Lajes is an island that is part of the Azores which are a set of islands in the middle of the Atlantic. There is an Air Force base there and I lived there for two years when I was in high school. Twice a year we would fly to Germany to compete in our basketball and then soccer tournaments.

One year in the way back home there were hurricane force winds at the islands. We were in an airbus of some type and didn't have enough fuel to make it back to mainland Europe so the pilot informed everyone to strap in and take the brace position they show you in that little card for landing. The shaking of the plane was ridiculous, and people were screaming and crying non stop. We came in to land so hard and fast I thought there was no chance we weren't crashing. I thought we had crashed when we hit the runway so hard people bounced out of their seats ( it really is a good idea to fasten your seatbelt). After several more bounces we finally set down, and had to use the entire runway to slow down.

Everyone cheered and clapped from sheer relief when we finally stopped, and people were sobbing. One of the most intense and vivid experiences of my life.