The First "Jenny" Book is HERE!!!

"Jenny" is on hiatus while we suffer through yet another PCS. Please feel free to browse the archives located on the main page of http://jennyspouse.com to get your weekly milspouse chuckle.

OR...You can order the very first "Jenny" book ever and get your milspouse chuckle whenever you want! Just in time for Christmas, the book is located at: http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/pcsingits-a-spouse-thing/13835448

Selling for $19.95, it's the greatest gift you can get for any military spouse you know. She/He will see themselves among these 120 pages more than once.

Help yourself to a handful of books this holiday season. Don't leave anyone out! ~ j

Hats Off to Volunteers! April 18 - 24 Ft. Bliss, TX

I've just returned from my trip to Ft. Bliss, El Paso, TX, where I spoke at a luncheon for the post's volunteers. The program is headed by Army Volunteer Corps (AVC) Coordinator, Tephanie Hopper, and her staff from the AVC office located in the ACS Bldg. 2494, for those of you who want to join the legion of incredibly motivated volunteers at Ft. Bliss.

The event I attended was called "WHATTAWEDNDESDAY" on April 21st. This was the second in a series of events planned for the volunteers throughout National Volunteer Week (April 18 - 24). The first get-together of the week was "Manic Monday" and featured a salsa class to help get everyone into the feel-good spirit of the week.

"WHATTAWEDNESDAY" took place in the Centennial Banquet & Conference Center and featured free massages, Reiki, makeovers, food and prizes. A local beauty school was in attendance to give free haircuts and manicures. They even did eyebrows and makeup!

The final event of the week was held Friday night at the Centennial. This was the official Fort Bliss Annual Volunteer Recognition Awards Ceremony. Awards presented by: Maj. Gen. Howard Bromberg. Their guest speaker was Brian McNamara of Lifetime Television's Army Wives.

Here is the information Tephanie sent me:

"Each year our nation celebrates volunteers during National Volunteer Week. The Fort Bliss community follows this great tradition established by President Richard Nixon in 1974. We have numerous activities to show appreciation for the volunteers who selflessly support our Soldiers, Family Members, and Retirees. The largest event is our recognition dinner hosted by our Commanding General. The recognition dinner is scheduled to be held April 23rd from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm.

Our theme is "Hats Off to Volunteers".

The following are some accomplishments of our installation volunteer

program:

2350 volunteers

155,000 hours

3 million dollars worth of hours contributed to the installation.

Volunteer Positions include:

Supporting our youth through coaching sports.

Teaching our family members through Army Family Team Building.

Meeting Soldiers/ Families as they deploy or return from deployment.

Family Readiness Group support

Supporting our Junior Enlisted Family Readiness Group

Soldiers mentoring kids through Partners In Education

Support advocacy walks

Tax Preparation

and MANY MORE!"

How could I say No to an invitation like that? I had a great time, got to meet some no-nonsense Army spouses, and came away with a feeling that this is a group of strong women I could definitely be a part of. I would go back to Ft. Bliss in a heartbeat.

I hope some of them will be in D.C. for Spouse Appreciation weekend, May 7 - 9, 2010. I sincerely hope to see you there or back in Fort Bliss.

You ladies ROCK!

~ j

Jewls' rules for Space-A travel

This is a repost from April 2008. A lot of people have found it useful over the years so I wanted to post it again. I'll try to add some updates when I get the chance.

Disclaimer: These are my own tips culled from my own experiences which may not be right for everyone. I can't answer all of the legalities involved in Space-Available travel (also called "Space-A" or "stand-by") right now but I'm planning on doing a show with Wendy and Marie of navywiferadio.com where we'll discuss everything in much further detail and depth.

If you're interested in joining the world of Space-A travelers, please check with your local AMC terminal for complete rules and regulations regarding your personal situation and traveler status. And please keep checking back here for the dates of the show. We'll want you to call in and participate with your questions and concerns. Hopefully, we can get enough interest in the subject that Wendy and Marie will be able to get a qualified representative to come on a future show to address all of your issues.

