There's a lot of change going on around SFC McG and me these days. We're saying good-bye to friends we've made over the last almost seven months, and getting to know many new folks. SFC McG actually has known a number of these people from his previous deployments, from Operation Desert Storm to the Border Mission most recently.
I'm not sure there's a Chaplain or Chaplain Assistant he doesn't know. At the very least, he'll pull some name out of his noggin and heads will nod affirmatively and someone will inevitably say, "Oh, you know him (her) too!"
The Army is a small family, indeed.
In fact, it's so small that the physician who signed off on all of my too-many-to-count medical waivers in order to get commissioned is the father of a student whom I taught when she was a first-year college student in the midwest. He and I had never met, and I'm quite certain he'd never even heard of me before.
I'm not sure how his last name caught my eye, but it struck some chord in the recesses of my rapidly-fading memory, and by using "the Google" I was able to remember my student's first name, thereby enabling me to find an email address for her.
I sent off an email to her (she's now in the Army herself), and voila! it was, in fact, her father who'd medically waivered me into the Army. Small world.
Go figure.
So SFC McG and I are bidding adieu to quite a gaggle of friends these days. I find myself both happy that they'll be home safely very soon, and at the same time sad that they'll not be around to pal around with, pray with, go to chow with, etc.
It's been quite an experience thus far, seeing how quickly close friendships -- of significant depth -- can develop during a combat deployment.
Blessings and peace to one and all,
Fr. Tim, SJ
I'm not sure there's a Chaplain or Chaplain Assistant he doesn't know. At the very least, he'll pull some name out of his noggin and heads will nod affirmatively and someone will inevitably say, "Oh, you know him (her) too!"
The Army is a small family, indeed.
In fact, it's so small that the physician who signed off on all of my too-many-to-count medical waivers in order to get commissioned is the father of a student whom I taught when she was a first-year college student in the midwest. He and I had never met, and I'm quite certain he'd never even heard of me before.
I'm not sure how his last name caught my eye, but it struck some chord in the recesses of my rapidly-fading memory, and by using "the Google" I was able to remember my student's first name, thereby enabling me to find an email address for her.
I sent off an email to her (she's now in the Army herself), and voila! it was, in fact, her father who'd medically waivered me into the Army. Small world.
Go figure.
So SFC McG and I are bidding adieu to quite a gaggle of friends these days. I find myself both happy that they'll be home safely very soon, and at the same time sad that they'll not be around to pal around with, pray with, go to chow with, etc.
It's been quite an experience thus far, seeing how quickly close friendships -- of significant depth -- can develop during a combat deployment.
Blessings and peace to one and all,
Fr. Tim, SJ
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2 comments:
"The things that we love tell us what we are." -- TA
I hope you are feeling better today, Fr. Tim.
Luis
For me, 'tis easier to say "Hello" than "Goodbye" -- letting go does not come readily!
Cina
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