The Family Letter

See, Ref, it isn’t just me!  Really!

Yesterday evening I was just sitting around watching TV (recording from last week) and glanced out the window at the lovely snow and ice we got late last week.  And then I noticed that most of the cars in the neighborhoods were home, no one seemed to be out-and-about.  Then I wondered… Wait, the Superbowl isn’t today, is it?

But no, it isn’t.  It snuck up on me again this year, but at least I didn’t miss it entirely.[1]  Even though I went to the official pages just now I still don’t know who is playing, I just glanced at the countdown clock to see that there’s six days remaining.

Happens every year…  One of these years I’ll remember to look up the date right after the first of the year or something, and put it on a sticky.

You can tell how much I care about football, can’t you?  If not, here’s another clue:  Several years running I’ve DVR’d the game so I could go back later and watch the commercials and any game highlights that people were talking about.

Yeah, yeah, Ref, I know.  Heresy.  Break out the pitchforks and torches.

In other news, today’s my first day back at work in the States!  Was running out of things to do around the house[2] so it’ll be good to get back.  Even if the weeks might be much the same, I’m working two six-day weeks right off the bat, and am already involved in planning a funeral for Wednesday.  Ahhh…  Home station, how I missed you!

1. One year I went to the mall on a Sunday afternoon and was amazed at how empty it was… Really made parking and getting in and out really easy!  It was only after I got back home that I realized that was because everyone who wasn’t working at the mall was glued to their TVs for the Superbowl. [<--]
2. See aforementioned weather comment. [<--]

Okay, here’s the summary:  Delayed getting out of the base which must not (still) be named.  Lost some sleep, but caught up a little on that from TB to Germany.  Thankfully the aircrew was able to cut off two stops on the journey, so we flew straight from Germany to Baltimore.  Because of the delay I no longer was able to stay overnight in Baltimore, and lost my initial connecting commercial flights.  Thankfully the government buys “infinitely changeable” tickets, so I just moved to a later flight, and flew Baltimore to Chicago to Oklahoma, where I was met by a friend and deposited at home late in the evening.

Since then I’ve been reintegrated[1], been to a staff meeting to catch up, been to Washington D.C. for an endorser’s conference[2] and farewell event[3], Columbus, OH, for a wonderful visit with family and friends[4], and am now back in Oklahoma.  Where I’ve attended another staff meeting and been briefed by the AF assignments chaplain[5]

We are now, apparently, staring down the barrel of a HUGE MEGA WINTER STORM RUN FOR YOUR LIVES type weather system.  I don’t know yet if all the doom, gloom, and panic on the part of the local TV stations is justified, we shall see.  Better post this before the power goes out and I’m reduced to sending smoke signals and huddling under blankets for warmth…

I’ve got the next few days off and jump back into the thick of things.  Weather permitting I’ll go donate blood again tomorrow.  Weather not permitting I’ll sit around the house a lot, and maybe catch up on my fitness.  Even if the treadmill can’t work due to a power outage, I can still chase the cat around and do push/sit ups.

Oh, and I just filed my 2009 State and Federal Tax returns.  Gosh, that feels good.  I rather like being a “normal” employee again, with one W2.[6]  Sweet!

Speaking of the treadmill… Yep, it is calling my name!

UPDATE:  Yep, there’s a layer of ice on almost everything metal and some non-metal items above ground level.  The bird feeders, for example.  There’s some evidence of some ice on the ground in places, such as the paving tiles around my trash cans.  And the precipitation is going “tick/hiss” as it hits things.

1. Briefings. [<--]
2. Including a wonderful afternoon and evening at the National Cathedral. [<--]
3. Our endorser is retiring this year. [<--]
4. Including a day trip to Wright-Patterson AFB to see the museum and visit another friend. [<--]
5. Good stuff, glad I was back in time! [<--]
6. I’m no longer filing as clergy, and only had one job in 2009, the Air Force. [<--]

One of the odder things to hit me over the last few months is that I now technically fall into the category of “veteran of foreign war.”  Even just “veteran” is a title that has always belonged to “those other people,” not me.  You know, the WWII, Vietnam people.  But I started to realize that it meant me, too, when I noticed that the people going to sign up for VA benefits now include quite a few in their 20’s, people a decade younger than me.  If I left the military tomorrow I could walk in there and sign up, too.[1]

Even intellectually knowing this, however, the fact had not really sunk in until Friday night.  I was at a gathering of the local off-base Episcopal clergy, a dinner with the normal small-talk and relaxation.  I discovered through conversations that a few of the clergy had served in the military, either for a few years or as a career prior to seminary.  Naturally we talked about our experiences.  Then, while chatting with a gentleman who had been to Vietnam during the war, I found myself connecting to his experiences.  My mind was saying, “Yes, exactly.  I know what he means.”  It was a completely different era, a totally different war, and I was at a much safer location, but there were still points where our experiences completely connected.  Points that didn’t exist for me in August.[2]

I just stood there and thought to myself, “Wow.  I wasn’t expecting that.”  They keep telling us, “Deployment has changed you,” but this wasn’t one I expected, especially given the fixed nature of the base to which I deployed.  The folks who fought back then had it so much worse and yet…  There’s still a link now that wasn’t there before.

How odd is that…

And this  concludes today’s revelation.  Thanks for tuning in!

1. No plans in that direction. [<--]
2. The reverse is true as well.  I was sharing a moment with a younger airman the other day, and said, “You know what I mean…”  The reply, “Actually, no I don’t, haven’t deployed yet, remember?”  Oh.  Right. [<--]

…that I’m sitting at my desk at home in Oklahoma.

This won’t be the end of “Adventures in SW Asia,” as I’ll try to do some recapping and include the reintegration process under that heading.  But still, in many ways, chapter closed!