We arrived at McClellan AFB in Sacramento, California in July 1982 and stayed in temporary housing until the new construction house we contracted for was completed.
Because we were both in the Air Force, we were able to ship 2 cars back to the states. Buying a Japanese made Honda was dirt cheap on Guam, so we bought their top of the line car to ship back. That red velour interior was HOT! 🤣🤣🤣
When our new 1982 Honda Accord arrived, we set off on a long leave to drive back to Wisconsin to see our families. It’d been three years since we were home and that trek was one of the most fun road trips Randy and I had ever had together. After being on an island only 6 miles wide and 30 miles long, we felt like we had the world by the tail.
Probably the most life altering stop on that trip was in Wyoming to see Randy’s sister Lynn who was living in Green River/Rock Springs area with her boyfriend, Dave. Randy and Lynn are only 10 months apart in age, but I didn’t know her well at all. We enjoyed our time with them and a real friendship between the two of us began. Today, she is one of my 2 BFFs (Best Friend Forever).
Neither Randy nor I had any trouble settling into our new Air Force jobs. Now that we were back in the States, in a diverse and exciting area of the country, being in the military took a back seat for 2 mid-west kids who were living the good life. About that time Randy started telling everyone that he worked only to enjoy his weekends. And that was the truth.
I was assigned to the Orderly Room of the 2951st Combat Logistics Support Squadron (CLSS). While there I met my AF BFF. Cindy was a captain. According to Air Force policy, officers and enlisted aren’t supposed to fraternize with each other. Thankfully we weren’t in any direct chain of command positions. We were careful to maintain our professional relationship, but our friendship was firm and fast. To this day, I consider her one of my 2 BFFs. In fact, on our epic 50th Anniversary Road trip later this year, Randy and I will visit Cindy and her husband in Washington State. It may be the highest highlight of the whole adventure.
At the 2951st CLSS our primary mission was Aircraft Battle Damage Repair. Even though we were at peace in 1982-1984 when I was there, there was plenty of aircraft damage to repair in the field. Our squadron members spent the majority of their time TDY. This was in a time when the fastest communication method, other than the phone, was fax. So, getting information to TDY folks, and helping them stay connected was one of our greatest challenges. Cindy and I, along with another very good AF friend, Carole, started an information and morale boosting newsletter from the orderly room to help meet that need. I’ve written about that before. You’ll find that post here. It was great fun.
While stationed at McClellan, near the end of my 4-year enlistment, I won the Base Administrative Excellence Award. I was still being recognized as one of the top administrators in my field. As always, I was honored and humbled.
Shortly after this award I began the reenlistment process. I really loved being in the Air Force. I also thought the Air Force loved having me in it, after all, I’d been recognized and awarded several times. Alas, though there were people in the Air Force who supported and commemorated me and my work, the Air Force has no emotion. To them I was simply a number, a faceless, nameless, history-less number to plug into a faceless, nameless, history-less slot that needed to be filled.
To reenlist in the Air Force, there has to be an available slot for someone with specific skills and rank. When there is a slot for your skill and rank, you are issued a Career Job Reservation. As I sought reenlistment, the only Career Job Reservations were in those nontraditional female jobs, the ones I’d worked so hard to avoid. My choices were to either retrain as a jet engine mechanic or get out of the Air Force. No amount of appealing, calling in favors, begging, or praying worked. I loved the Air Force, but I knew I wouldn’t love being a jet engine mechanic, so I separated from the Air Force on March 31, 1984.
So that’s it, the end of my short Air Force career, recapped on this blog.
We ended up staying in the Sacramento area for 12 years, until Randy retired in 1994. We moved from that first new construction, 1200 square feet, zero lot line, 16% mortgage home to a former model home in a development in Elverta, California. Elverta at that time was still very rural, horse country, 1-acre lots, and geographically abutted Rio Linda, California. You might remember Rio Linda being the object of jokes on the Russ Limbaugh Show. The link above explains what Rio Linda represented to Rush. It was funny but having lived near there (Lynn & Dave married in 1982 and bought a house in Rio Linda a couple of years later), we never quite saw it the same way Rush did.
Randy was in his element on that one acre in Elverta. Owning his little piece of America fulfilled a lot of his American Dream. He bought a riding lawn mower and loved all the trappings of home ownership. My BFF Cindy and her husband also bought a home in that same development, and we lived the wild, crazy, charmed life of what was then called DINKS (Double Income, No Kids). We didn’t last long in that house though. I’m not much of a country girl, and I never felt at home or comfortable there. After only 15 months, we found and moved to MY dream home in Folsom. We lived there, happily, for the remaining 7 years we were in California. By the way, contrary to the claim of the Johnny Cash song, there is no train anywhere near Folsom Prison.
While in Folsom, Randy almost got out of the Air Force after serving 14 years. He had orders to Panama, and we didn’t want to go there. It’s a long story with a happy ending. We didn’t have to go to Panama, leave McClellan, or give up his Air Force career. And I thank God for that often because the fact that he retired from the Air Force contributes greatly to our financial stability and comfort here in real, age-related retirement. We have been blessed over and over by how that all worked out.
P.S. We leave this morning for Wisconsin where my mom is moving to a lovely senior living center. She still drives and golfs, but we hope living in an apartment in this community will help alleviate some of the loneliness she’s increasingly feeling, especially as winter sets in.
P.P.S. The results of the biopsies I mentioned last week are in and were not what I hoped for. Next step, PET scan on May 27. I still have perfect peace about all of this so don’t worry about me. I’ll take any prayers and well-wishes you’ll send my way, though. And thanks, in advance. And oh, the blood pressure meds that finally brought it down caused a serious sun poisoning reaction (google says Drug Induced Lupus, an auto-immune reaction!) so I’m back to square one on the blood pressure issues. Frustrating!
Leave a Reply