Germany - Homecoming Part 3 (finally!!!)

Remember that time I started writing about homecoming and my trip to Germany...back in April? Remember how I never finished those? Whoops, life got a tad busy. Anyways, I have had this written for a long time, just never finished it, and here it finally is. Part 1. Part 2.

The guys were expected home late late on April 6th, or very early morning on the 7th. Amy had been told at an FRG meeting that the activity center would be set up with the banners and podium once we got the 5 hour call that they were on their way home. (When I woke up on the morning of the 6th, Amy told me that she had gotten a call that trail party was arriving at 10:30 am and our guys would be after that). We took Sarah to her play group at 9 AM, which was in the activity center, and found that it already decorated with banners, signs, and the podium. We looked at each other in shock that it was already set up and wondered where our phone call was. We worried that they had called the house phone, not her cell phone like she instructed, but we continued on with play group instead. We killed time that afternoon by hanging out with the wives of the trail party, waiting with them for a little bit, going to lunch on post, me buying some beer for Seth to put in his room, putting the sign on his door that Sarah and I made and very anxiously awaiting our phone call. We would be in our own little world, dreaming of the next few hours, and one of us would just suddenly say a number, or hold up fingers, indicating a countdown of hours until they were expected home.  We talked about if we didn't get a phone call by a certain time, would we give up hope it was happening that night? When should we go to bed? Or should we pull an all nighter? Should Sarah go down for a nap, or should we keep her up and then put her to bed really early, only to wake her up a few hours into her sleep? Our heads were completely spinning with possibilities as we debated this very serious stuff! My heart would literally skip a beat when the phone would ring. We would turn our heads so fast to look at each other, and our mouths would drop and we'd say OMG! THIS IS IT!  Of course, it wasn't THE phone call, but we'd still get super excited.

Finally, after an agonzing day of waiting and thinking, at 7:30 pm on April 6th, we got our 5 hour warning phone call. We were told they landed in Germany and were going through customs. We were told we'd get another call back when they cleared customs and they were on their way to post. This is what I wrote in my vacation journal about getting that phone call: "All afternoon, every noise sounded like the phone ringing. It finally did for real at 7:30 pm and both of us jumped and she ran to get it. I called Sarah and she had a huge smile on her face. When Amy got off the phone, we both screamed and we got Sarah to scream in excitement and I felt like I was going to puke (from excited nerves) and she got a bloody nose (from excited nerves)."  She put Sarah down for bed, so she would have a little bit of a nap before being woken up in the middle of the night to go get her daddy. We tried to stay calm until we received the second phone call, which came at 8:45 pm. They had cleared customs and were really on their way home!! We were told if we got to the activity center at 11:30 pm, we would be there in plenty of time before the guys. We had planned earlier in the day to trade cameras, so pictures of me and Seth would be on my camera, and pictures of her and her husband would be on her camera. (We did have a girl who offered to take pictures for us; her husband was in the field training for a few weeks so she was free. But since it was midnight that that guys were expected home, we didn't ask her to do it after all). We spent the night getting ready and finally left her house at about 11 PM to head to the activity center. (We headed towards the main gate to exit, only to find that it closes at 10, so we had to back track, go further out of the way to exit the other gate to walk to the post that the activity center is on). She got Sarah up just a few minutes before we had to walk out the door, dressed her real quick and we headed out the door. We were practically running to the activity center, because we couldn't get there soon enough. It was pitch black out, a few street lights, a cool night, a car here and there, and us. Amy stopped to get a daffodil, and put it in her hair and kept one for Sarah. As we were getting to the primeters of post, I heard a diesel engine and looked back and said OMG MAYBE THAT'S THEM!!! Then we speculated, and walked/ran faster then determined it wasn't them. As we got closer to the entrance gate, we heard soldiers being loud and said maybe it was them, they had gotten there early, and they were waiting until 11:30 when familes were expected to be there. Amy said she wasn't looking, because she didn't want to ruin the surprise if it was them.

