Sunday, August 17, 2008-Going Home

Morning came way too soon. We ended up at Flanagan's again for the breakfast buffet. It was terrific, and we left to go get things squared away at the hotel. One of the most important things, was the List. Alex was now allowed to have his cell phone, his MP3 player and other things, so there was a list to be followed when I got home.

I had charged my phone up and Alex was able to call my sister and my brother and talk to them. He talked to Travis and my nephew, Cannon, who is 2 years old, and was full of stories. After all the phone calls, I had about 10 minutes of time left on my phone, but that was ok.

We packed up all of our stuff, minus a Cool Whip container lid that suddenly disappeared while we were packing (and hasn't been found since). Alex wanted to get back to his base and get situated with his new environment. We parked and walked on the base after passing security, of course, and made our way to the USO on base. I didn't know there were places for enlisted men and women like this on the base!

It had nearly everything! Books, music room, arcade and game room, prayer room, and an eating area where they were serving up baked goods, drinks, and the flat screen television was playing "A Night at the Museum". There were brochures of events and attractions in the Chicago area, and information on anything and everything you might want to see or do while you are there. What a wonderful place. Kudos to those who are in charge of keeping this place operating for our enlisted men and women, in Great Lakes and in bases all over the world.

We then decided it was time to go. Alex walked us to the checkpoint, and we hugged him goodbye. I was fighting the tears all the way to the car. I didn't even cry until we got home, which I thought was pretty good. For me anyway.

One of the first missions I had when we got home, was gathering the list of things Alex could now have. I had them all in a box and in the mail on Monday, happy that soon I could hear from Alex anytime he wanted to call me. No more waiting for everyone to be "good" before he could call and tell me something. I could call and leave him messages, and once he got a computer, send him emails and pictures, too.

But the hardest thing I had to do, was leave him there, get in the car, and drive home without him. College Moms and Dads, my heart goes out to all of you.

By the way, how many days until Christmas??

Saturday, August 16, 2008-The Navy Pier

The next morning, Saturday, found us heading early in the morning to Flanagan's for the breakfast buffet. We were the first ones there and were treated to scrambled eggs (Alex was thrilled they were REAL eggs, not powdered), bacon, sausage links, pancakes, waffles, french toast, corn beef hash, hash brown potatoes, fruit and juice. And the coffee was hot and delicious!

It was fabulous! Once breakfast was done, we decided to head down to the Navy Pier.

That weekend was the same weekend an Air & Boat Show was going on, so traffic was intense. We found a place to park and then made our way to the pier. Once we arrived, we decided to ride the giant ferris wheel that is there, and took some pictures from the top of the ferris wheel, which is 150 feet off the ground. It took about 8 minutes for the ride to be over and we got our picture taken, so of course, I bought a couple of them. Alex got one, and we came home with the other one.

Another event that weekend was the Turkish World Festival. We saw a lot of people walking around and smelled the most wonderful food cooking. We then saw the band walk by us in full costume, which was really cool.

We then toured the rest of the pier and made our way into the Family Pavilion. Alex saw the Imax Theatre and had mentioned that he wanted to see "The Dark Knight", so he bought tickets for all of us. We then found a place to have lunch, and sit for a while until the movie started.

Let me just say, it's a shame Heath Ledger is gone. His performance and the performance given by Aaron Eckhart (Two Face), were both brilliant. If neither one gets an Oscar nomination it will be a crime. The effects were fantastic and to see them in the Imax was beyond belief. I also saw the trailer for "Watchmen" another superhero type film, directed by the director who made "300", and based on the graphic novel. Unfortunately, "Watchmen" won't be coming to theaters until Spring of 2009. But I plan to see it.

After the movie, we came out and there was a huge crowd of people everywhere! We walked out and began walking along the pier, watching the tour boats coming in and going out when there was the sound of jets, flying over and we looked up to see the Blue Angels!!! I had never seen them before, not in person, anyway, and the Navy sailors on the pier all cheered. It was incredible! They flew back and forth in manuevers and formations for about 20 minutes! We tried to get pictures, but they were so fast, we could barely catch them on our digital cameras. It was a bonus for us, because we heard the show had been delayed and we would have missed the last part of the Blue Angels if it had been on time. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

We did some more driving around, then that night we ended up eating the homemade enchiladas at the hotel lobby, watching the Discovery Channel on the flatscreen television there. QH's mom sent along some macaroni salad and I had some fajitas from Flanagan's I had brought back from the night before. After dinner, we decided to get to Wal-Mart so I could get a charger for my phone. Kathy, the waitress, gave spot-on directions and we found the nearest Wal-Mart and got what we needed.


On the way back to the hotel, we stopped for gas, and while QH was inside getting ice and paying for the gas, I noticed Alex was quieter than he had been Friday night and asked him if he was ok.