Let us now continue with

jewls' rules for Space-A Travel...

1. Don't be a diva. In the Air Force, most of the airplanes available for Space-A travel are C-17s and KC-135s. Yes, these are cargo planes and air-refuelers. If you get one of these airplanes, for the next 8+ hours you'll be sitting in a jumpseat, most likely webbed canvas, straight-backed against the airplane's frame. You'll use the bathroom in a rudimentary version of an airline lavatory but without the amenities even that implies. For instance, the KC-135 we took to Hawaii didn't have a working sink in the lav but the crew was happy to supply alcohol wipes. Usually, one lav serves the crew and all of the passengers (we had about 44 men, women, and children on that flight, excluding the crew).
   
   No open-toed or high-heeled shoes are allowed in Space-A travel and I would think twice about wearing a dress or shorts. The planes fly very high and it's very, very cold inside. Carry a jacket and a small pillow.



2. Travel light. Some airplanes have weight limits. Before leaving the house, my husband and I weigh everything, including carry-ons (laptops, cosmetic totes, etc.). Our magic number is 30 pounds total per person. Twice we've gotten the only two seats available on both a C-12 and a C-21 because the weight limit was 30 pounds per person (or 60 pounds total because we were traveling together).
   
   

   My husband and I bought backpacks specifically for our Space-A trips: they're lightweight and small enough to fit in the overhead bins but long/tall enough to carry all of our stuff. They have special wet/dry pockets as well as clips inside the compartments for keys, etc. We bring just enough clothes to be tourists in. If you're planning on bringing dressy outfits, the backpack option may not be for you. If you shop when you get to your destination (I certainly do...after all, isn't that the point of the trip???), you can mail your items and extra clothing back home via the USPS at the nearest military base. All that's needed here is a little planning and time management. You might even get to use the internal mailing system known as MPS and send your package back to your home base for free. Ask your USPS clerk.

3. Be prepared to take lesser accomodations. Our trip last week was to Hawaii. We deliberately made no plans for a hotel because we wanted the freedom to take whatever was available. As soon as we landed at Hickam AFB, we started calling all of the military installations on Oahu, asking what billeting they had available. There were absolutely no rooms anywhere so we called a travel agency that ultimately got us a room at the Waikiki Resort Hotel located barely one block from Waikiki Beach (...and barely one block from Island Soap & Candle Works!). We stayed at WRH for three nights before deciding to branch out and see the other side of the island.
   
   For the next couple of nights, we stayed on the USMC post, Kaneohe Bay, on the Windward side of the island. One of those nights was spent in the BOQ (Bachelor Officers' Quarters) for $40 a night. The building was WWII era with hand-crank windows and thickly-painted closet doors but it was all part of the charm. (A lot of Hawaii's WWII military buildings are still in use and some of those on the Schofield Barracks Army post still have strafing marks all across the fronts and sides of them from the Japanese attacks.)
   
   Be aware that many military billeting facilities only have internet available in the lobby or "commons" areas. Don't be shy about showing up in your jammies, with your hair up in a towel...nobody expects you to be beautiful in these places (remember, they're all paying $40 a night, too!). Take your laptop and affect a look of deep concentration and nobody will look at you twice.

4. Be prepared to take more expensive accomodations. Our last night in Hawaii was the worst for finding a place to stay. It seems Spring Break doesn't occur all at once in the U.S.
   
   The first week we were there, everything was booked because of Spring Break. The second week we were there, everything was still booked because of the second wave of Spring Breakers.
   
   So we decided to go to the MWR hotel - The Hale Koa - right on Waikiki Beach and take anything they had...even if it was a closet with a Murphy bed inside. Turns out, they only had one room, oceanside, overlooking the beach, the pool, and the courtyard. Darn the luck! Of course, we took it. It cost us $179 but ended up being worth every penny. At sunset, we sat out on our deck above the palm trees and the ocean and watched a flotilla of sailboats move lazily past. It was quite romantic.

