Author: To the Nth

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In: Deep Thought Edition

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If you know why my subject line is what it is for the 42nd installment of the MilSpouse Friday Fill-In, you must be a hoopy frood who always knows where your towel is. (Mine is in the linen closet, but easily accessible at the first notice of planetary disturbance.) Don’t panic, everyone — quicker than you can say Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster, it’s time for the…

Do you think civilians, in general, understand the meaning of Memorial Day?

In my more cynical moments, I am not at all sure that they do. Backyard barbecues and the like don’t raise my hackles much, even if I wish everyone would take a moment to remember those who died that we might enjoy such moments with family and friends in peace and freedom. “Memorial Day SALES EVENTS!!!111!1oneone!” tend to make me feel ill, though. The loud, flashy, obnoxious discount furniture store commercials — complete with waving flags and consumer excess masked as patriotism — that appear this time of year have been known to make me reflexively change the channel in disgust.

What are your plans for the Memorial Day Weekend?

It’s going to be a quiet one for me and the kitty-cats. On Monday at 1500 local time I will pause for a moment of silence. Later that evening, I may raise a glass in memory and tribute to those who died in service to me, you, and everyone else who breathes free in the United States.

What skill/talent do you wish you had? submitted by The 3 Turners

Oh, I wish I had plenty! How could I choose just one?

  • Flying! Single-engine Land will be the first step.
  • Quilting
  • Airplane maintenance (I’ve toyed with the idea of training to be an A&P so I could work on any airplane we might one day own.)
  • Guitar playing
  • Singing (I couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket)
  • Beating that wretched boss in [name of current video game obsession here]
  • Photo editing
  • Roller coaster designing
  • Turning blog ideas into actual posts ;-P

Which came first: the chicken or the egg? submitted by I Married Into The Army

It had to be the egg. What we call the modern chicken evolved gradually over time as the result of many minute, successful mutations. If we agree that there had to be a first true chicken, it had to hatch from the first true chicken egg, no matter the what genetic makeup of the hen who laid it was.

Now, who wants and omelet? C’mon, you’re not… well, you know… are you?

What is the best thing about your post (base)? The worst? submitted by Randomly, Robyn

Betcha no matter what base people are talking about, the most prevalent answer on the “worst” side will be the traffic. 😉

As for the “best,” I suppose that depends on whether we’re talking about the installation itself or its surrounding area. I don’t actually spend that much time aboard the base at which Sampson is stationed, as there’s another base slightly more convenient to our house. When I do make it over to our “real” base, though, I always enjoy seeing the flight line full of E-2s and C-2s.

Are you a military spouse/fiancée/fiancé/girlfriend/boyfriend? Hie thee to LTJG Wifey’s blog, snag the questions, and add yourself to the Mr. Linky for this week’s MilSpouse Friday Fill-In!

Guest Post: Welcome to Cruise

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Military spouses occupy a curious corner of the greater military blogging constellation. I could sit here all day and tell you all about what it’s like to be married to a nasal radiator naval aviator. I could give a first-hand account of deployment from the homefront perspective. I could tell you all about my husband’s aircraft, its mission, and even rattle off immediate action items from the emergency procedures checklists. We spouses tend to absorb quite a bit of information through osmosis.

What I cannot tell you, however, is what it feels like to fly the beast, to land it on a pitching deck, and to spend months bouncing from foreign base to foreign base in order to stay within reach of the aircraft carrier relying on its CODs for cargo, mail, and transport of important personnel. For that, you need to ask my husband. He has graciously offered to share a vignette that captures a moment those of us who wait at home do not get to see: the instant that deployment truly begins.

“Last Minute” by Sampson

Aircraft carriers leave little margin for error. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class James R. Evans/Released)

Somewhere in the back of your airplane, Petty Officer Jones is saying his Hail Marys. It’s a strange thing for a man that scared of flying and ships to be in a COD squadron. Yet, here he is, and here you are, flying from the left seat in one of two mighty C-2A Greyhounds. In addition to forty- something enlisted aircraft maintainers, they are stuffed to the gills with everything your COD detachment will need for the next six months supporting a carrier air wing.

Well, okay, the birds don’t have everything you’ll need. Five people are waiting to catch a ride on a C-130 across the pond to start setting up the first Forward Logistics Site. The good news is that’s five fewer days stuck on a boat. The bad news is none of them are about to bag a trap.