We got to the activity center at about 11:30 and Toby Keith's American Soldier was playing on the sound system. There were red, white and blue balloons everywhere, kids were running around with pure excitement, throwing balloons, chasing each other, jumping up and down. Soldiers were getting the podium in place, there was a slideshow playing on the wall with pictures from Afghanistan and the level of excitement in the room was awesome. Toby Keith's American Soldier song gets me every single time, and now when I hear it, I have the memory of walking into the activity center, getting ready to welcome home my love from his deployment. My heart swelled with an enormous amount of pride and excitement when I walked into the room. Considering it was midnight...and getting later into the middle of the night as the waiting continued, the kids did extremely well. There were no major breakdowns, the kids all played well, and were extremely excited knowing that their mom or dad would be home SOON. The garrison commander walked around and introduced himself and asked who we were and who we were waiting for. He was pretty nice, but I was nervous as hell to talk to him! Finally, around 1:30 AM, the white buses drove by and we could see them through the open doors. Amy and I sat down on the bleachers, switched cameras and tried to remain calm. The fog machine started generating the fog, the lights were dimmed, the music stopped and everyone got quiet and sat down. Suddenly the guys broke through the big red banner that said, "welcome back, Bravo!!" and everyone started screaming and snapping pictures and looking for their loved one. I scanned every face as they walked in and into formation and didn't see Seth. I saw Lee (Amy's husband) and Bubba and recognized a few others, but couldn't find Seth whatsoever. Amy is lucky that Lee is over 6 feet, so he stood over everyone and I got some good pictures of him. My heart was pounding and my hands were shaking and I couldn't find Seth. Plus, the fog machine was fogging everything up, so that was blurring the faces. All of them were in, but I still hadn't seen Seth and was getting terrified that he didn't make the flight for some reason. I started re-scanning the faces. I finally found him, in the last row, about 5th from the last! There were a few very short (thankfully!) speeches, and then the soldiers were released and Lee came right over to Amy and I waited to get a few pictures of them before I went and found Seth. Then Amy was right behind me and she got a few pictures of Seth and me. Within minutes, we walked out of the activity center, holding hands, reunited, finally. We walked with Lee, Amy and Sarah and then the guys got their bags from outside, and Amy and I congratulated each other that we finally made it, hugged each other, then went off with our guys. They went home and I snuck into the barracks with Seth for the next few nights.

The next few days consisted of soccer games, in-processing, hanging out with Amy and Sarah, and eating German food. I finally had a chance to meet the soldiers that Seth had talked about so many times too. Seth got a really dirty room and the shower was full of mold. So while Seth was doing his in-processing stuff, I cleaned the hell out of his shower. We had a picnic/bbq with Lee and Amy on a gorgeous, warm, sunny German afternoon. Seth also taught Sarah how to fist bump and it was the cutest thing ever!! Seth accompanied me to the Frankfurt airport (the train was packed for some reason, and I'm pretty sure we walked the whole length of the train cars to try to find a seat...and found nothing. We finally sat down in an area where the doors open and close, because it was a long ride. We hung out at the train station for a little while and then stayed the night at the Sheraton. (That place is really expensive in Euros!)

Ok, if you made it through that long of a post, here are some pictures!!! 

<3

welcome home!!!

waiting to be released!!

armed with tilex to take care of the mold in the shower. i used a clean sock as a face mask and one of those stretchy things to hold their uniform pants up on their boots to tie it to my face. a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do...

german soda

soccer game. or football as they call it. 

walk back to post from lee and amy's

so this banana here? when seth got his stuff delivered from storage,  he got his favorite black backpack and it had mold all over it. he couldn't figure out why and was getting pissed that they ruined it....and then he found a banana sitting in the front pocket. it was so old and gross and hairy and nasty, it didn't even smell bad (thankfully). but he hosed it off the in the shower and it's good as new, as he would say. it's sitting on our living room floor right now. i would have thrown it away if that happened to me.

frankfurt train station

Seth's home!!!! (and wedding weather)

Seth got home last night!!! Patrick and I picked him up from the airport yesterday evening. He's back in the states!!!! We were talking in the car ride home and he doesn't remember the last time he was home in the month of July. He thinks it's been before he joined the Army, and he's been in for almost 8 years now.

Anyways, Patrick made himself a little outfit for the homecoming. I bought the materials (duh, he's too young to work, and he doesn't get an allowance because he's naughty!) but this was all his idea. I swear.

waiting (napping) in the car, waiting for Seth!!!!

