The Legend of Elthirteen
by
Jim Lichtenwalter

My e-mail address is unusual, I have had many comments from people who try and figure it out like a vanity license plate.  I served as a Naval Aviator for 20 years.  For those of you who are not from a Navy town I'll give you a little back story on call signs.

Every aviator is given a call sign; they are not allowed to choose their own.  In the grand tradition of the Navy they are often names that are meant to humble you as a young aviator.   You may remember 'Maverick' or 'Goose' from the movie Top Gun.

 On my first carrier qualification flight there were four of us flying in a V and the air traffic controller requested our last names to identify who was approaching the carrier.  We were asked to spell them phonetically and I did.  His reply was, "Can you repeat that?"  Which I did.  And his next reply was, "That's 13 isn't it?"  Thus the name "L13" was born, I was never to hear the word Lichtenwalter come from anyone in the Navy ever again.

 My whole life since then I've been L 13 or 13, so picking a screenname was easy.  Well it should have been except for AOL.  They refused to acknowledge L13.  I tried LThirteen.  But each time it was rejected.  I finally ended up with ELTHIRTEEN.   So should our paths ever cross, feel free to call me 13.