SSG OPSEC is off for his first training, a week in Florida. Nope, no sympathy from me. It was funny sending him off, though. Me: “How are you getting there?” SSG OPSEC: “We drive to the airport and then fly to Florida.” Me: “One flight? That’s all?” SSG OPSEC: “Weird, isn’t it?” Me: “Will your phone still work when you get there?” SSG OPSEC: (looks at his phone and thinks about it, then answers WITHOUT SARCASM) “Yeah, I guess it will. I’m not leaving the country, am I?”
So we’ve settled down to a week of too much TV and junk food while Daddy’s away. Of course, TDYs also seem to bring mishaps...
...so yesterday I decided to go to PWOC a different way, looking for Gate 10. It’s not on any of the maps of the area, and about this time I’ve decided it’s a myth, until a friend of mine from church said it’s actually pretty close to where we live. Besides, you can avoid all the craziness, red lights, and traffic on Ft. Campbell Blvd. (Why do they have a street that big in the middle of town? Sigh.) She told me to “turn at the riding stables.” Well, I found the riding stables and turned LEFT. Oops. An hour later I found the riding stables again and turned RIGHT like I was supposed to in the first place.
ANYWAY while I was meandering around on these really long roads in the middle of nowhere (honestly, I didn’t even know what state I was in) I saw a big red barn with smoke billowing out of the roof. Because in most places this means the barn is on fire, I called 911. "There's a big red barn with smoke pouring out of the roof!” I told the operator.
She laughed. Oh dear, I thought.
“That’s ok,” she told me, “They’re just smoking tobacco.”
“Oh...I’m...sorry...I’m...new in town...” I stuttered, seeing my gold star for a good deed going down the drain.
“It’s okay, we get these calls all the time this time of year.” (To her credit, she didn’t treat me like an idiot or anything.)
As I said, I was an hour late for PWOC. But at least I had a funny story to share.
And I won’t be calling 911 again unless I see FLAMES.