(he had so much fun, he wanted the underside of his shirt to be decorated too. and p.s. the t-shirt may have come from Gerber...for an infant 0-3 months. it may have also come in a 5 pack, so Patrick may be getting in touch with his crafty side and make some more t-shirts for himself. and p.s.s. folding 5 pure white infant shirts may have given me a bit of baby fever. i can't be certain though. )

They LOVED each other!! Patrick gave Seth all sorts of kisses and licked his face and cuddled up on his lap on the way home. Seth kept checking on him in the back seat to make sure he was content back there in his cage and he was cool enough. It was so cute!!

In wedding news....I checked the extended 12 day weather forecast to get a glimpse of the weather on our wedding day. Have I mentioned that the wedding is outside? In Michigan? Where weather is completely unpredictable? Yeah...it's supposed to be 94 degrees, "humid and warmer with rain." The rehearsal is supposed to be 85 degrees and mostly cloudy with thunderstorms.

I know, I shouldn't have even looked at the weather forecast, because it can change 2,309,098 times between now and then, but I couldn't help it. Sooo if you're the praying type, please pray that it's not nearly that hot because I will literally die in my dress. And my hair won't appreciate that weather. And neither will the guests. Please pray for 76 and sunny with a breeze. But I'm not picky!

Also, while mentioning I'm not picky...have I also mentioned that Seth's brother's wife will be wearing a white gown to MY wedding? It's floor length, pure white, and looks like it's a prom dress. She posted a picture of Facebook the other day and said it was for an upcoming wedding and everyone commented on how beautiful it is, and how she'll look stunning in it. Apparently she, along with all of her friends, do not know it's inappropriate to wear a white dress to a wedding UNLESS YOU'RE THE BRIDE! Honestly though, I find it hilarious. I'm not saying anything to her; I'll let the staredowns of the other guests do the talking for me.

Germany & Homecoming: Part 2

Read Part 1 here.

Amy and Sarah (our God-daughter!) picked me up at the train station and we walked back to their house. We played with Sarah a little bit before Amy put her to bed. We had dinner and we proceeded to talk until midnight. I loved our late night chats, talking about literally everything. I loved talking to her, to be able to have a conversation (in real life!) with someone who understands what the last year was like, and talk about our excitement of the guys coming home. I admit I was a little nervous to stay at their house since we'd only met once before, over a year ago. But it was awesome staying with her.

I went to bed past midnight, which was really late considering the time change and traveling. I wanted so badly to take a shower, but I had no clean clothes and felt gross putting on dirty clothes after a nice hot shower. The airline had given me a consolation overnight kit, which consisted of a t-shirt, deodorant, a toothbrush, toothpaste, shoe polish and some other random little things. Oh, and my feet stunk really bad. My feet never stink (except in high heels!) but they were hot and sweaty from running around in airports and train stations for the last 30 hours. I didn't have any clean socks or underwear and felt extremely nasty. (Note to self: pack a pair of clothes in my carry on luggage!) I slept until 9 AM the next day and it felt amazing. It was a super comfortable bed!!! I checked the status of my luggage and had no idea when it would be delivered so I decided to go to the PX and get some clean socks and underwear, so at least I could feel a little refreshed. We went to another wife's house for dinner that night and I wanted to look half decent, even if my clothes didn't appear so and I had no makeup. I also bought two shirts at the PX.

We spent our days talking, playing with Sarah and taking her to play groups, running around post to post, back and forth, talking and dreaming about what it would be like for the guys to actually be home, going to the commissary to get food for our baking extravaganza, getting on Facebook to see status updates from a particular soldier who was en route home and torturing ourselves with when they'd be home. (I know, he shouldn't have done that, but he did and I'm not one to ignore and not analyze what his posts meant!!) She showed me the ins and outs of Army life and what living on post is like. Most nights we stayed up until midnight talking. I remember one particular conversation we had while we were walking back from a German grocery store. We were talking about how much we had talked to the guys over the course of the year, how they told us they were deploying (she knew for a year beforehand...I found out about 4.5 months before). I told her how the conversation went for us and she said, "see, you were meant to be a military wife!" For some reason, it just was nice to hear. I never, ever pictured myself as a military wife, but somehow this is where I ended up and I like to think I'm doing well so far.

I was there 5 days with Amy before the guys returned. I'm so glad I was able to spend that time with her, get to know her, learn from her and share the excitement with her. She is a true friend and I'm excited to meet more women like her, who understand the lifestyle and will be a lifetime friend.

