Military Friends

I'm not one for chain emails. In fact, I usually check them against urbanlegends.com or actually call to verify the phone number listed at the end to make it look legit (it never is!). I hate misinformation and I'm not the kind of girl who likes getting some mushy friendship email-chain poem in the middle of my workday. My friend Rose (in the pic from 1997) sent me this one though, and I kind of got a kick out of it, especially since I just spent a few days with some military friends! I decided to share it with my blog readers (with some modifications) instead of passing it on in an email.

Civilian Friends: Get upset if you're too busy to talk to them for a week.

Military Friends: Are glad to see you after years and will happily continue the same conversation (and sea stories) from last time you met.

Civilian Friends: Never ask for food.

Military Friends: Never have much food but will share what they have with you (and make it a party!)

Civilian Friends: Call your parents Mr. and Mrs.

Military Friends: Call your parents Mom and Dad (my parents have wayward sailors as adopted kids all over the U.S.!)

Civilian Friends: Have never seen you cry (before I turned into a big pansy!)

Military Friends: Cry with you (OK, this one is a stretch. . . they actually either freak out over the fact that I'm crying or laugh at me because I'm getting soft in my old age!!)

Civilian Friends: Know a few things about you

Military Friends: Could write a book about you with direct quotes (some of my friends, both military and civilian, refer to those as Karenisms)

Civilian Friends: Would knock on your door

Military Friends: Walk right on in through the back door and announce "I'm home"

Civilian Friends: Are for a while (not all though, some are lifers too!)

Military Friends: Are for life

Civilian Friends: Have shared a few experiences

Military Friends: Have shared a lifetime of experiences

And the tales get better each time they're told!

It is what it is. . .

Since I've been back from Oklahoma City, this is what I have seen every morning when I check the outside temperature. The large number is the outside temperature and the small number is the inside temp. Yep, that big number says it's zero degrees. Every morning. I'm going to have to default to the old adage, "If you don't have anything nice to say, just don't say anything at all." I have absolutely nothing nice to say about what folks around here call their beloved four seasons!

On a brighter note, however, my friends Suzan and David had me over for dinner for my birthday this week. He actually stood outside in this weather and BBQed steaks for his whole family (6 kids at home plus Suzan), and for our friends Sam & Deb. To my friend Dave in Oklahoma City, I hate to admit it, but he gave you a run for your money on cooking my steak just right!!!

I'm not one of those women who keeps my age a closely guarded secret- I turned 39 years old! This is my last year in the third decade of life. I'm pushing 40 and it's pushing back! WOW!! I can't even remember what I thought I'd be doing at this age when I was younger.

Not much exciting on the horizon. No scheduled travel until the end of February, but I'll try to find something positive to post about before then! Hopefully a day that reaches above freezing temperatures . . .

Stuck in Oklahoma City

Once again, I could go on and on about the weather, but then I would be breaking my New Years resolution of not complaining about the weather! I was supposed to fly out Saturday evening along with Jim & Karla, but Mother Nature decided we needed more time to visit with Dave and his family! We woke to more ice slamming against the windows this morning. It's really looking bad out there, so we're not really sure when we'll all be able to fly to our respective homes.

That's OK though, there are worse things that could happen than to be stuck with some very good friends for a day or two!!! We get so little time to spend together, this is a welcomed catch-up!!

Here's a few pictures from after the retirement ceremony. We all came back to Dave & Suzan's house for a little get-together. Jim & Karla had brought one of Dave's favorite tasty beverages- Strongbow Hard Cider. It was the beverage of choice when our crew would go out in Hania back when we deployed to Souda Bay, Greece. Apparently there are some pretty stict liquor laws here in Oklahoma and Dave can't get it here. Needless to say, he shared his bounty and there was none left by the end of the night!

Even with the intimidating weather, quite a few shipmates came out for the get-together. It was pretty cool to be here and have two phases of my life come together. When I was in my first squadron (VP-17) in Hawaii in the early 90s, all my friends there knew me as a married woman. By the time I had moved on to my next squadron (VQ-2), I was divorced and all my new shipmates only knew me as a single petty officer. As I found out a long time ago, the world is a pretty small place. One of the side boys in Dave's ceremony, Russ, was stationed in Hawaii at the same time I was. His wife, Audrey, was in the AT shop with me in VP-17. She's out of the Navy now and is here in Oklahoma City with Russ and their two kids Bradley and Melanie (group picture). Audrey and I carried on like there was never a 9 year break in seeing each other!

So, lots of stories were told, both good and bad. From embarrasing birthday parties and blender sports to plane crashes and nerve-racking missions, the good and bad stories of our Navy lives were relived. Just like any group of friends, we've gone through a lot together personally and professionally. We were lucky enough to have exotic locales like Crete, Greece and Diego Garcia as the backdrop for our escapades!

