Wow, what a trip, so far! It really is turning out to be quite an adventure. Since Sunday night when I last posted, I drove from Knoxville to Little Rock on Monday, and now I'm here in Fort Worth. On the way to Little Rock, though, I stopped off in Memphis and saw my old friend Erin from SHAPE American high school. We graduated in 1992, and haven't seen each other since--that was half a lifetime ago! So we got together and grabbed a bite to eat at Neely's BBQ--the famous Pat and Gina Neely from the Food Network. No, they weren't there, but yes the food was delicious! I had the sliced beef brisket, cole slaw, and bbq beans while Erin had the pulled pork, potato salad and fries. Of course, being back in the south and having BBQ, I HAD to have SWEET TEA! The official drink of the South. We talked and caught up, telling our stories, even though we had already been catching up on Facebook. Even still, it's always nice to occupy the same physical location. Then on to Little Rock. This is where I was first stationed as a crew chief on C-130s back in 1999-2003.
This is where things really started getting interesting, but in a good way. So I rolled into Little Rock on Monday evening and stayed with my old friend Sam and his family. I have actually been corresponding more with his wife than with him, because he doesn't really do the Facebook thing much. So I got to there and we just sat and talked and caugth up as well. We had actually been kinda out of touch for almost ten years! So there was a lot of catching up to do. But having kids that needed to go to bed, we had to make it a bit of an early night so they could get to bed. So I went out to meet another old friend, Edward, for drinks.
Sam, Edward and I were all crew chiefs together back at The Rock, and I learned a few things from the two of them, who didn't work in the same circles... Long story short, I thought that people didn't take much issue with my sexuality but thought that I wasn't a very good crew chief. In reality, it was the other way around. Apparently I was hated for being gay, but did a very good job as a maintainer, which ultimately saved my career. I appears that I was investigated more than once fro Don't Ask, Don't Tell, but some unlikely, and unknown allies, went to bat for me. Thanks Edward.
As the story goes, Edward and I were in the same boat, but I was a lot more vocal about who I was than he. And I thought he hated me because I was gay, and I thought that he didn't think much of me as a crew chief, either. The fact that I had the hots for him, probably didn't help my case, either. But he told me the other night that I was brought up on charges a few times for my sexuality back then. I had no clue about any of it. I just went to work and worked hard to prove that I was a good crew chief. But behind the scenes the "good ol' boy" were gunning for me. He told me that at one point he was the swing vote that ultimately saved me from being brought up on charges. Just goes to show that you never know who people really are. Oh, and one other thing he told me that surpised the hell out of me was that people were jealous of me for having me degree already. I NEVER wanted people to think that I thought that I was better than them because I had gone to college already. I just wanted to be one of the guys. But he said people were jealous as all hell because I took that degree and got picked up for Officer Training School.
It's amazing how time and maturity can change a person and how you see them, how they might see you... And now, I count him as one who has my back, and therefore, I will have his. Funny story--the only time in the 4 years n the same squadron the he and I really worked together was at a Red Flag wargame exercise in Vegas back in the summer of 2000 or 2001. After a night of partying, we ended up having pancakes together and I was starting my whole, geet drunk and come out routine with him, bnut he wouldn't hear it. What he told me the other night cracke dme up--that if I had gone about coming out to him differently, then he and I could've been checking guys out together. I just about fell over when he told me that! I was not expecting that.
The next day (yesterday), Sam's wife, Shelly, took me to the base where I had been stationed 8 years ago. I was giddy as a school girl in a doll shop! It was so surreal being back there after so long gone... It felt like a lifetime ago, but just yesterday at the time. Everything had changed, yet stayed the same. The BX was in a new building, the planes were parked in different spots, the units had moved... And I just strolled down memory lane, recalling things I didn't even realize that I had forgotten.
Sam escorted me out to the flight line and I got to go onboard one of my old planes, but the highlight for me was seeing MY PLANE: 93-1040, The Deerslayer! She hit a deer on take-off and splattered it all inside the wheel wells... I LOVED my job back then. It was so incredible to go back to that feeling of pride and accomplishment, especially in light of revelation that people thought I was a good chief. It felt good. Validation after all these years.
Our visit came to an end, Shelly took me back to the house, I loaded up nad hit the road. I have to say that the drive from Knoxville to Little Rock was pretty boring. Not much to look at... Except for the DOZEN State Police that were all over the place! But the drive from Little Rock to DFW... Snooze... Right up until you cross the reservoir coming into the east side of Dallas. Then it's the terror of the Autobahn! Everyone drives as fast as possible, cutting in and out... I was white-knuckling the steering wheel all the way through to Arlington! Whew!
And here I am, stayed last night with my friend and former boss from Central Market, Karon. She's awesome. I got in and jumped right in the kitchen because I was so hungry. And Karon was secretly hoping I would cook. So I raided the fridge and pantry and this is what I came up with:
Pan seared pork chops in a red wine cream sauce
Rice Pilaf
Glazed Beets
Sauteed Green Beans
Self-evaluation: delicious! But the sauce needed more seasoning, but Karon ran out. Oops. But it really was tasty, and Karon really enjoyed it. Coworkers and children were jealous. Sorry guys! Next time.
And now I'm off to Central Market to see my people and get something to eat. Tonight--drinks at Rainbow Lounge! Stay tuned for more!
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