The next part will be the actual homecoming ceremony :)

Homecoming

April 7th at 1:30 AM ended one of the longest years of my life. This deployment is over and Seth's unit is back safe and sound. Every single one of them. (Except maybe the guy who fell off a 10 foot tower during tower duty one night and shattered his foot. He's on crutches, but fine otherwise).

This deployment was infinitely harder for me than the last deployment. For one reason in particular. And it wasn't the distance. Unfortunately, we're used to that. It was the communication, or lack thereof. We're used to being apart, but we talked daily. On weekends, he'd call and wake me up at 9 am. Then we'd get online and we'd video chat. Then we'd talk many times off and on throughout the day. And send emails. That all came to an abrupt halt. He'd been warned that communication would be severely limited and I tried to mentally prepare myself for this. No amount of preparation could do it though. Heck, even last deployment, we talked daily, emailed daily and sent lots of pictures back and forth. Last deployment was very easy compared to this one, even though it was more dangerous. But this time, it was much harder than I could have expected.

Seth deployed on Sunday, April 4th, 2010. Easter Sunday. I went to my parent's house that day and then I stopped by his parent's house. I told his Dad that he left. Seth emailed me when he could, and I emailed him every night as I have been since we started our relationship. I got a call a few days after he left (I'd been sending telepathic messages his way for days, but apparently they weren't strong enough to be received that far away). I remember sighing a huge sigh of relief, just to be able to hear his voice, knowing that he was OK. I was at work and I remember thinking that he sounded really exhausted. I remember wondering if he was sad and missing me, mad at something, just being quiet in a tent full of possibly sleeping soldiers, or just genuinely tired. Or all of the above. Each of our phone calls, for probably the first two months, ended with me crying. I didn't want to. I tried to fight it. I tried to be silent so he couldn't hear the crack in my voice. I let him do the talking and I'd mumble yes or no. Then he'd ask me if I was crying, I'd say no, he'd call me a liar and I'd tell him I can't help it. I just missed him. We only talked on Sunday evenings, before he went to bed, for about 15-20 minutes for the first four months of the deployment. He said he'd be moving to a different location and our communication would improve. I wouldn't believe him till I heard it. By this time, I was getting used to the talking once per week thing (I still didn't like it, but I got used to it). The lack of communication with him was really hard for me to deal with and I went through a mini-depression. I put on a fake smile, fake happy face and fake everything and pretended like I was fine on the outside. One time, I was going out for a friend's birthday and before I got out of my car, I looked in the mirror and said: "put on your happy face." On the inside, I was hurting but wasn't ready to admit it.

Around July, I got my calling card to work, and we had a new routine: I'd call on Wednesday evenings before he went to bed, and he'd still call before he went to bed on Sunday night. This additional talk time helped me get out of my funk. We only webcammed maybe 5-6 times in the whole year he was deployed. Skype never worked for us; gmail video chat did, but it'd work for a few minutes, disconnect, work for another minute or two, disconnect again and then we'd give up trying.

Along with the lack of ability to communicate, we also seemed to argue more than normal. I hate to admit this because, I know, it's an unspoken rule that you don't/shouldn't argue with your significant other while they're deployed. I tried not to. But sometimes, with the added stress for both of us, it was inevitable. We had three bigger than normal arguments for us in the last year. I can only think of one right now and it lasted a good few days... back and forth emails, and he finally emailed me and said he'd call me that night and we'd figure this out. He called me, we made small talk, the phone kept cutting out more than normal (of course, right?) and then finally said, "ok, start talking." We finally resolved it then and there and I know we both felt way better.

Even though we've talked less and argued more in the last year, we've become a lot closer and stronger as a couple. We had many gmail conversations towards the end of this deployment (when the communication improved!) about the future, our lives, our selves, what we want and what we don't want. I wholeheartedly believe that a lot of the conversations we had during this deployment wouldn't have happened if it weren't for this deployment. Being apart has made us closer.

For that reason alone, I would repeat the last year over if I had to, if it meant it'd get us where we are today. I don't regret anything about this deployment, any of the arguments we had. It got is to where we are now, and I wouldn't trade it for the world. (And let's be honest: he re-enlisted while he was in the 'Stan, so we will have more deployments in our future).

Seth - I'm SO glad you're back, even if it means we're separated yet again. We've had a trying year but we made it through, and if we can do that, we can do anything together. I'm beyond excited for the next chapter of our lives to start together. And I've never been more proud of you than the morning of April 7th when this deployment ended for us. I love you!

368 days later....

