And it won't be long, til I get back home!

I used to wear my faded jeans
Now I'm wearing Army greens
I used to wear my faded jeans
Now I'm wearing Army greens

Oh, oh oh oh
Lord I wanna go home
Oh, oh oh oh
But they won't let me get back home

I used to wear my mini skirt
Now I'm crawling in the dirt
I used to wear a mini skirt
Now I'm crawling in the dirt

Dress it right and cover down
40 inches all around
Dress it right and cover down
40 inches all around

And it won't be long
Til I get back home


Just a little Army cadence treat for you. I could blog for daaaayzzzz just about cadence. Hmm -- future posting in the making.

I put in leave to go home for Thanksgiving. The plan was I'd take a military (free) flight back to the states. Since flying stand-by, I'd not know where I'd be flying into --just taking the first available flight. From there, I was to call my father and he would get me a flight to Chicago. Only my dad and step-mom knew I was coming home. Even 20 years later, as I write this I can still feel that excitement in my heart. My hands are almost shaking thinking about it.

It's not just that I had not been home in 7 months, which is the longest I had ever gone without seeing my family, but it was how far away I was and how difficult communicating with everyone was. I was alone overseas with my heart and mind fixated on Chicago.

Flying stand-by is difficult. You never know when you'll get a flight or where you'll be going to. I also had to get to Frankfurt, which was about a 2 hour drive and as you well know, I didn't drive! I think a Staff Sergeant in our company drove me in a military vehicle. I'm not certain but that has a ring of familiarity to it. Once I got to Frankfurt, I signed in right away to get on a HOP (military flight). I waited hours upon hours --nothing came up. When it was getting late into the night and I still had not gotten on a flight, I had to make a decision to go get a hotel room for the night, risking missing any flights through the night but sleeping comfortably, or staying in the airport all night. I went with staying in the airport.

Well, I did not get on any flights that night but I did get to stay up all night in the airport (military), "sleeping" in hard plastic chairs and eating whatever over priced food I could purchase from the canteen. Adding to my level of comfort, I was also wearing my Class A uniform, as was required for travel back then. It wasn't until late the next morning I got a flight out. I couldn't board that plane fast enough.

My flight was uneventful as I was on my way to Philadelphia. I sat next to a soldier that was on his way home to get his mom. During the course of our 8 hour flight, I learned this soldier only had 2 living relatives in the whole wide world; his mom and his older brother. His brother was recently imprisoned having received a life-time sentence. The soldier didn't want to talk about his brother or why he went to jail --I respected that. He did talk a lot about his mother who had some serious medical issues and was not able to live alone. He went through all the necessary paperwork to get his mom added as his military dependent so he was on his way back to the states to pack her up and move her to Germany to live with him so he could care for her. His story was fascinating to me and for a majority of the flight, he talked and I listened. I wasn't bored or tired, despite having been up the whole night. I couldn't imagine only have 2 living relatives one of which was in prison. In contrast, I was going home to a whole slew of people I loved and missed, none of which were in jail. Just like so many of the people I met in Germany, this soldier was unknowingly teaching me a lesson. I think even I was unaware of the lesson at the time. But time and time again, the Army brought into my life people that were so different from me, had stories and lives that were in stark contrast to how I lived. Every soldier had a story to tell and every soldier had a unique path that lead them to the Army. Each story captured me and reshaped my thinking and my heart. This soldier was one of those people. Aside from his story, I don't remember much else about him except that he was younger than me and it seemed like he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders.

When we landed in PA I literally wanted to kiss the ground --American soil. God bless the USA! With the military flight, we disembarked the plane using stairs. We then went inside the building through a doorway, up a flight of stairs and then into the main terminal. I had never done that before, only saw that on TV. It was amazing to stand right under that airplane, which is far bigger than you can even imagine. I remember as soon as I got off the plan a "city smell" hit me. For the past several months having lived in Ansbach, a quiet little town nestled in the heart of Germany's farmland, I was used to a cleaner natural scent. This "city smell", which I can't quite describe, was like home hitting me right through the nostrils and yes, it reminded me of Chicago.

Finally, I'm standing on US ground and I'm on my way to Chicago. Its not San Fransisco but I'm pretty sure I left my heart there.