"Yeah, it's just weird being out in the real world again, you know?" I realized then, he had been through a lot, and he said it better than I ever could. "For the first two weeks, I didn't even have a thought! Not one, and then when I did, it was like 'Hellooo? It's me, Al', and now, I'm here listening to music, and watching television, and eating REAL food."


"Yes, and you know what? The worst of this is over. You made it, son. And I'm so proud of you, we all are." Since I was sitting in the backseat of the car, all I could do was squeeze his shoulder.


It was going to be hard leaving him here, but in a way, it would be easier knowing he was on his way to bigger and better things. But it was still going to be hard. In that moment, I sympathized with those parents who are leaving their kids at college for the first time, leaving them behind and driving home without them. I prayed for strength. I needed all the help I could get.

Graduation Day: Navy Style

The date was August 15, 2008, and this picture was taken by my dearest, QH, right after the stunning ceremony and when liberty call was given. I have never in my life seen such a display of skill and precision in all of my life, and probably never will again. If you have a spouse or child in the armed services, I highly recommend you attend this ceremony.

Without boring you with all the details, let me just hit the high points. We left Thursday morning and hit rain and road construction from Wisconsin to Chicago. Once we arrived there, we got lost following my TripTix that was wrong. Finally we made it to our hotel, checked in and went for a drive, trying to get our bearings. It was a good thing QH invested in a GPS.

Friday morning, I was very glad I picked a hotel that was only 1.8 miles from the base. We left the hotel and hit traffic that would make a Floridian think it was Spring Break. It took us about a half an hour to make to our destination.

We knew that with the dangers in this world, there would be security. Random searches were being conducted in the dozen or so cars to our right. We were in a different group and the most we had was a large German Shepard who sniffed around our car while they checked our ID's. We were directed to park and after going through another check, we made our way to the building where the graduation was to be held.

We were not allowed to take any pictures of our recruit/graduate out in front of any of the buildings or our cameras would be confiscated and the memory cards and film wiped clean and returned. That is the state of the world we live in today, my friends. Totally understandable on their part, and I never felt so safe leaving stuff in the car before.

Once we were seated in the section of Alex's division (293), we waited for things to begin, and watched a short film showing all the things the recruits had been through (hair shaving, ironing, fire training and the "confidence chamber", a.k.a. the gas chamber where they experience tear gas with and without the gas mask), and then the band came in. Then all the brass came in and were seated. Then the flags came in, carried by graduating recruits and representing each of the 50 states in the order they were added to the Union.

As each division came through, I searched all over looking for Alex, but couldn't find him until near the end of the ceremony when QH pointed him out off to the right and in the back. He wasn't wearing the "Sally Jesse Raphael" style glasses like I pictured and instead wore his "civilian" glasses.

I was ok emotionally until the Star Spangled Banner and the tears began to roll as I stood, hand over my heart thinking about how these young men and women were here to serve this great country of ours, the United States of America, and all of those who had passed through those doors on a day, just like that day, and went on to make the ultimate sacrifice. I looked around and I was not alone in being emotional, even if our thoughts were different, our skin color was different and we all came from different places. In that building, at that moment, I was proud to be a citizen of America and felt sure that everyone else in that place, felt that very same thing.

Once the review was over, and the liberty call was made, the wave of unbridled joy and happiness almost knocked you over! We made our way onto the floor and found Alex, and took some pictures. I didn't turn into a blubbering idiot, crying and running over to him, because I didn't want to embarrass him. I was just so happy to see him, and I think he was happy to see us.

On the way to the car, we received the best gift of all. Because he was only moving from RTC (Recruit Training Command) to another section on base, he was given liberty overnight on Friday and Saturday! He had to move the day of graduation, so we went back to the hotel and asked them if we could get a room with 2 beds, not just one. We were blessed to get one, and we were so happy that we would have that extra time with him.

One of the first things we did was go to dinner. We found a nice little place called Flanagan's, just down the road from the hotel, and we had dinner there. The town was full of graduating recruits and their families. We met a nice young man that Alex was in boot camp with and his family and found out they lived in Watertown, Minnesota.

The food was great and plentiful and priced fairly. Our waitress, Kathy (or Cathy), was kind enough to give us some tips about cleaning white uniforms with club soda, and also drew us directions to Wal-Mart on the map on the back of one of their menus. We saw they had a breakfast buffet on Saturday and Sunday mornings, so we decided to come back the next morning for that.

We drove all over, mostly down Sheridan Drive where the snazzy lake homes were and Alex got to see Lake Michigan. I had him call my parents and talk to them, and he called my brother and talked to him. I ran out of minutes before he could call my sister, and then my battery went dead and we had to go to Wal-Mart to buy a charger because I forgot my chargers at home.

Our plan for Saturday was to find the Navy Pier. Some friends recommended we go there if we didn't go anyplace else. We mapped out where we needed to be and went back to the hotel for sleep.