About two years ago I ended up on a six month tour of duty in the somewhere in the MiddleEast. I can’t give too many details about whom, what, and where. The only clue I can give is…that it was hot and there was a lot of sand. It was the first time I worked in a “joint” capacity (Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marines working together). I was in the Air Force at the time and had to get use to the other forces “ways of doing things”. One of our differences of course was in our terminology. ...

About two years ago I ended up on a six month tour of duty in the somewhere in the MiddleEast. I can’t give too many details about whom, what, and where. The only clue I can give is…that it was hot and there was a lot of sand. It was the first time I worked in a “joint” capacity (Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marines working together). I was in the Air Force at the time and had to get use to the other forces “ways of doing things”. One of our differences of course was in our terminology. ...

I will probably never get married. I know, “never say never”, but I think in this case it’s a safe bet. It’s not that I haven’t been asked. I have…more than once too. But I never felt the urge to get married and still don’t. Now that has been established, how come no one believes me? Some people think that everyone wants to be married and if you’re not, then you must be unhappy. They just can’t understand someone like me who is perfectly happy as she is. No matter what I say to them, the...

I will probably never get married. I know, “never say never”, but I think in this case it’s a safe bet. It’s not that I haven’t been asked. I have…more than once too. But I never felt the urge to get married and still don’t. Now that has been established, how come no one believes me? Some people think that everyone wants to be married and if you’re not, then you must be unhappy. They just can’t understand someone like me who is perfectly happy as she is. No matter what I say to them, the...

Have you ever had thoughts just run amok in your head? They start out innocently enough, like your son going away to college, and then your brain takes off, traveling down winding roads and back alleys, churning out bizarre images and kooky conclusions, like ending up in an old folks home, wearing adult diapers and wondering why the son you put through college never visits. The thoughts about my son's leaving the nest for college started about a year or so before his departure. Now that ...

Have you ever had thoughts just run amok in your head? They start out innocently enough, like your son going away to college, and then your brain takes off, traveling down winding roads and back alleys, churning out bizarre images and kooky conclusions, like ending up in an old folks home, wearing adult diapers and wondering why the son you put through college never visits. The thoughts about my son's leaving the nest for college started about a year or so before his departure. Now that ...

Dad's voice message: " Paula, this is your father. I have something important to tell you." (He finally figured out that it's not an answering machine and no longer shouts at me to pick it up. By shouting I mean that he thought that I may be in my bedroom and couldn't hear him. Also he would shout over and over as if he thought I was running from said bedroom and would pick up at any moment.) I don't know about the rest of you but in my world, a message like this means dive and take cove...

Dad's voice message: " Paula, this is your father. I have something important to tell you." (He finally figured out that it's not an answering machine and no longer shouts at me to pick it up. By shouting I mean that he thought that I may be in my bedroom and couldn't hear him. Also he would shout over and over as if he thought I was running from said bedroom and would pick up at any moment.) I don't know about the rest of you but in my world, a message like this means dive and take cove...