It is 7:03 a.m. here in Central Texas and I have NEVER and I really do mean NEVER enjoyed a story more that what you just shared with me. You have memories that will last you the rest of your life and you write and document them incredibly well. I would suggest you do just that for your grandkids, if you have grandkids because you are right in that England will never be the same, so tell them how it was so they know.
I can only relate to two things you did. I think it was when we brought in the year 1981 but I can't remember for certain. My husband and another couple made the trek to London for the New Years Eve event. We spent the whole night in Trafalgar square. We took one of my daughters little toys with wheels and my husband attached a keg of beer to it and we strolled it all over and shared it with anyone who wanted it. I'm not sure it was American beer or if he got British beer (I'll have to ask him) but we shared it all night long. There is no way to top that experience so I rarely even watch the ball drop anymore because it simply cannon compare.
Then we did go to Stonehenge and you are right, it was a complete disappointment. My husband foolishly went across the street where the hippees had set up camp and it was completely surrounded by police and he still walked through the whole camp and did things I simply don't want to talk about here but it was nuts because we had our baby in a stroller with us.
And lastly, Pink Floyd, Now I didn't know there was an actual "wall" that Pinkie was talking about and if you have a picture, I would love to see it. My ex-husband is still a part of our life for celebrations and I know for certain that he would love to see it. My husband was stationed at Upper Heyford and his step-brother was stationed at Lakenheath. Well his step-brother bought two tickets to see the London concert and I never cried so hard in all my life because they were for the two of them. I had an almost brand new baby and his step-brother didn't know how much I loved Pink Floyd and he figured I would want to stay home with her but we had good friends right across the street from where we lived and they would have kept our baby overnight I'm certain. So my only sense of satisfaction is that I kept his ticket and I still have it today and will never give it to him. I was angry with him for days but really I was just plain angry that he got to go and I didn't.
Thank you so much for sharing this story. I am going to print it out and share it with my ex=husband at our next celebration. You have literally made my day and I thank you for that.
Thanks for your kind comments. By the way, I lived in Round Rock and Liberty Hill when I was in Central Texas. We found our way to East Texas and love it, although I miss having season tickets to Longhorns Football. I had them for 10 years and that was my daddy/daughter activity. She is almost 30 now and recently flew back and took me to a game - full circle.
As for the wall - there are 2 things here. Yes Pink Floyd did build a wall and tear it down, but I believe it was Styrofoam. There is a documentary about it somewhere but I don't remember the name. And the real wall - I was referring to the Berlin Wall that came down in 1989. The one that Reagan said "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall". Pieces of the wall were very popular souvenirs - especially ones that had graffiti paint on them. I have a big chunk that is about 5 inches by 2 inches (with paint), and a smaller quarter-sized piece glued to the framed picture along with rusted barbed wire and a 10 pfennig coin. The picture is people climbing the wall and breaking it with pick-axes.
Oh yeah - I knew Lakenheath (and Mildenhall) very well. I used to have to drive to Lakenheath once or twice a month when we had a base computer issue. They held our backup tapes, and other OS tapes we needed if the problem was bad enough. I would try to go over to Mildenhall while I waited to try to catch a glimpse of an SR-71 taking off or landing, or maybe just to go to a bigger BX that had more stuff than Alconbury.
I found a link to the full concert in Berlin, and a link to the documentary. They aren't perfect HD of course, but it is truly amazing they pulled this off. You might watch the documentary first to get an idea of what happened to pull this together. The Soviet marching band story is jaw-dropping. Enjoy!
OMG, I simply can't think of a better gift than the links you have sent. I will enjoy them when I have that much time and that won't be today because I have three different therapist coming today.
Now we have to talk about this UT thing because we are a family of Aggies and you know what that means. My husbands father when to A&M and we still have his ring. My husband also graduated from A&M and proudly wears his ring when he can. My only daughter graduated from Texas A&M Galveston with her Maritime License. She worked for NOAA until she had the very first accident ever in NOAAs history where they were using computers to map the ocean floor in Sitka, Alaska. A rogue wave popped up out of nowhere and before the driver of the boat could get it turned around, it flipped completely over. The driver drowned. There was my daughter and one other person stuck in the boat. My daughter struck her head on a beam and passed out for a brief moment and when she came to she couldn't see out of her right eye. She and the other person decided to try and swim to the front of the boat where they knew they could get out. Her shipmate made it to the front but she couldn't breath or not breath well enough to make it out so she was by herself stuck in the boat. Her shipmate was on top of the boat yelling at her but she couldn't do what he ask so he went to shore while she was still stuck in the boat. Someone had given her a small amulet that was clear plastic and had an angel on the inside and she carried it everywhere with her. She said she just held that amulet and kept looking for a way out when suddenly the boat tipped up out of the water and she saw a window had broken out and she made a quick dive for the window. She made it out but by now the waves kept her from reaching shore. She had on heavy work boots that hindered her a great deal. Every time she would reach the shore that was all rock, she would be pulled back out to the ocean. Her shipmate saved her life by yelling at the top of his lungs telling her what to do and indeed she was able to make it far enough onto the rocks that he was able to grab her and bring her to shore. Just by coincidence there was a box of flares that had washed up on shore and they fired one off. Some kids were on the same shore doing some work and when they saw the flare they came running. My daughter fractured her skull but by the time we realized it (and that is a whole other story in and of itself) and had to have major surgery that still makes me shutter.
