. He was shot down while on a combat mission. According to his wingman, there were flames coming from the aircraft, and it spun in. No parachutes were spotted. Dad was the wingman. He didn't have to "drill it into our heads", that this (Viet Nam) war was not only important, but dangerous as well. I'm sure that's why we had the POW-MIA bumper sticker on the car.
Like I said, there are bumper stickers for any occasion: "Love a Welder and Watch the Sparks Fly!" "Divers do it Deeper" There are any number of stickers that promote "IT" being performed by any number of trades and occupations. What you interpret "IT" as is limited only by your imagination. Usually, there is an obscene connotation.
I remember the first bumper sticker I heard about that talked about "IT". Dad came home one day and was almost "bubbling" about a sticker he had seen. It said, simply: "FIGHTER PILOTS DO IT BETTER". Nothing obscene or ribald. Pick a task. . .it will be done better by a Fighter Pilot, no matter what IT is. It has been proven to me time after time, by some of the greatest men ever to walk the earth, or fly above it.
I have a cousin who worshipped the ground my Dad walked on. When he was young, his teacher asked the class what they wanted to be when they grew up. "Doctor, Spaceman, Nurse, Princess, President" were probably some of the answers his classmates gave. When it was his turn, he answered, "I want to be Uncle Sam". I guess his classmates laughed at him. No, he didn't want to have his face on a poster, pointing, and saying I WANT YOU. He wanted to be like my Dad, his uncle, Sam.
Now, I must clarify something. Just because a man (or woman) straps on a jet and heads for the wild blue unknown, that person is not necessarily a Fighter Pilot. Different people have their own "standard" that they judge people by. There are many honorable men out there. There are many patriotic men out there. There are also many brave, faithful, honest and/or reverent men out there. Most men have at least one of these qualities. Some men possess two or more of these traits. The man who lives behind me embodies ALL of these traits, and more. He is a retired plumber. He is a friend to all, is loved and respected by all who know him, and he hasn't flown (to my knowledge) except on an airliner as a passenger. But this great man, to me, is a Fighter Pilot. That is "my standard" that I evaluate people against. There can be no higher praise from me than, "Officer and a Gentleman" or, "Fighter Pilot". Fighter Pilots Do It Better. They really do.