OK, back to my day of lounging around and visiting! I hope this post inspires you to call an old friend out of the blue. I truly believe that people come in and out of our lives for a reason. We make some friends who are meant to serve a specific need at a specific point in our lives. They aren't really meant to be life-long friends, but are important to both our's and their emotional growth nontheless. Then there are the friends who come into our lives and continue to fulfill a need through all the phases of our lives. Don't take those folks for granted! Make a point to keep in touch with them. You never know when it may be time for you to serve a need in their lives or they in yours.

Civilianhood!

It was really cool that part of the ceremony recognizes the family. A lot of sacrifices are made by Navy spouses and kids and it was great to see Suzan, Jessica and Chris recognized for their support of Dave's career over the years. Not only did Suzan have to deal with Dave's constant deployments, she had to put up with his fiesty friends! It's crazy that I've been around the Glubke family long enough to watch both Jessica and Chris go from little kids to young adults. Good God we're getting old!

In the final part of his retirement ceremony, Dave stands at the edge of the red carpet, the ship's bell is rung, the boatsman's whistle is blown, then Dave is saluted by the sideboys as he walks down the carpet to the "shore" side. In the rehersal ceremony, I stood on the "shore" and taunted Dave and welcomed him to the other side. It's a different world, but you'll get used to it!!

One of the best parts of this whole retirement is that Dave, Jim and I are together again. The three amigos, we have remained best friends for a decade. Jim and his wife, Karla, are stationed in Great Lakes, IL and push boots (they are boot camp company commanders). I had to throw this last picture in here just to dispel any preconceived notions you may have about boot camp instructors!!

Yes, a lot more shananagans went on last night after the ceremony, but you'll have to wait until tomorrow for that post. I have to find out if the airport has opened back up and see if I'll be able to make my flight back to Colorado this afternoon. Stay tuned, it seems like my weather and travel saga has not ended yet. . .

Dave's retirement

Yesterday was quite the day! As luck would have it, Oklahoma is in the midst of a vicious ice storm!! We all made it to the hanger on time for practice and the ceremony, but the weather certainly made the day challenging. Even with the sky spitting ice against the hanger doors, the ceremony went well and suffiently paid tribute to Dave's 20 years of military service in the U.S. Navy.

For my non-military friends out there, you can see from these pictures that a Navy retirement is a very serious affair and adheres to hundreds of years of tradition and protocol. Dave's shipmates succeeded in pulling off a very formal, yet personal celebration of his time in the Navy. For me personally, it was a very moving experience. It was great reconnecting with friends I hadn't seen in many years, but also reliving some of the environment I used to be so comfortable in. It was a little strange to not be in a uniform amongst my shipmates, but I was so awed by all they had accomplished that I couldn't help but feel anything but pride as I looked around.

I remember being a new airman in the Navy a long time ago and thinking that the Navy Chiefs seemed so old and wise. All my friends and shipmates who are still in the Navy have attained the coveted rank of Navy Chief or Senior Chief (E-7 and E-8). All the side boys (sailors standing along the red carpet) in Dave's ceremony were Navy Chief Petty Officers and his friends. As I looked over at Jim & Karla, Russ and Gary standing at attention as side boys, it dawned on me how much our perceptions are based on life experience. Those "old and wise" Chiefs from my early days in the Navy are now my friends who have advanced in their careers to positions of leadership and are the molders of our military's future. Maybe not "old and wise" just yet, but still just as impressive!

Dave's whole family was in attendance and witnessed him receive a Navy Commendation Medal for his service as well as his transfer to the fleet reserve. He's retired now, but he'll always be a Navy Chief.

A New Year!

Yes, I made it back to Colorado Springs on Wednesday. Funny how I got snowed in, but couldn't get snowed out!!! We had fresh snow Friday, but I won't post any snow pictures. It's everywhere and I'd just as soon not see it on my blog too! One of my New Years resolutions. . . don't complain about the weather!!!

I can't believe it's already 2007! Last year was pretty eventful for me, but I honestly don't know what's in store for me this year. We've gone through some restructuring at work, so I'm not sure how 2007 will unfold. I do know that I will continue this travel blog even if I don't travel quite so much. It's been so much fun posting and hearing feedback from family and friends. It's such an easy way to keep everyone up to date and to give folks a different view from their own geography! With over a 100 posts and 6000 visitors, I suppose it's inevitable that I will continue!

This picture is of my favorite Christmas present. . . a freezer full of seafood from South Louisiana! Once again, my parents' have replenished my supply for a while. There's shrimp, crab meat, some speckled trout, and gumbo (plus a couple of packets of crawfish left over from last time). I can't thank my mom & dad enough for peeling all those shrimp, cleaning the fish, picking the crabs and saving the gumbo for me! Seafood tastes so much better when you know the chain of custody and the waters it came from!

I leave on Thursday for Oklahoma City for Dave's retirement ceremony. It's unbelievable that one of the three amigos is old enough to be retiring after 20 years in!!! You're getting old Dave!! Me, Dave and Jim have flown hundreds of hours together on P-3s in the Navy, have competed in lots of runs and triathlons together, and have been best friends for a decade now. We haven't all been together in a few years, so this should be quite the shindig- stay tuned for pictures!