Blast from the past

I woke up this morning to a message from facebook letting me know I was tagged in a photo. This photo, to be exact:

I haven't seen THAT picture in a long time. That is my friend Matt with me. We are actually still friends. This picture was taken at NTC Fort Irwin, California when I think we were just finishing up a month long field exercise in a desert-type setting.

Let me tell you a little about myself at the time this picture was taken. It was 1999 and I was stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington. It was about 2-3 weeks before my 21st birthday. I had been married (the second time) for a little over a month (stop judging) and was probably ready to toss it out the window already. I was about 50lbs lighter than I am now. I was in probably the best shape of my life (and in my entire army career). I was carrying an M-16 (if you look around, we all were), but it wasn't loaded. I wasn't very good at plucking and shaping my own eyebrows yet. I didn't look very happy in this picture, but that is probably because it was daylight and I always worked the midnight shifts. I had probably been awake about 36 hours at this point. Also, I remember when we got to NTC, there was a good sized earthquake to welcome us to California as we were standing in line outside of that hanger to get on the bus.

Looking back on those days, I probably wasn't very happy inside. Something crappy happened to me right when I got to Ft. Lewis - almost 2 years before this picture was taken. I'm long over it - although if I ever see that guy...I will likely practice my golf swing in his face. I had great friends and was having a VERY good time (probably too good, if you know what I mean), but now that I'm older I can tell you that a lot of my behavior was not that of a happy well adjusted person. BUT...on the other side of the same token, my behavior was probably very consistent of a very independent 20 year old who was not afraid of anything with a lengthy list of life experience (and mistakes) under her belt.

Anyway, good times. I hope some more pictures like this surface.

What was your September 11th like?

Where were you on September 11th? THE September 11th.

This is the first time that it has fallen on a Tuesday since THE 9/11. I can't believe it's been 6 years already, because I remember how that day went for me as if it was recent.

I was stationed in Germany, working as the operations NCO in the orderly room. I think we had just gotten out of a meeting and it was getting close to the end of the day. Corey had gone to his room for lunch and stayed there. He was watching the news and sent me a text message telling me a plane had just crashed into the World Trade Center. I read it out loud to the few people in our small office and we turned on the TV. At the same time I saw a few people run down the hall in to another room to turn on the TV there. Then we watched in horror with the rest of the world as the second plane flew in...and everything that followed...

Within an hour or so (I think) our post was shut down with no one going in or out and people from each company assigned to different areas around the perimeter on guard duty. Those of us that worked in my office ended up staying there for 2 or 3 straight days and doing guard duty as well. The German people that lived around Cambrai-Fritsch Kaserne (our post) covered the gates into the post with flowers and candles and signs. I wish I had a picture of that...it was beautiful and very touching.

Nothing about being stationed in Germany was the same after that. As for me, one day I'm eating spaghetti at Ezio's (the really good hole-in-the-wall italian place) right outside the back gate...the next day I'm standing at the back gate entrace pointing a loaded M-16 down the sidewalk right in front of it.

This is just my reflection of what it was like for one soldier in the army on the other side of the world and in no way meant to take away from the much bigger and more important events and losses experienced by Americans that day.