LSOs guide aircraft in for safe landings. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Brent Thacker/Released)

The boat is still close offshore. She is steaming conspicuously westerly, into the rapidly setting sun. In half an hour, you’ll make like Cinderella’s carriage and turn into a pumpkin. But, good news! The deck is expecting you. Your signal is “buster”, which is boat-speak for keep your foot on the floor, and expect “Charlie on arrival”, which means you should recover immediately.

You follow behind your detachment’s other aircraft. As you set up for your entry into the pattern, you can’t help but notice the sun sitting just above and to the left of the ship’s landing area. This could get interesting. Sure enough, rolling into the groove, the ball is barely visible – and it is low. Power on, you’re afraid to actually scan angle of attack and lineup lest you lose glideslope reference. The niggling detail that this ship has had the third of four wires normally on the flight deck stripped enters unwelcome into your brain.

Arrested Landing

A C-2A Greyhound makes an arrested landing. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Rosa A. Arzola/Released)

When you take an arrested landing, one of two things happen: you stop fairly quickly or the LSOs call out “Bolter, bolter bolter” almost immediately. Not today. WHUMP, you are on deck, one potato, two potatoes, three potatoes, and at last, there’s that blessed deceleration. In a couple of hours, the LSO will explain that your hook skipped over the second wire but snagged number four, hence the three eternities on the landing rollout.

But right now none of that matters. You taxi the bird out of the landing area, fold the wings, and shut her down for the ride across the Atlantic. The aircraft commander turns to you and shakes your hand.

“Nice trap. Welcome to cruise.”

The ship is pointed conspicuously eastward…

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In #41

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What is one of the things you always do special when your husband returns from a deployment?  submitted by Keep Calm and Soldier On

Sampson has not yet officially returned from a deployment, so I guess that means we’re still squarely in the “building family traditions” stage.

What do you do to help your spouse and/or yourself re-adjust after a deployment or long separation?  submitted by Diapers, Dogs and Deployments

One of the things that helps me is to reestablish our inside jokes. Laughter’s a huge part of our marriage, and it’s all the better when only we know precisely what we’re chortling about.

Are you a crazy coupon clipper (I’m becoming one, so share your secrets with me)?  submitted by Married My Airman

Not even a little bit. Last time I was at the commissary, some (very sweet) lady actually chased me down the aisle because she saw me grab some string cheese, but not the coupon that was hanging on the shelf next to it. When I read about people saving all this money with coupons, I am impressed, but my eyes glaze over when I think about everything involved in clipping, organizing, planning, strategizing, etc. to make the most of those deals. Most coupons that come in the mail get pitched directly into the recycling.

What’s your most treasured memory of you and your spouse (not counting your wedding – that’s a given)? submitted by Scrubs, ACUs and One Crazy Ride

Rushing RiverIt’s not a singular event, really, but some of my best memories are of us enjoying the beauty of waterside parks together. Even before we started officially dating (admittedly, I had a mad crush on that handsome high school senior already), parks like Great Falls and Green Spring Gardens were already special to us. There’s nothing like standing by the water, watching it flow, and taking in breath after peaceful breath of fresh air with the one you love.

If you could live anywhere overseas, what would you pick and why? submitted by Little Moments Like This

Tough one. I haven’t traveled widely enough to be able to say for certain which culture I would like to experience with the depth of a resident. From what I’ve heard, Italy would be fabulous. It’s even remotely possible that Sampson could get a flying job there one of these years… not anytime soon, I don’t think.

Are you a military spouse/fiancée/fiancé/girlfriend/boyfriend? Hie thee to ENS Wifey’s blog (though I don’t get to call her “ENS” much longer), snag the questions, and add yourself to the Mr. Linky for this week’s MilSpouse Friday Fill-In!

I [heart] Air Shows

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Air Show Heart

Aw, and it looks like they ♥ me back!

Real post soon. Life has had a distinct flavor of crazy lately, and I haven’t felt adequate to the task of writing about it. Shortly, though, I hope to have both a SpouseBUZZ post and an entry here to catch up with you all. I’d better get it done lest this relatively relaxed period prove to be a mere lull in the insanity.

Still Beneath my Blanket

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Val Blanket

Happy May! Between visiting family, celebrating holidays, and having the blessing of life and health made abundantly clear to me, I have pretty much fallen off the face of the Blogosphere/Twitterverse. We’re plenty pleased to see the calendar page flip from April to May, though, so I thought I’d mark the occasion in the accepted Intarwubly fashion: with a picture of my cat.

You’re welcome, Intarwubs. You’re welcome. 😉