5. Be prepared to have NO accomodations. We met a young spouse who was traveling back to Okinawa from her Space-A trip to the east coast, stateside. She told us she and her baby had slept in the AMC terminal at Travis AFB because there were no rooms to be had anywhere. She didn't make a fuss about it. She knew the Space-A ropes and just shrugged her shoulders.

6. The trip home. "Space Available" means just that: Space Available. Period. Military aircraft are not obliged to carry passengers. It's their perogative and our privilege. You may or may not get the flights you want, either coming or going.
   
   The military flights from Hawaii to Japan, or even to Guam, had dried up during the last few days of our stay. We finally had to buy a commercial ticket on Saturday to get out of Hawaii (we were sad to go but, after a week of tourism, our vacation money was running out). We flew back to Tokyo because there were no commercial flights to Okinawa for another week (fallout from the ATA closure). We checked into the Kanto Lodge at Yokota AB and started working on getting a Space-A flight home which means we packed our stuff and trucked over to the AMC terminal every single day until we got lucky on the third day.
   
   Old School travelers see it as a game. They laugh when they don't get a ride and then they stake out their position in front of the schedule monitors that hang from the walls of the terminals, telling each other which flight is likely to go and which "TBD" flight will drop to "0" under the PAX column.

7. Space-A Speak. Some buzz-words to know when you're in the Space-A rotation are: Show-Time for Roll Call or simply Show-Time (this tells you what time they'll call the names of the lucky few chosen to be on today's flight...show up early and get yourself checked in or they won't call your name at all), Seat-Count (how many passengers will be allowed on the flight you want...this number is listed under the column usually called PAX on the schedule and more often than not says "TBD" - To Be Determined), and Weight or Weight Limit (how much weight you will be allowed...a combined total of your checked and carry-on baggage).
   
   When you're stranded in the terminal after your show-time of 0400 has been delayed, these are the topics that will be discussed over and over by everyone around you. Use your new buzz-words and join in on the conversations. You'll learn so much about how to be a successful Space-A traveler that you'll be "hopping" every chance you get.

My husband is somewhat of a guru on how to find obscure information on every subject imaginable so he gave me the following links to share with you:

1. spacea.info - everything you wanted to know about Military Space-A Travel
2. takeahop.com - how to sign up online and more.
3. pepperd.com - Derk Pepperd's Space-A message board
4. spacea.net - John D.'s Military Space-A Travel Pages
   

I hope you've enjoyed this article. Please share it with others and please keep checking back for the date of the upcoming navywiferadio.com show on Space-A travel.

~ jewls

"Jenny" picks up two more papers!

Beginning November 13th, "Jenny" will appear in two more newspapers: the Eglin Flyer and the Hurlburt Patriot. The following write-up appeared in both editions on launch day:

By Kenneth Books, Managing Editor

Beginning in this issue, the Patriot will feature the comic strip,“Jenny, the Military Spouse.” Written and drawn by Air Force wife Julie Negron, the strip follows the day-to-day life of a young woman thrust into unfamiliar surroundings as the new wife of a young Air Force lieutenant fresh out of flight school. She finds herself having to adjust to new surroundings, new terminology, new ways of doing things and a new breed of people—airmen and their spouses.

The strip is often found in so me unsuspected places. Look closely at the refrigerators in the Lifetime TV show “Army Wives” and you’ll see “Jenny” hanging there.Negron started her comic while her husband was stationed on Okinawa. According to an interview published Oct. 7, 2007, in Stars & Stripes, “Negron, a self-taught illustrator, started her drawing career creating editorial cartoons for an Oregon newspaper when an opening suddenly came up. The previous cartoonist had just died.

“I read about it in the paper,” she said sheepishly. “And I went down the very next day.” She was hired the same day after a brief interview. She worked at the paper for a couple of years, drawing cartoons on assignment. When Negron moved, she drew cartoons for the base newspapers wherever her husband was stationed.

