Want to hear what sonar sounds like?

[Melissa (Tucson)]

http://www.dosits.org/gallery/tech/at/s1.htm

[Dianne]

That was very cool Melissa, thanks for sharing!!!

[proud navy mom]

Thanks Melissa, that was pretty cool!
Denise

[Laura A]

Thanks Melissa for putting that on here. You know, it's a pretty relaxing sound. I sure hope my son doesn't fall asleep listening to it on the ship (whenever he finally makes it to a ship!!!) :0)

[Melissa (Tucson)]

You know our sons are called "ping jockeys" don't you??? lol

I never thought of the sleep thing.....yes, I hope mine doesn't fall asleep either. He can sleep through anything....

Any news yet?

[Laura A]

Well, he gets off base dentention tomorrow, but he won't start his new C school until January, so he's got a long wait until he goes to a ship. I'm still spitting mad, but there isn't much I can do about it.

[Melissa (Tucson)]

Well as an outsider looking in, be thankful he's still in.
And with a son sitting on a ship in the middle of the Persian Gulf, there's no hurry for him to finish school.
And as a mom, yep, I'd be mad too! Pray it was a learning experience for him.
So what does he do between now and January? Stay in SD and stand watch every 10 days? Or will they give him chores to do around the base? That's almost a 2 month wait.
I hope he has patience....
I thought about you the other day, there's a mom on here and her son just flew back Kuwait and she was waiting and waiting and waiting for him to call and he wouldn't call! Well she finally got online and said "If I had a long stick that kid would be feeling it about now....."
Will he be home for Thanksgiving or Christmas or should I say does he WANT to be home for Thanksgiving or Christmas? If it was my kid, he'd be avoiding me at all costs....lol
Take care of you.....don't keep that anger inside for to long.

[Laura A]

Ha! If he were smart he would be avoiding me at all costs, but he really thinks I'm cool with everything. Poor, poor Spencer!

He will be home at Christmas...I hope. It hasn't been approved yet. It was a given when he was in school, but now that he's not in school, I guess we'll just have to see. If he doesn't get to come for Christmas because of all this, I will walk to San Diego if I have to and spank his butt!

He originally had planned to come for Thanksgiving - which is also his 21st birthday, but he decided to stay out there with his friends so he could "properly" celebrate turning 21. And really, that's okay with me. We live in a small town, so if he wanted to go to the bars, which of course he does, he would have to drive an hour away. I think he'll be better off in SD for that.

As far as what he's doing with his time....nothing. Did I mention that right after all this happened he broke his foot and tore a few tendons or something like that? He has to muster 9 times a day and he has to walk about three miles a day to get to chow and things, so that wears him out and of course he's off all duty until his foot heals. He has been bored out of his mind - and I'm glad. He can't stand to be bored, so I hope he will remember this next time he wants to mouth off. He literally does nothing - and it's driving him crazy!

Once his foot is better, he will standing watch and hopefully cleaning toilets. Do you think his commanding officer would take a call from me suggesting that he make Spencer clean toilets with a toothbrush until his C school starts in January???? :0)

Spencer has no patience, but I'm guessing that he's learning some!

I am so thankful that he's still in. I was worried they would kick him out although everyone assured me that there was no way they would do that for his small little sin.

And I feel so guilty about his with your son going off to meet his ship, but yes, it has occured to me how very blessed I am that my son, due to his stupid mouth, is going to be sitting safely on base for longer than expected...and as a mom I honestly can't complain about that. I do wish he had never goofed up like this, but it hasn't escaped my attention that by getting punished and putting a mark on his record, he did manage to keep himself off of a ship headed for the Gulf for awhile longer. He wouldn't see it that way as he's like most young guys...raring to go. But I do feel very grateful, even while I feel guilty when I think of what you and all the other moms go through. Of course I love my son more than life itself, but I also love your son and all the other sons and daughters who are out there protecting us. I pray for Matt by name every night, and for all of the others just by praying for our military.

[Melissa (Tucson)]

Well Laura,
First you had my laughing my a** off and then you had me in tears!!! Good job Mom!!

Oh, if I could be a fly on the wall then that boy comes home....I'm sure they'll send him home for Christmas so eveyone else can go too. Is he on the 32nd Street base or Coronado? His C school will be at ASW, right?

He'll be in good company for this birthday. I know Matt's of age to drink, but he even admitted that there was a lot of heavy drinking. The bars and liquor stores are everywhere. But I feel that's something they need to learn for themselves. When Matt first got to Norfolk he didn't know where anything was and didn't know anyone. So he takes off walking and exploring and what's the first thing he finds ON BASE? "The Package Store." He calls me and says, "Hey mom, I'm right next door to "The Package Store", what kind of store do you think it is?" And of course my guess is, a post office??? Ha, ha, ha, it's a liquor store! Even Matt thought that was crazy.

So the poor kid has to hobble back and forth to the Mess Hall to eat? How much longer before his foot is healed and he can start watch again? Maybe his real punishment wasn't just the 45 days but his impatience and nothing to do. God works in mysterious ways!

And speaking of toilets.....while Matt was in Norfolk for 3 weeks before he flew out, he had to work about 3 hours a day in an office building. And one day a week he had to scrub toilets and POLISH the hardware! He calling and whined about that like it was the worst thing that had ever happened to him. And I couldn't help but laugh and of course that made him mad....

