Before I do the whole picture thing I will tell you about the weirdisms experienced on the post here. Oh, and, I DO have some pictures to post later because Aaron got me a late Easter present which happened to be a new camera! Eeeeee!
On this army post the morning starts at 6:00 a.m. with the bugle call. You know, that song that seems like the words should be, "It's time to get up, it's time to get up, it's time to get up in the mooooorning...." If that doesn't wake up your toddler you just roll over and go back to sleep. If that does wake up your toddler you do your best to get him back to sleep because 6:00 is WAY too early. If you disagree you are wrong. :)
When you do get up and get going you might decide a trip to the mall is necessary like I thought yesterday. So you load your child into the stroller and walk the two or three blocks to the Dugway Mall. There you have the option of going to the credit union, getting a haircut, visiting the post office or hitting up the thrift store. We went to the post office AND the thrift store, where I found a couple puzzles for a quarter. I do love me some puzzles. Oh, and when you go to the thrift store or the post office for the first time the people working there know that you are new since they haven't seen you around before. So they figure out who you are and where you live and expect to see you around some more. (Especially since one of them inevitably lives next door to you.)
On the walk home you might stop at one of the several playgrounds to let your good little two year old get out and play.
Throughout the day you will likely hear muffled announcements over the loud speaker. You have no idea what was said or if it was important.
About once a week, and inevitably during nap time, there is the emergency siren test. Over the loud speakers come first the warning, "This...is a test" followed by the wailing of the sirens. This is repeated several times. From his room, you will hear your toddler mimicking the sound of the siren since he doesn't nap at nap time anymore. This might make you giggle. And since you are new you don't know what you are supposed to do if you ever hear the siren and it ISN'T a test. In fact, you don't even know what type of emergency will set the sirens going in the first place.
Everyday at 5:00 in the evening those loud speakers are put to use again. This time Revelry is played over them. When you hear that song you are supposed to stop what you are doing, face the flag, and salute. If you are driving you are to stop the car, get out of it, and salute the flag. Failure to do this could result in a ticket. However, it is said that to avoid this tradition, one can turn up the radio loudly enough that you don't hear the song on the speakers.
At 5:30 your husband gets home. This is strange, but a great improvement from the 6:30-7:00 that he previously got home.
After dinner you might decide that a carton of icecream is necessary. Make sure to check your watch for the time. If it's not 7:00 yet you should be okay to run down to the commisary. (Remember to bring your base badge, otherwise you can't shop there.) After 7:00 you won't find it opened. Or anything else on base. So make sure to run all your errands before that time.
Finally, the day on base ends at 10:00. You know this because TAPS is played. Twice. Your husband might comment on how he feels like he's not supposed to be out of bed after hearing the song.
The next day is sure to start the same way at the same time, so be sure to get a lot of sleep.
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13 comments:
Welcome to our world. You get used to it. We acutally don't hear the sirens, or any of the music... but our "on post housing" is actually off post-down-the-street and in a different gated area. We do have the occasional announcements, muffled, and impossible to understand in english. But when the Italian translation is given, it's said loud and clear, but no one around here can understand Italian. The commissary closing early doesn't bother me as much as it being closed on Mondays, and that it doesn't open until 10. I can deal with the 7p.m. closing time... but the other stuff is crazy. Enjoy living so close to your husbands work though. I love having (my) Aaron come home for lunch and then be home right after work. Yay!
Melanie, your blogs are so fun to read! I think that might drive me nuts having music and announcements all day long! Especially if it was waking up my kids at 6 AM yikes!
you are funny. This post is very funny.
That is so funny! It seems like you have a great attitude about it all! Don't know if I could.
You are a brave woman!
I,m laughing. I should think the thrift store would have constant inflow of stuff with the way post people move in and out.
What kind of grocery store does the commisary compare to? Like a Maverick or a mom& pop or????? Can you get a decent bag of Cheetos and other important necessities?
I don't like it...I don't like it at all. I would hate the 6 a.m. wake up call and I don't know if I could deal with the 7pm store closing either. And at 10pm... I'm just getting started.
Of course if I HAD to do it, I would, but it just doesn't sound like that much fun.
Jason grew up on military bases all his life. He never mentioned any of these little quirky things. Probably because he thought it was normal or he just got used to it.
Good luck! :o)
O man! I wouldn't care about anything else but the 6 am thing. That would probably make me a little bitter. So what made you guys decide to do this? Maybe you already explained and I didn't catch it.
This post made me laugh. Looks like you have some adventures ahead of you on that army base! Can't wait to hear more.
will you try to view it again and tell me if you can?
Sounds like an awesome adventure. Nothing like civilian living on a military base. I can't wait to hear about your new adventures. Congrats on the new camera. Fun!!
Wow, who knew?! I'm looking forward to hearing more about life on the military base!
You know, it may sound crazy, but I kinda miss life on a military base. (we lived on a base, not a post, because it was Air Force) My favorite part was that everyone stopped what they were doing at a certain time to salute the flag. but don't worry, I'm sure you'll get used to everything soon. :)
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