Inspiration for the strip comes from things that have actually happened to her as a military wife and from suggestions from readers. In addition to Jenny, the strip is populated by Cassie, a blonde, beautiful and somewhat bubbleheaded wife of a fighter pilot, Patty Lynn, the spouse club president with a near-psychic ability to obtain information before anyone else, Jenny’s husband, “DH,” a slightly nerdy and sometimes clueless foil.

According to Negron, Jenny will always and forever remain a new military spouse, childless, naive and often lonely for a husband whose service obligations frequently outweigh his marital ones. She’ll always be surprised by what she sees and what people say to her.

And she’ll be in the Patriot every week from now on.

Sounds good to me! ~ j

New PCS, New Life, New Post

Hello! I've been away from my blog since May but it wasn't due to neglect. It was due to another PCS. We recently relocated to Robins AFB, Georgia, USA.

Life has been busy, as you might expect. Here's what's been going on at our house:

On June 1st, we put our house in Oklahoma up for sale and hit the road for a house hunting trip to Robins. My husband stayed at the base and I flew back to Oklahoma. He checked in at his squadron on the 15th and spent the next two weeks completing his in-processing while I spent the same two weeks packing out of our house.

Didn't I just "pack IN" six months ago while he was TDY? Seems like that's all I do lately.

So I got to Georgia on July 4th, celebrated my birthday on July 6th (Woo Hoo!), our furniture arrived on the 10th, and my husband had knee surgery on the 14th. For the next two weeks, he was on 'convalescence leave' and was in too much pain to help me unpack the house.

Meanwhile, a film crew from the Pentagon Channel's TV show, ReCon, came to our house to film a segment on how military cartooning has changed since the days of "Willie and Joe".

So, now that our first week in town was over, I had to catch up on "Jenny" comics...and the blogging continues to remain on hold.

I also attended a meeting with the Southeast Chapter of the NCS and, ever since, have been extremely motivated to get together a marketing packet full of new material. This means creating new material, however, so that keeps me even busier.

So...to make a long story short, I've been away from blogspot for over two months because my life has been really busy. I realize this simply repeats what I said in the beginning of this note but, this time, I added really for emphasis.

BTW...I do have a new essay written but I haven't typed it up, yet. I write all of my essays in long-hand. Helps me think better when I have the creative connection going on with my hand and pencil.

So that'll be posted soon.

I gotta get back to work. I emptied out about four boxes of office stuff and forgot that I don't have anywhere for all of it to go so now it's just laying all over the floor. It's not an attractive look plus a pile of stuff on the floor makes it hard to get to the kitchen for more coffee.

Have a nice Sunday.

~ j

This week's "Jenny" is UP! "The Potty Routes"

This PCS has been very eye-opening for me.

For instance, while getting ready for bed in our fourth hotel of the trip, I realized I was subconsciously "mapping out" the route to the bathroom.

I was also memorizing where the furniture was. That didn't surprise me because my baby toes ALWAYS take the hit whenever I make a mistake.

Chandra is PCSing right now and I thought that she MUST be going through the same things, especially when her children need to go potty in the middle of the night.

Go to jennyspouse.com to get your weekly chuckle!

Have a laugh-filled week!

Cheers! ~ j

Army Wives Renews for 4th Season

Just a little news about Army Wives.  They've been renewed for a fourth season even before the third season has begun (June 2009).

Here's the link to the story:  http://www.tvguide.com/News/Army-Wives-renewal-1003295.aspx

~ j

Space-A Travel, Anyone?

I spent a long time traveling Space-A this summer. I was going to blog about it.

The blog ended up being almost as long as the trip (1.5 months) so I decided to direct you to Navy Wife Radio, instead.

