Blue Angels

IT'S BLUE ANGELS TIME, and I'll have my perch in Eastport lined up when the aerobatics start at 2 this afternoon. I'm not going to tell you where my perch is -- you find your own. Fortunately, the air show -- a tradition of the U.S. Naval Academy's Commissioning Week leading up to graduation Wednesday -- covers quite a large area over Annapolis Harbor, so plenty of great perches are available around the Eastport peninsula.One of the show's more breathtaking moments is when one of the jets sneaks up from behind and comes shrieking over the treetops so low you can count the rivets on the undersides of the wings.

The moment all midshipmen at the Naval Academy dream about is when, at the end of their graduation ceremony, they can toss their white hats into the air to signal the end of their Annapolis days and the start of their career in the Navy or Marine Corps.For the Class of 1999, that moment will arrive after noon Wednesday.But leading up to the spectacular sight of 1,000 skyward hats is Commissioning Week, a shipload of events beginning tomorrow that are part of academy tradition, and contribute to Annapolis' parking woes.

The annual Blue Angels air show at the Naval Academy almost came to a screeching halt last year when a riverfront Annapolis area resident -- prominent lawyer Brendan Sullivan -- refused to move his lawn party out of the show's off-limits "aerobatic box."This year, to avoid another last-minute showdown, the academy is moving the off-limits box 150 feet to the south and east.That means Sullivan, whose practice is in Washington, can have his annual Blue Angels party.But it also means the academy's Dewey Field, a grassy riverfront rectangle and the prime spot for watching the Blue Angels, is off-limits.

EASTPORT WRITER Sandra Travis-Bildahl has just completed her second book for children, tentatively titled, "The Blue Angel Way."Technically, the book is for what are called "mid-level" readers -- children 8 to 14.Travis-Bildahl interviewed members of the Navy's stunt-flying unit for the book, which explores what it is like to be a Blue Angel, as well as how someone becomes a member of the prestigious group."

54-year-old man dies after riding bicycle into back of pickupA 54-year-old man died yesterday after he crashed his bicycle into the back of a pickup truck parked on a lower Charles Village street, Baltimore police said.The man, whose identity was being withheld yesterday pending notification of relatives, was southbound at 9: 45 a.m. on St. Paul Street, near East 21st Street, when he rode into the truck. Investigators said the man, who was not wearing a bicycle helmet, suffered head injuries in the crash.

A life lesson on the banks of the SevernIt was hot May 20, as thousands of us sat along the Severn River, the U. S. Naval Academy and Annapolis. The masses of people were gathered to watch the spectacular precision and control demonstrated by the U.S. Navy Blue Angels pilots of the F/A-18 Hornets.There were individuals, parents with small children, groups of schoolchildren and many family groups, including babies. We were all there for hours before the scheduled start time of 2 p.m. As usual, the excitement level tends to build when "showtime" nears.

The annual gut-wrenching performance by the Navy's Blue Angels supersonic stunt flying team over the Severn River was nearly grounded yesterday when a famous Washington lawyer refused to relocate a lawn party.The show, a 45-year Commissioning Week tradition at the Naval Academy, went off late and only after days of furious bargaining among top academy officials, the Navy, the Federal Aviation Administration administrator and the lawyer, who insisted he would hold a backyard Blue Angels party.

The Naval Academy Bridge will be closed for several hours today and tomorrow and boating restrictions will be enforced on the Severn River while the Blue Angels, the Navy's precision flying team, rehearses and performs as part of Commissioning Week at the academy.The bridge, which carries Route 450 over the Severn, will be closed from 11: 30 a.m. to 4 p.m. today and from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. tomorrow.Academy gates will be closed to vehicles except those of academy residents, cars with handicapped tags or stickers, and shuttle buses.

Whether it's the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines or Coast Guard, your favorite branch of the military will be represented this weekend at what is described as the biggest military show in the country. It's the Department of Defense's 40th annual open house at Andrews Air Force Base, just outside of Washington."The joint services open house is one of the best vehicles for the American taxpayer to come out and see what they have bought," says Lt. Dave Waterman, a Navy public affairs officer and spokesman for the show.