The People You Meet Along the Way
The trip from Missouri to Baumholder was a long and tiresome one. But for the first time in our career, my family got to travel overseas together. Usually I would go ahead and the family would follow a few months later, we always got to go back to the States together, though. This time we were going as a senior NCO and there are a few perks. Anyway, by the time we got to Frankfurt, we were plenty worn out. We had to sit around in a waiting area for hours until the bus for Baumholder departed. I busied myself walking the dog, he hated the trip, walking the kids, they hated the trip and the walk, and just watching the single TV station we all watched in Germany, AFRTS. Armed Forces Radio and Television service.
Anyone who has lived there in those days would remember the limited TV service. One station...often repeating the evening shows the next day as filler...live football games at 1:00 AM...three week old football games shown on Saturdays...a hodge-podge of network shows...a lot of old movies...BBC miniseries...and best of all...no commercials. Well, there were those public service announcements that they used as fillers instead of commercial ads. "Don't shop when your hungry, NO, NO, NO." One of the PSAs that I saw while we were waiting that day was a caution about the dangers of being lonely and calling home on the phone. German long distance rates were much higher than we were used to. They sited one soldier who came home from a 6 week rotation in Graf and Hohenfels to find his lonely wife had called her mom...many times...and all her friends back in the States...and talked for hours...$4000 worth. I whistled low as I thought of what a young soldier makes and how long it would take to clear off that phone bill.
We arrived in Baumholder, were met by a couple of young sergeants from my new platoon, settled into a local hotel, walked the dog, started processing in and getting to know the folks I would be working for and those that would be working for me. I discovered that the unit was soon going to gunnery at Grafenwohr...a three week affair...but that I would stay behind and get settled in. I met the platoon, had a little give and take with them, told them what to expect of me and what I expected of them, gave a little rah, rah about deployments and how to handle things before you left so you didn't have problems while you were gone. I ended up by throwing in a comment about the phone bill PSA, closing with, " You don't want to wind up like that poor clown, imagine what it's gonna take to pay off that bill. You don't want to be him!" My final comment was met with silent, sullen, averted glances...and one or two subdued giggles. Corporal D, one of my fuel handlers looked at me sheepishly and told me, "I am that poor clown, sergeant, and it is taking 350 dollars a month...that is what it is taking...10 more months...that is what it is taking."
You've no doubt heard the beer commercials about the unsmooth moments? That's MY unsmooth moment.