We did a show about my travels on July 8, 2008. The link is:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/navywiferadio/2008/07/09/Navy-Wife-Radio

It's much easier to talk about it than to write about it. When I'm writing, I start going off into all of the minute details; that's a great way to lose readers. When I'm talking, however, people like Wendy can interrupt me and get me back on track! ;-)

Wendy and Jessica are going to try and do a more complete show on the subject of Space-A travel just as soon as they can get a knowledgable representative to come on the show and give us correct information. Keep checking Navy Wife Radio's website and radio show. They'll keep you updated

Enjoy the show and stay tuned!

~ jewls

Household Baggage Handlers book is here!

The book I've been illustrating is finally out!

Go to Marna's website (Householdbaggage.com) and buy one.

Just do it!

lol
jewls

Oahu and Me

I just finished my first-ever visit to Hawaii and I'm in love! I recommend it to everyone within shouting distance.

Here are some of the highlights from our trip:

Food. My new favorite treat: Pickled Sweet Maui Onions from Buzz's Original Steakhouse in Kaneohe Bay, Oahu. The restaurant is fine dining in a rustic, hawaiian surf-shack setting -- we loved it.
The fabulous pickled onions are on the salad bar but they'll jar them up for you. At $5 a jar, I bought two and sent them home via USPS at Hickam AB.


Art. We went to Johnny and Bonnie Moore's Strong Current surfshop in Haleiwa. A long-time fixture here, they sell a lot of touristy stuff along with their custom-built surfboards.

I was in search of local art and bought two prints by North Shore artist, Heather Brown. I'm very, very happy with them and can't wait to get them framed and hung.


Clothing. Since it was our anniversary, my husband and I decided to get each other authentic Hawaiian gifts. I settled on two Tori Richard Aloha Shirts for him, purchased at the original store in Waikiki.

He'd already bought himself his first one at the Pearl Harbor NEX the day before but, after learning what he had, and then finding the Tori Richard store right down the street from our hotel, I dragged him in there and bought him two from me: one silk and one egyptian cotton. They're really beautiful. My favorite is the silk embroideried "The Aviator".

Jewelry. We heard about
Maui Divers Jewelry located in the Ala Moana mall and headed over there to get his gift for me: a little Hawaiian gold slipper pendant with a little diamond in the middle of the toe straps. I love it! He also bought me a diamond-cut gold chain to go with it. It really sparkles.

Good job, honey!
~ jewls

jewls' rules for Space-A Travel

Disclaimer: These are my own tips culled from my own experiences which may not be right for everyone. I can't answer all of the legalities involved in Space-Available travel (also called "Space-A" or "stand-by") right now but I'm planning on doing a show with Wendy and Marie of navywiferadio.com where we'll discuss everything in much further detail and depth.

If you're interested in joining the world of Space-A travelers, please check with your local AMC terminal for complete rules and regulations regarding your personal situation and traveler status. And please keep checking back here for the dates of the show. We'll want you to call in and participate with your questions and concerns. Hopefully, we can get enough interest in the subject that Wendy and Marie will be able to get a qualified representative to come on a future show to address all of your issues.

Let us now continue with

jewls' rules for Space-A Travel...

1. Don't be a diva. In the Air Force, most of the airplanes available for Space-A travel are C-17s and KC-135s. Yes, these are cargo planes and air-refuelers. If you get one of these airplanes, for the next 8+ hours you'll be sitting in a jumpseat, most likely webbed canvas, straight-backed against the airplane's frame. You'll use the bathroom in a rudimentary version of an airline lavatory but without the amenities even that implies. For instance, the KC-135 we took to Hawaii didn't have a working sink in the lav but the crew was happy to supply alcohol wipes. Usually, one lav serves the crew and all of the passengers (we had about 44 men, women, and children on that flight, excluding the crew).
   
   No open-toed or high-heeled shoes are allowed in Space-A travel and I would think twice about wearing a dress or shorts. The planes fly very high and it's very, very cold inside. Carry a jacket and a small pillow.



