PCS Season From the Sidelines

Like GBear, I will not be moving during the "normal" PCS season.  We are gearing up for a move, but not in the June/July/August rush.

However, it seems as though everyone else on my base is moving off or moving on; and although PCS season is normally hectic, this year seems to take the cake.  I'm not sure why, but I think that everyone is in a rush to hurry up and get gone before the Air Force realizes that PCS orders managed to slip through even though they ran out of PCS money about three months ago and put a moratorium on moving.

We aren't even going to get into that fiasco.

To start out with, the streets on our base are narrow.  Had I moved here directly after being stationed in Texas I might have fainted and needed treatment for claustrophobia.  However, after a tour in the San Francisco area, these streets seem just fine - spacious, even.

In deference to the petite streets in the neighborhoods, we are only allowed to park on one side of the street - the side with the lamp-posts on it.  You really understand that reasoning behind this when two minivans (the penultimate base housing conveyance) attempt to pass each other on the part of the street where a Durango is parked.  Who ever knew base driving could be so fraught with excitement at 20 miles an hour?

"Hang on, Daughter!  You're in for the wildest ten feet of your life!"

Moving vans, however, do not feel the need to follow this rule.  Although parking is available across the narrow street, the vans will pull right up to the house that is being moved - even if cars are already parked in designated areas.  I'm sure you can imagine the looming disaster waiting to happen.

Now, I have experienced DITY moves.  I understand that stuff is heavy and we all want to minimize the amount of time spent lugging it around - particularly when it is 96 degrees and pea-soup humidity outside.  I feel for them, I really do.  I always buy cases of soda for my movers.

But at some point, people have to suck it up.  This morning I was actually hemmed in and unable to get home because each and every single street was blocked by moving vans parked on the wrong side next to cars that were parked appropriately.  That is FOUR STREETS worth of moving vans!  Big semis!

I was also treated to this picture - a moving van parked on the wrong side pulled up half on the sidewalk so that another moving van could squeak between the parked van and a brand spanking new and completely detailed red truck.  Had I been the owner of that truck, watching such a situation would have necessitated a change of pants.

What is worst for me is seeing the horribly apologetic looks on the faces of the people whose household items are being moved.  God knows, we all walk that fine line with movers.  I mean, they have our stuff.  We want it back.  In one piece, preferably.  Sometimes rocking the boat is not the best course of action, as anyone who has ever tried to file a moving claim will tell you.  Luckily most of the other base inhabitants understand the situation and are forgiving.

I have to say, though, that after experiencing this PCS season so far, I'm feeling apologetic in advance for how far I'm going to have to put all my neighbors out come October.  Maybe I'll spend the summer baking some pies as advance peace offerings.

 

Comments

[SigGal]

Maybe the garrison commander should make rule to park two wheels on the sidewalk during PCS season like we have in our crowded, narrow-streeted German housing area.

You can't walk on the sidewalks because of this, so we end up walking in the streets of the residential area.

It is not a perfect situation - but if the streets are too narrow and without driveways large enough to accomodate two vehicles, what are you to do?

Good luck - and keep that sense of humor!

An Army wife in Germany

[Andi]

I just returned from a visit to our next duty station. Packer vans and moving trucks lined the streets and I said to myself, "yep, it's that time of year again...."

[wendy]

You know, that's one more thing that's missing around here. With most of the dad's in our neighborhood deployed and extended, the moving season is on hold. Things will get sticky in November, though, I'm sure!