This deployment is officially over. (As of April 7, 2011 at about 1:30 AM) :) :) :) Seth and his unit returned to Germany and I couldn't be any happier and prouder as I was at that moment.

I've intentionally not posted anything in the last few weeks for security reasons and that was all I could think/talk about. So I have posts written, prior to this deployment ending successfully, but those will have to wait a few more days.

I came to Germany a few weeks ago to be here for the welcome home/homecoming ceremony and it was one of the best days of my life. I have lots of pictures and lots to write about, but I'll be here for a few more days so they will have to wait. I'm already dreading going home.

But for now, all that matters is this deployment is over, we kicked it in the ass, and every soldier in the unit came home. Success it was.

Welcome home babe, and the rest of B Co. Job well done :)

Dream about homecoming

Last night I had a dream about homecoming. It was the most amazing dream ever!! I am pretty sure I cried in my sleep too, with pure excitement. Lee, Amy and Sarah were in the dream too. Here's what happened:

Amy and I were in this hallway of different shops, waiting for the guys to get there. We were looking at cute homecoming outfits for Sarah to wear, and I started picking some out. Lee walked in through some random door all by himself. He was wearing a black suit, with a white shirt and a red tie. Neither Amy or I were carrying Sarah, but she suddenly appeared and Lee was holding her. Amy and Lee didn't hug or anything, it was just Lee and Sarah. I was watching them in pure delight of being reunited and I'm pretty sure I was getting teary eyed. Then I looked over to the left and Seth came walking through the door in his ACU's. Hot damn. mmmmm Amy and I were behind this table thing and I couldn't get to him, and we just looked at each other and smiled. Then I walked around the other side of the table and we finally hugged and hugged and hugged. And I was sobbing, just so excited. I am pretty sure I was crying in my sleep here too. My mom suddenly appeared out of nowhere and she tried to get my camera from me so she could get a picture of us, but she started messing around with the camera and couldn't figure out the settings and then my friend Jen appeared out of nowhere and said, "give it to me, I'll take their pictures." She's all into photography and knows how to work a camera and we hugged for a really long time. I woke up shortly after that, but it was such a perfect dream and reunion!!!! Ahhhh, just a few more weeks.

I absolutely LOVE dreams like this. They make me smile immediately when I wake up and I always know the day will be a good day. :)

(Before this whole reunion part of the dream took place, I was on my way to this hallway of shops thing, and i was watching about 15 kids running around, throwing balls at each other. They were in a shopping parking lot and they were not being safe. There were young kids there too, under 10 years old. All of their beach balls started going into the streets and all of the kids ran out after them. I was sitting in my car with my sister watching all of this take place and I was telling her how pissed off I was that the older kids were putting themselves and the younger kids in danger like that. So all of the kids start running into their street, after their beach balls, and then a little girl, about 7 or 8, got trampled and she was laying in the street crying. I got out of my car and ran to pick her up and all the rest of the kids were standing on the sidewalk just watching, not doing anything. After I saved the little girl from the middle of the street, I carried her to the sidewalk and went completely off on the older kids, why they were playing games/throwing balls in a parking lot, running into the street, not looking for traffic. Oh man, I ripped them new ones, no joke. Then after that, I started talking through all these buildings to get to the one where I'd meet Amy, and we'd be reunited with the guys).

"I'll Be Home For Christmas"

My mom has a subscription to Reminisce magazine. It’s a magazine with real life stories from the “olden days” …back in the 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, etc. I love looking at the black and white pictures and reading about the differences between now and then. I am catching up on some reading from January 2009 (wtf, I know, right?!?) but I came across a story that I just had to share. It’s called, “I’ll Be Home For Christmas.”

(I'm also waiting for Seth to get online in the hopes we can webcam).

"I'll Be Home For Christmas"
By Bernadette Porter
Villa Park, IL

At Christmastime 1945, the excitement of the season was doubled because the boys were coming home from war. One long year before, Bob and I were married, on December 9, 1944. Five days after our wedding, he received his orders to ship out.

In early 1945, Bob was aboard a German cruise ship, the Blum Fontaine. One night, during the 43 day trip, he was talking with another soldier. The fluorescence in the black water was quite beautiful. Bob stared down into the depth and said, “I’m praying I’ll be home for Christmas.”

“Are you crazy?” said the soldier. “We don’t even know where we’re going. You’re nuts!”

