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Comment by Mary (Chris' mom) on February 23, 2009 at 11:20am

Hi Suzanne, Chris is insistant that he graduates 17 April but when I count the weeks I think 24, April. I know you will be excited about Andrew's finishing "A" school. If nothing else you get a clue then what his job will be. It will be exciting for them I'm sure.

Comment by Mary (Chris' mom) on February 23, 2009 at 10:48am

Suzanne, No offense taken here and thank you for sharing your observation with us. I suppose most of us do not and can not know what is going on in our sailor's training and jobs so we come here to be with others who understand, as they can not know about their loved ones either. We do attempt to share as much info as we can but since so much of what they are doing is classified, even if they were to let something slip we couldn't discuss it.
I will attempt to keep my posts here at the main discussion more directly related to the facts. Again, thank you for pointing it out. Have a wonderful day and prayers to your sailor.

Comment by Mary (Chris' mom) on February 23, 2009 at 9:54am

Ladies, There was no way I could resist passing this one along!
THE BOTTLE OF WINE

For all of us who are married, were married, wish you were married, or wish you weren't married, this is something to smile

about the next time you see a bottle of wine:

Sally was driving home from one of her business trips in Northern Arizona when she saw an elderly Navajo woman walking

on the side of the road.

As the trip was a long and quiet one, she stopped the car and asked the Navajo woman if she would like a ride.

With a silent nod of thanks, the woman got into the car.

Resuming the journey, Sally tried in vain to make a bit of small talk with the Navajo woman. The old woman just sat silently,

looking intently at everything she saw, studying every little detail, until she noticed a brown bag on the seat next to
Sally.

'What in bag?' asked the old woman.

Sally looked down at the brown bag and said, 'It's a bottle of wine. I got it for my husband.'

The Navajo woman was silent for another moment or two. Then speaking with the quiet wisdom of an elder, she said:

'Good trade. . .'

Comment by Mary (Chris' mom) on February 23, 2009 at 8:14am

Valerie, I feel the pain for those folks at the gym when you come in upset! Whoa! How well the machines keep up with you those evenings? I guess it's a good thing I don't usually get too worked up about stuff or no one around here would no what to do if I joined a gym. They'd start looking for the Second Coming of Christ for sure! It's probably a good outlet though for all those worries and stress. Have a good day.

Comment by Mary (Chris' mom) on February 23, 2009 at 8:07am

G' morning Rene! Are we off today or off to work? Sorry you had to put in such a long day yesterday. I know this morning you are really tired. I hope your day goes well where ever you are (home or work). Good luck to Jared on his final this week!!!

Comment by Mary (Chris' mom) on February 23, 2009 at 1:16am

Oh Valerie, I'm so happy you got to attend the reunion! I can only imagine how amazing they must be. I'm sorry I got everyone on such wonderful yet sad memories. I promise (maybe) to do better tomorrow night. Valerie, if anyone should feel frustrated enough to scream it is you. Girl, you go for it (after you leave your mother's, we don't want any heart attacks) !!
Have a good night, sweet dreams.

Comment by Mary (Chris' mom) on February 23, 2009 at 12:34am

Barb, Your story is so much the same. I cried all the way through the email back to my Dad's friend. Telling him that Chris had indeed followed in his grandfather's footsteps. My Dad's pic of the Manchester is in Chris' room. When Chris finished battle stations he went and got a diet Coke as his reward. He sat at a table by himself and quietly said, "Granddaddy, I'll never drink another diet drink in my life but here's to you for helping me through boot camp". He drank the whole can of drink. (Well, aren't I just a flood of tears tonight, as here I go again).
My dad would have been so proud. It would have made him even more proud that like Brendan, Chris did not have the support of his Dad's side of the family when he said he was going to MEPS. His Dad (who were more often refer to as his sperm donor) called him and said if he'd know what Chris was thinking of doing he would have come down and had a talk with him. Chris told him that he'd had 4 years to come and talk about it, his dad would just have to get used to it. I'd bet my Dad was somewhere close by just grinning! I think Chris has talked to his Dad maybe three times since he left for boot camp.
I love the USS Bear Ass!! The story of the "Gem" is so terrific. Thank you so very much Barb, for sharing that with us.
Thank you all ladies for letting me come cry a little tonight. I try to keep it down to a whine the remainder of the week.
Have a blessed night everyone and sleep in peace.
{{Hugs}},
Mary

Comment by Anna on February 22, 2009 at 11:56pm

Barb,
What a beautiful story! I have tears flowin with you!! Kids can do the most thoughtful things at the most unexpected time don't they?? I meant to comment earlier when you were talking about them getting the ships all ready with the bunting and such - isn't it just amazing how spectacular they look? Did you actually get to see the ship pull out? I got to watch Chris carrier come in a couple years back and it just brings goose bumps out. If you can go to a homecoming, I strongly recommend it!!!

Thanks for sharing your Dad's story. Have a good night - - Anna

Comment by Anna on February 22, 2009 at 10:51pm

Amen, Mary

Comment by Mary (Chris' mom) on February 22, 2009 at 10:48pm

Anna, I've also got ChrisM watching for Wes Christopher, lol ! I think I can understand why some of the moms just follow the posts in here rather than joining in. They are likely so confused by all our silliness with twin names, oh, I mean twins and names.

Ellen, I love the pic. I'm sure Jim and the rest of your kids were so very happy to see each other. I'm sure you've got three days of catching up to do with them! So much to tell! Of course you will need as an IM to look at the source and may need some further verification of info from the elder son. :) Have fun listening to their adventures. I'm glad you are back from your...vacation?

I've been busy the past hour or so talking to my mom and emailing a man in CO. He was checking on my mom. Each year, the crew members who served on the USS Manchester during Korea get together for a reunion. They found my Dad online several years ago and he and Mom went every year to the reunion. It was one of my Dad's greatest joys to go be with those guys for several days each year. They usually made it a week long celebration. Dad served as their ship's historian for about his last 6 years, collecting and researching old photos, news articles, reports and eye witness accounts. It was really sad having to pack all that stuff and send it off for someone else to take the job after Dad's death. Our family got so many calls from all across the country in the following days. It did not take those "old timers" long to get the word out.
I always pray that our sailors can have the same type of lifelong friendships that those sailors so long ago experienced.

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