2. Travel light. Some airplanes have weight limits. Before leaving the house, my husband and I weigh everything, including carry-ons (laptops, cosmetic totes, etc.). Our magic number is 30 pounds total per person. Twice we've gotten the only two seats available on both a C-12 and a C-21 because the weight limit was 30 pounds per person (or 60 pounds total because we were traveling together).
   
   

   My husband and I bought backpacks specifically for our Space-A trips: they're lightweight and small enough to fit in the overhead bins but long/tall enough to carry all of our stuff. They have special wet/dry pockets as well as clips inside the compartments for keys, etc. We bring just enough clothes to be tourists in. If you're planning on bringing dressy outfits, the backpack option may not be for you. If you shop when you get to your destination (I certainly do...after all, isn't that the point of the trip???), you can mail your items and extra clothing back home via the USPS at the nearest military base. All that's needed here is a little planning and time management. You might even get to use the internal mailing system known as MPS and send your package back to your home base for free. Ask your USPS clerk.

3. Be prepared to take lesser accomodations. Our trip last week was to Hawaii. We deliberately made no plans for a hotel because we wanted the freedom to take whatever was available. As soon as we landed at Hickam AFB, we started calling all of the military installations on Oahu, asking what billeting they had available. There were absolutely no rooms anywhere so we called a travel agency that ultimately got us a room at the Waikiki Resort Hotel located barely one block from Waikiki Beach (...and barely one block from Island Soap & Candle Works!). We stayed at WRH for three nights before deciding to branch out and see the other side of the island.
   
   For the next couple of nights, we stayed on the USMC post, Kaneohe Bay, on the Windward side of the island. One of those nights was spent in the BOQ (Bachelor Officers' Quarters) for $40 a night. The building was WWII era with hand-crank windows and thickly-painted closet doors but it was all part of the charm. (A lot of Hawaii's WWII military buildings are still in use and some of those on the Schofield Barracks Army post still have strafing marks all across the fronts and sides of them from the Japanese attacks.)
   
   Be aware that many military billeting facilities only have internet available in the lobby or "commons" areas. Don't be shy about showing up in your jammies, with your hair up in a towel...nobody expects you to be beautiful in these places (remember, they're all paying $40 a night, too!). Take your laptop and affect a look of deep concentration and nobody will look at you twice.

4. Be prepared to take more expensive accomodations. Our last night in Hawaii was the worst for finding a place to stay. It seems Spring Break doesn't occur all at once in the U.S.
   
   The first week we were there, everything was booked because of Spring Break. The second week we were there, everything was still booked because of the second wave of Spring Breakers.
   
   So we decided to go to the MWR hotel - The Hale Koa - right on Waikiki Beach and take anything they had...even if it was a closet with a Murphy bed inside. Turns out, they only had one room, oceanside, overlooking the beach, the pool, and the courtyard. Darn the luck! Of course, we took it. It cost us $179 but ended up being worth every penny. At sunset, we sat out on our deck above the palm trees and the ocean and watched a flotilla of sailboats move lazily past. It was quite romantic.

5. Be prepared to have NO accomodations. We met a young spouse who was traveling back to Okinawa from her Space-A trip to the east coast, stateside. She told us she and her baby had slept in the AMC terminal at Travis AFB because there were no rooms to be had anywhere. She didn't make a fuss about it. She knew the Space-A ropes and just shrugged her shoulders.

6. The trip home. "Space Available" means just that: Space Available. Period. Military aircraft are not obliged to carry passengers. It's their perogative and our privilege. You may or may not get the flights you want, either coming or going.
   
   The military flights from Hawaii to Japan, or even to Guam, had dried up during the last few days of our stay. We finally had to buy a commercial ticket on Saturday to get out of Hawaii (we were sad to go but, after a week of tourism, our vacation money was running out). We flew back to Tokyo because there were no commercial flights to Okinawa for another week (fallout from the ATA closure). We checked into the Kanto Lodge at Yokota AB and started working on getting a Space-A flight home which means we packed our stuff and trucked over to the AMC terminal every single day until we got lucky on the third day.
   
