More from: "My Time in Service:"
I know this pictures doesn't look like it is about being in the Military...but only because I lost most of my Military pictures, by making the dumb mistake of giving someone the originals for a project. They lost them all.
So you have to use your imagination ...and the picture I posted as a starting point.
Here you have a Mom, and her Daughter in a very ordinary pose. Just chatting away as they make things for the new Baby my other daughter is pregnant with.
Just two Mom's, chatting, as they talk about another soon to be Mom. Ordinary in every way. Until you live long enough to realize how precious moments where you are just chatting with folks you feel safe and bonded too. Like your Bunk mate, shelter half mate, Squad, Platoon, or Company mates.
I used to have a picture of my Gun Crew (81mm Mortars) playing Spades. We weren't at War where we were. But we were an ocean away from our friends and family. In a country that did not speak our language. In fact, at that time in history, nobody spoke English in any direction you might go.
So here were five guys, playing a simple game of Spades. If I had that picture, and you put it beside my Kathy and Kevina chatting on our porch. The feel would be the same...just the Uniforms would be different.
If you were a Grunt, I can already hear you thinking: "How many books you got?".
Just some down time, with your buddies. As most of you know, and have experienced , waiting somewhere for orders. Standing in line, in any Branch of Service, should come with a Merit Badge. We are super good at it. I swore when I left the Army I would never stand in line again. Then I went to the DMV, where they train folks to make your wait longer.
I remember another time on Active Duty, it was raining. It was wet. (See how they go together?) Mud was everywhere. We got the order to: "Stand Down." So we sat down. The rain just kept coming. One of the guys started singing an old Church song: "Man of constant sorrow."
A guy from West Virginia joined in. Then another guy from Alabama. And another guy from Jersey. Guys drifted over from the other Gun Pits...and soon, everyone who could sing...was singing. Those of us who couldn't clapped with the rhythm of the song.
Then another song: "Down in the Valley." And another, so many in a row- that Churches in Atlanta would have hired these guys for their choir. The rain stopped...we all just kinda looked at each other, and headed back to work.
Same feeling I got when I look at the picture I posted. I was lucky to be there.