Bob said, “I’m praying, crazy or not.”

Their destination was the Pacific island of Iwo Jima, where our Marines, 4,163 of them, had fought to take it. Bob’s 506^th Fighter Group was to occupy the island. Bob wrote to me every single day and I to him.

Now, the long, lonely year was over. He had been many thousands of miles away. It was hard to believe Bob was coming home, but how? Men needed points to fly home. Flyers with 70 points had left earlier. Bob, a master sergeant, had 60 points.

For reasons we never knew, the naval destroyer USS Independence came by Iwo Jima. The crew called for anyone still on the island. Points did not matter; they were heading home.

The captain challenged the men. “If you boys tighten your belts and not waste food, we can be home for Christmas. If we’re not careful, we’ll have to stop for supplies.”

Of course, there was nothing more the men wanted but to be home for Christmas. Because of this and the captain’s plans to travel straight through, they made the trip in 16 days.

On December 23, the Independence reached its California port, which was filled with ships. This was no problem, since the only place available was an empty dock too large for many ships but made a huge destroyer. The men were offered a 2-week pass; discharges would come after Christmas.

Bob took the pass and hurriedly sent me a Western Union telegram before getting back on ship. It said, “Darling, expect to arrive at Fort Owens, Massachusetts on the 24^th. Suggest you leave Chicago to arrive Boston the same date. Register hotel manager at North Station will meet you there.”

Whether it was serendipity or fate, it was with Bob and me throughout our attempted reunion. The Independence coming when it did, picking up anyone left on Iwo Jima, was a miracle to us. The captain’s challenging plan to sail straight through to reach home by Christmas was also a surprising success.

By train, the men got to Fort Devens, Massachusetts, later joining hundreds of soldiers lined up to take the train to Boston. This crowd would never fit on one train!

Just then, a cabbie arrived, shouting, “I’m going to Boston, $10 each, with room enough for six.”

Bob ran to be one of them, and he somehow made it. This, too, was unlikely. Bob wondered how I was maintaining my trip and hoping I would have the same good fortune.

At home, in Berwyn, Illinois, my bag was packed. People thought I was foolish, since there were so many unknowns. My friend Laura took me to Chicago’s South Station to catch a train to Boston.

The train station was jam-packed, with people standing shoulder to shoulder. One Coast Guard man asked if I was meeting someone special. I answered, “Yes, my husband.”

A fellow Coast Guard man said, “There won’t be a seat on the train for you.” Yet another of the servicemen said, “I’ll carry her luggage and hold her arm. They’ll let us both on if they think we’re together.”

We climbed abroad, but there was no seat for me, so I turned my suitcase on end and sat on it. It was a long ride from Chicago to Boston, but I was delighted just to be on my way. The unbelievable had happened again. Today, I wonder, how did all these things fall into place?

In Boston, our train came in under a hotel. Hundreds of men in uniform were milling about. I walked up to the Travelers Aid folks for help. They read my telegram and explained that I could not meet the manager. They suggested that perhaps it meant that I should go to the Hotel Mangor, upstairs, and meet my husband there. It seemed reasonable that the Western Union worker misunderstood the message when he or she wrote it down.

I went upstairs to register. The hotel clerk was very sorry, but there were no rooms available. I decided to wait in the lobby. It was about 9 pm on Christmas Eve, and at least I was there!

About an hour later, the clerk came over to me and told me a room would be available in a few minutes. I could not believe it!

I waited in the room until about 10:30, when there was a knock at the door. It was Bob! We were both shaking so much that it took quite a few minutes to settle down, or even know what to say to each other.

After we calmed down and got through our hellos, we wanted to go to midnight Mass. With directions in hand from the same hotel clerk, we walked through the busy crowds.

It was Christmas Eve, and Bob was home – safe and sound. As we entered the warm, gently lit church, Bob looked at his watch. It was midnight and as we knelt down, the organ began to play.

I can just imagine her excitement on that day. Can you imagine getting a telegram? A TELEGRAM?! Those things are ancient. I wonder how long it had been since she actually spoke to him. Probably a really long time. I would have done what she did though, if I got a telegram saying to meet me at such and such a place at this date and time, I would have hopped on a train just like her to go meet my husband. I also would have lied and said I was with another Coast Guard man to get me on the train. A girl's gotta do, what a girl's gotta do. I'm jealous of Bernadette's reunion story.