Military OneUpMan-ship

I was raised a miltary brat.  Which is to say that I was raised in..."Dignified Poverty".  After all, that was the era of white glove inspections and tea parties for the wives clubs (and they were wives clubs back in the very old and not so good days!).  At any rate, this is the tale of the military brat (specifically my sister) all grown up!

My sister lives in a suburb of Dallas. One day she was having luncheon with a few of her friends - none of whom grew up military. They were exchanging stories of their growing up years and the neighborhoods in which they grew up. The conversation spiraled into a cycle of "I lived better than you", typical female stuff, but all in a good-natured way. As only my sister can do, she had the best one-up line ever.  As they all talked about their posh neighborhoods and gated communities, she came up with, "When I grew up, I lived in a gated community too....but our gate guards carried M16's and had close air support back-up if necessary!"

Who'd have thought that growing up in the Air Force would have put one in such an exclusive neighborhood!?!?!?  What are your funny memories of military childhood, if you were fortunate enough to have been raised in the service?  What do you think your kids will talk about when asked about their neighborhoods growing up?

Comments

[Marine Wife]

I think I was in 4th grade before I realized that not all movie theaters played the National Anthem (while we stood at attention with our hands over our hearts) before the movie.

[Ann - AF spouse]

I remember every kid on the playround stopping at 4:00 and standing for the National Anthem.

All blue legs look the same when you're short. I grabbed a few wrong hands every now and then.

And my mom wouldn't let me date Airmen when I was in High School. The gate guard was REALY cute!

[Ann - AF spouse]

G-bear - you look vaguely familiar, any chance you were a teenager on Bolling AFB in the early "80's?

[GBear]

Ann - AF Spouse. I was! My dad was stationed at Bolling from about 81 - 84! Were you there then?

I think every movie theater should play the national anthem before showing the movie!

And I remember having to get out of the pool when the anthem played! Wow, childhood military memories!

[She of the Sea]

I remember our commissary was a Quonset hut!

I think that my kids will remember that Dad was gone a lot. Sad, but true.

[Guard Guy's Gal]

I remember the lines wrapping completely around the Commissary on payday. From the time I was probably about 6 or 7 my mom would have me stand in line with the cart(s) while she ran around the store finding what we needed. As I got older I started to do more of the running. Twenty plus years later, until they just recently reorganized our Commissary, I probably could have found my way around there with my eyes closed.

I also remember my dad being gone a lot, but it made me a much more independent person and when I married a military guy I knew what I was getting into. I was much more prepared for him to be gone often.

[Ann - AF spouse]

G-bear, I graduated from La Reine in '83. I lived on Chanute next to Eglin Way and hung out near the ball field, the pool, and monthly Chapel Dances. Are you Ginger G? I am Ann L, and my sister is Daphne.

[GBear]

Ann!!!!!!! It's so good to hear from you! YES, it's me! Let's reconnect and catch-up! You can email me at ginger@sewmuchcomfort.org. I'd love to hear from you and find out how your family is doing!

Love the connections of SpouseBUZZ!

[liberal army wife]

good grief - it's old home week, how cool is that???

For years and years, I tried to pull my ID out of my wallet to go into a grocery store - problem was, it was a driver's license and Publix didn't usually card those who entered....

Listening to the civilians talk about having to change schools once in their 12 years... I hesitate to mention I changed just my high schools - 3 times. And the first few times I went to the movies and they didn't play the anthem - I thought the tape must have been broken. The smell of french fries, ketchup and chorine - the Enlisted Pool at AFSOUTH...

LAW