I had a flash back today...it had something to do with parachutes. I harnessed up, and took off... But the gear I wore today, was significantly less than before, and  much  more comfortable. In the silent, peaceful sky, I remembered how beautiful it can be up there. Flying in slow motion... Just enjoying the sky and clouds... Today's scenery was just slightly different than in times past... And landing today, was  much  less dreadful than crashing into a hot, dirt drop zone. And the ride back... Was considerably more enjoyable than previous times... Which is better, you ask? Airborne or Airglide? Well, it's apples and oranges folks. But one thing I can say, you walk away from both with smile on your face.

Once while on active duty, I went to a beach that charged $10 per car. I stopped at the toll both, holding a $20 bill out my window, when I remembered to ask, "Do you give any kind of military discount?" The man in the booth was older. He had white hair and was wearing a security uniform. He reached for my money, but as soon as I asked that question he handed it back.  "Yes. Well, no. We don't officially, but  I'm  going to," he said. I sat with my foot on the brake, waiting for him to tell me what the discount might be, maybe $5 instead?  "Just go on through, please." Surprised and grateful, I thanked him and drove through.  Another time, while in uniform, I drove my sister to the airport on my way into work. We stopped at McDonalds for breakfast, and after we ordered at the register, a man stepped up beside me and said, "I'd like to pay for the Lieutenant's meal please." More recently, my husband was on his way to drill for th...

After a month away with the Army Reserves, Eddie will finally return home today from his psychological operations training. I am proud to report that he earned the highest score in every activity, making him the class's honor graduate. Since we both left active duty a year and a half ago, there have only been a few reminders of the difficult life that comes with being full time military. Conquering these challenges is a crucial ingredient to what makes a good soldier. So, it's no surprise to me that Eddie once again excelled, in the military and in life. Exceeds the Standard

I love this video! It's a "Booyah!" moment. And it reminded me of my own booyah moment... Years ago, back when I was an eager, young ROTC cadet, I competed in an event called the German Armed Forces Badge of Merit Proficiency. The competition consisted of 7 physical challenges over the course of 3 days. At the end, depending on your score, you qualified for either the Gold, Silver, Bronze, or  no  badge. There were over 60 soldiers competing and only a handful of them were females. I was the only female from my school to attend. On the first day, I came across 2 active duty Army captains. Like most young, females in the military, they found me to be an easy and visible target. And like most young, naive females, I said nothing as they took their shots.  They made light of the challenging physical activities and teased, "Why did we bother to prepare if they have  females  competing? This should be the easiest thing we've ever done. What a joke." Etc. Si...

Me at the piano during the finale of one of our shows The best months I ever spent in the Army, was the tour of the 2007 Army Soldier Show, in which I was one of the 13 performers. The Army Soldier Show, was founded by none other than Irving Berlin himself when he was a soldier in World War II, and has carried on through the decades as a musical variety show "for the soldier, by the soldier." One of my superior officers at the time, sent me an e-mail one day with the audition information for the show. I had never heard of it before, but immediately got chills when I learned more about it. Unfortunately, the deadline for submission was the following day, by midnight. I would need to make an audition video and overnight it that very day. I begged my supervisor to grant me the rest of the afternoon to work on it, and after much reluctance he finally consented. I borrowed a video camera and threw together a very home-made video of me singing and playing "Bye Bye Blackbir...

I’ve always been a pretty easy-going person. I don’t like to make waves. I’ve always chosen to absorb the brunt of a conflict, rather than push back and make things worse. But something happened recently that made me realize somewhere along the way in my life, that attitude of peace, flexibility, and politeness, has turned into something much less desirable. Lack of self-respect. It was something as silly as getting pizza for dinner. I ordered a large pepperoni and a side of garlic bread for delivery, but the garlic bread never made it. When I called the place back and explained that the delivery man forgot the garlic bread, he responded that I never ordered any. My first impulse was, silly me, maybe I left that out. But I knew I didn’t. “No, I ordered the garlic bread. We either need a refund, or for it to be re-delivered.” I couldn’t believe it when he continued to argue with me. And that’s when every past experience of being pushed around and taken advantage of flashed before my ...

Before I joined the Army, I couldn’t run a block or do a push up. Actually, before my 3 years in Army ROTC, I spent half a semester in Air Force ROTC. I still remember my very first physical fitness test there. I did 7 - count ‘em 7 - push ups, and ran a mile and a half in about 17 minutes. The only event I passed was the sit-ups and that was only barely. After my decision to join Army ROTC and commit to 4 years active duty upon college graduation, I began really disciplining myself physically. I woke up early to run before class, I did-push ups and sit-ups every night before bed, and I even recall once going on a 4-mile ruck run by myself on Thanksgiving (running with a huge pack on my back). I would run laps around a track or in a gym and force myself not to cut corners, or quit before my planned distance was achieved. I wouldn’t let myself walk, no matter how exhausted I was. I remember thinking that it was all up to me and by taking it easy on myself, although no one would ever ...

I had a strange, very real feeling dream last night. It may have been from the 6, yes 6 pieces of Pizza Hut pizza I ate, or from the odd movie we watched on instant Netflix, so ridiculous that we turned it off after only 15 minutes. But I have a feeling it had more to do with the hours I’ve spent lately searching for an additional job. Music gigs are irregular and unreliable, as well as the few writing jobs I’ve secured recently. I’ve been sending out resumes in response to everything from personal assistant, to receptionist, to legal office admin. So far, no luck. I guess the economy really is in the toilet. I’ve even gone so far as to consider…CONSIDER…joining the Army Reserves. A thought I was sure would never cross my mind until I was faced with the reality of possibly having to relocate to find decent work. As I walked back home after dropping off my resume to a near by company, the apartment resident manager was out for a walk and struck up a conversation with me. Now well into ...

At a lovely picnic area on the small Army base of Fort Dix, you’ll find well-landscaped grass, a sparkling pond, and lots and lots of groundhogs. My husband’s Reserve unit held a family picnic today after a Change of Command ceremony, to which I hesitantly attended. Big social gatherings, plus people I don’t know, equals some anxiety for me. Plus I still feel weird being a new civilian around military. This morning at the ceremony, I snapped to attention when the General entered the parade field, then quickly looked over my shoulder to see if anyone noticed the Army spouse in flip flops and a sundress make a fool out of herself. At the picnic area, I soon found myself relaxed as I walked Joy around the pond. That was when I noticed something out of the corner of my eye scurrying across the ground, then got very excited when I realized it was too large to be a squirrel and too small to be a dog. I inched closer to examine the critter. It was one of about 10 groundhogs I would see thro...

April is a month full of promise, new life, and change. And no matter what is going on in my life this time of year, my mind always drifts to thoughts of my friend,  Kevin Gaspers . We were cadets together at UNL, as well as good friends. Throughout those 4 years of ROTC, our class was about as tight knit as we could be and we spent nearly every waking moment together. And as if spending Monday through Fridays together weren’t enough, we spent every Sunday night at the Plamor Ballroom, 2-stepping and swing dancing the night away. To this day, every time I hear a Chris Ledoux song, I remember how excited Kevin got, a scarce moment in his laid-back demeanor. He and I shared the same birthday and celebrated together every year we could. He chewed tobacco and one year, I bought him a can of skoal, put a candle on top of it, and told him it was his birthday cake. He said it was the best cake he ever got. Our senior year, Kevin was at the top of the class, earning the position of Cadet ...