   Old School travelers see it as a game. They laugh when they don't get a ride and then they stake out their position in front of the schedule monitors that hang from the walls of the terminals, telling each other which flight is likely to go and which "TBD" flight will drop to "0" under the PAX column.

7. Space-A Speak. Some buzz-words to know when you're in the Space-A rotation are: Show-Time for Roll Call or simply Show-Time (this tells you what time they'll call the names of the lucky few chosen to be on today's flight...show up early and get yourself checked in or they won't call your name at all), Seat-Count (how many passengers will be allowed on the flight you want...this number is listed under the column usually called PAX on the schedule and more often than not says "TBD" - To Be Determined), and Weight or Weight Limit (how much weight you will be allowed...a combined total of your checked and carry-on baggage).
   
   When you're stranded in the terminal after your show-time of 0400 has been delayed, these are the topics that will be discussed over and over by everyone around you. Use your new buzz-words and join in on the conversations. You'll learn so much about how to be a successful Space-A traveler that you'll be "hopping" every chance you get.

My husband is somewhat of a guru on how to find obscure information on every subject imaginable so he gave me the following links to share with you:

1. spacea.info - everything you wanted to know about Military Space-A Travel
2. takeahop.com - how to sign up online and more.
3. pepperd.com - Derk Pepperd's Space-A message board

I hope you've enjoyed this article. Please share it with others and please keep checking back for the date of the upcoming navywiferadio.com show on Space-A travel.

~ jewls

Four-thirty in the morning

The military doesn't work on a 9-to-5 schedule. The other day, we got to the shopette just in time to meet the donut truck at 0330 hrs.

This one's from the archives: April 23, 2006. I love the drool on Jenny's face.

~ jewls

I "Heart" Yoga

For Christmas, I bought myself the whole set of Yoga Journal's "Step-by-Step" DVD series with Natasha Rizopoulos.

I'm working on Step 1 which is about 20 minutes long but feels like 3 hours and 95 minutes.

But I'm not worried: Pretty soon I'll be saying "Is that all ya got?!" Then I can move on to Step 2 (see left). ~ jewls

Holiday Military Spouse

This month's theme is: Holiday

Many military spouses will be spending New Year's Eve at home by the phone. Jenny's one of them...

Holiday Military Spouse

What did you get for Christmas?

I received the book/CD set of "Listening is an act of love: A Celebration of American Life" from the StoryCorps Project. I'm excited to get started reading it, as soon as I can find the time.

I already knew of this work but here are some online summaries for you, in case you're not sure what I'm talking about:

"Since 2003, the StoryCorps project has recorded 15000 personal conversations between family members and friends."

"Dave Isay founded StoryCorps, which has recorded the voices of over 29000 people recounting stories. "Listening Is an Act of Love" tells some of those..."

I started a similar project with my own mother, Lynne Harris, an Air Force spouse for twenty years who lived on three continents in over 20 homes and is a huge inspiration for my Air Force spouse-centric comic strip, Jenny.

Lynne is now is her 70s, has her Doctorate, and travels to Kuwait on whims. When she suffered a mild stroke a few years ago, I realized it was time to record her story before it was 'too late'.

Even though I currently live in Okinawa, Japan, I've been calling Mom every Sunday evening for the last year, letting her unravel her memories of life as a military spouse from the mid-1950s through the 1970s, recording every word. Once we've exhausted that subject, she wants to talk about her life growing up in rural northwest Arkansas with four siblings, going to a one-room schoolhouse, how she reacted to the feminist movement, and so on. This project will be gold to our family one day.

Needless to say, "Listening" is right up my alley. If you're interested in other people's stories, this experience is for you.

As Dave Isay says, "I'm inspired by real life. When you talk to the people who are serving you coffee at the local luncheonette or the people who shine your shoes, those are the stories that matter. They are so much more interesting than the stories that we're inundated with all the time."

~ jewls