Now about the Gulf!! Don't you feel guilty because my kid is over there. I'm glad he's on a ship in the middle of the Gulf with NO BEER!!!!! Maybe the whole ship will DRY OUT! I had a pity party for myself the first day after he left and then I ran into a mom on here with a son on his way to Iraq (near Baghdad in a very dangerous spot) to help the Army. This kid is IN HARMS WAY! (of course he also volunteered for it). But it made me quit feeling sorry for me and Matt and realize how safe he is on his ship. Now if only they would keep him on the ship when it pulls into port!! Ha, ha.


Your last paragraph is a real tear jerker! But it's wonderful of you to remember my son in your prayers every night and from one mom to another, there is nothing more powerful than prayer. So Laura please continue to feel grateful that Spencer is still on U.S. soil but don't feel guilty about Matt, he's where God put him.

And you better look out for me....I'm going to Norfolk in May for his homecoming and if I have to drive out of my way, I'm stopping by to see you!

:)

[Laura A]

Melissa,
You are welcome here any time!!! That would be so fun!

I'm a bad mom - I have no idea what base Spencer is on!!! I know they moved him after he was removed from C school and he will stay on this base until January when he goes back to C school. He doesn't like it as well - which is fine by me!!

Even if he has to scrub toilets, I don't think he would tell me because he knows I would laugh - especially now. He also knows I would try my hardest to find someone who would take a picture of him doing it - and then post it on My Space, Facebook, probably even the local newspaper!

Come to think of it, our local paper never put anything in about boot camp graduation or anything. Seems to me a picture of Spencer scrubbing toilets would be a perfect way to annouce that he's in the Navy now. ;0)

I will keep Matt and all the others in my prayers. I know Spencer's time will come and I know they are volunteers but I am so proud of them for volunteering during such an uncertain time.

I'm not wild about the idea of Spencer celebrating his birthday in the bars, but I know he's going to and he knows how I feel about it. Hopefully the luster will wear off quickly. If for no other reason, he enjoys blowing his money on computer related things and I think he'll be shocked to see how much a party life cost.

While typing this I could hear my cats up to something outside. But I was being tired and lazy and didn't want to investigate (I work at a local coffee place and we gave away free coffee for election day. I had the early shift and I'm tired!!). Anyway, after a few minutes of hearing them I heard a big crash and I knew that our "mama" cat had knocked over the food bin. Sure enough, food was everywhere and her latest litter of kittens where just having a ball trying to eat it AND play in it! So of course I had to take the camera out there before cleaning it up. Then I noticed how pretty the trees were, so I took some pictures of those. Then I decided to take some of my chickens, then the dogs, etc! I have ADD! Our mama cat is an expert at getting that food bin open.

So I guess now that I've done everything except what I need to do (you know, dishes, laundry, supper) I had probably best get busy. I'll turn on the tv after while and watch the election results through my fingers covering my eyes...Too afraid my team won't win!!! :0)

[Melissa (Tucson)]

You know my nephew is on the big base in SD and I think that's where Spencer is. I could bribe Sam into taking a picture of Spencer! Plus Sam is a Petty Officer so Spencer would have to go along with it......lol

You sound like me with the camera and the kittens...I get side tracked everytime I get up to do something! I just love getting old. Post your pictures! You've got me curious...I love kittens!

Matt was hanging with the "bar" crowd for awhile and decided it cost WAY to much money! Thank goodness he's "cheap"!! He wouldn't even buy a camera before he left overseas. But he's talking about it now so he must have seen some nice places.

I spent 3 hours today with some of our Tucson recruiters, teaching them how to use N4M as a recruiting tool.... it was interesting. They are such nice guys....we had a fun time. I'll send you a PM and ask that you add them as a friend.

I got off easy tonight for dinner, salad with left over salmon!

Boy I agree with about the election, I would like nothing more than to go to bed now and get up when it's all over. If Bob wasn't in the living room in the rocking chair (asleep) with the great grand baby on his lap (sleeping), I'd turn the DVR on and watch a movie!!

I'm getting to the point where politics are just not so important to me anymore. Especially with all the negative ads. I hope whoever wins, they help this country and bring it together!

[Laura A]

I'm with you on the political topics! I guess as I get older I get more jaded - I don't believe any of them about anything. Now that the election is over, it will be nice to not have to listen to it all the time. Probably not the best attitude to have.

I'll have to put some of my pictures of the cats on here. Maybe I can get that done over the weekend. My daughter is home from school sick right now. She'll probably be home tomorrow also. There's just been a nasty little sickness going around for almost a month now - it seems as if everyone in town has had it.

You be sure and teach those recruiters well! I'll add them as a friend. I need to see if Spencer's recruiters have started using this site - they were great.

Well, it's been a long day here. I think I'm going to curl up with my latest edition of "Farm and Ranch Living" magazine and chill for awhile. I work the morning shift in tomorrow and will also cover my daughter's shift if she isn't better and no else can (or will) come in on a Friday night.

Like Matt Spencer hasn't really wanted to fool with a camera. I'm really hoping he will change his mind. Hmmm, a nephew in San Diego who will take pictures?? I may have to investigate this!!!

If I don't get on here tomorrow afternoon, I hope you have a great weekend!

[Son_InTheNavy]

So funny, the sound sent my dog looking for the source ha! ha!