So I am so very blessed to have my daughter and she is my only child. She is now a high school science teacher at a Chistian Academy in San Marcos, TX and doing very well. Her two children, my grandchildren, also attend the academy. So she is officially a "Sea Aggie."
We could have some fun with this if you are ready for it because believe me we can get cocky when it comes to our Aggies. "Gig-em"
I never got much into the Longhorns vs Aggies. I didn't even go to college. I graduated HS early at 16yo and immediately signed up for the USAF as soon as I hit 17. Delayed enlistment (because they were full) kept me waiting until I was almost 18 - graduated basic on my 18th birthday. I stayed in for 10 years, and got out when a headhunter (now called recruiters) found me and offered me a job making about 5x what I was making in the Air Force. The job was in San Antonio, and in 6 months Cisco bought the company and moved us to Austin.
My boss was an Aggie but he tried to get UT season tickets so he could at least see some games. He couldn't get them but somehow when I tried I got 2. That happened to be the year the Longhorns won the championship with Vince Young. I kept the tickets until my daughter went off to Florida for college and eventually we moved there until I got sick of FL and we moved back to East Texas. Fortunately I had been contracting for a company in ETX and they offered me a full position and a relo package. Easy choice.
As for A&M - I would've probably gone there because they are more conservative on the whole. But - I'm not sure about some of the traditions. I'm not a fan of UT politics either. Their whole "Cocks, not Glocks" protest for guns on campus was way over the top. Plus, I have an ex-coworker that also teaches there and he invited me to guest-teach one of his classes. I was supposed to talk about pen-testing and cyber in general but UT wouldn't let me because I didn't have a degree. Their loss. At this point in my life you couldn't pay me to go to school, so I'll stick to just going to football games if I get out that way. I'm what you guys call a T-Shirt fan, but I would call it a Hat fan. I wear my hat all the time - black fitted with a black Longhorn logo. I have a polo shirt for the games.
Wow, what a story. My ex-husband went into the USAF on a 6 month delayed enlistment during which time we got married. He stayed in for 6 years. I really wish he would have made it a career because I got to see some cool places. I did not go to college and like you have been rejected from several jobs because of it. But now I'm retired and living with my husband in a smallish town called Spring Branch. We absolutely love it here though it is growing by leaps and bounds. I raised my daughter in Austin and it sickens me what the democrats have done to that town. My daughter and I can't stand going back for anything there except to see my niece who is a liberal and loves the place. We are staunch conservation and I like to call myself a "passive activist" as I am now retired and enjoy gardening and papercrafting, reading and baking cookies. I don't get into the whole UT/Aggie thing either but I certainly can't say the same for my husband and my daughter. I guess once you get into those traditions, they get in their blood. Thanks for sharing your story and God Bless you and yours.
It is 7:03 a.m. here in Central Texas and I have NEVER and I really do mean NEVER enjoyed a story more that what you just shared with me. You have memories that will last you the rest of your life and you write and document them incredibly well. I would suggest you do just that for your grandkids, if you have grandkids because you are right in that England will never be the same, so tell them how it was so they know.
I can only relate to two things you did. I think it was when we brought in the year 1981 but I can't remember for certain. My husband and another couple made the trek to London for the New Years Eve event. We spent the whole night in Trafalgar square. We took one of my daughters little toys with wheels and my husband attached a keg of beer to it and we strolled it all over and shared it with anyone who wanted it. I'm not sure it was American beer or if he got British beer (I'll have to ask him) but we shared it all night long. There is no way to top that experience so I rarely even watch the ball drop anymore because it simply cannon compare.
Then we did go to Stonehenge and you are right, it was a complete disappointment. My husband foolishly went across the street where the hippees had set up camp and it was completely surrounded by police and he still walked through the whole camp and did things I simply don't want to talk about here but it was nuts because we had our baby in a stroller with us.
And lastly, Pink Floyd, Now I didn't know there was an actual "wall" that Pinkie was talking about and if you have a picture, I would love to see it. My ex-husband is still a part of our life for celebrations and I know for certain that he would love to see it. My husband was stationed at Upper Heyford and his step-brother was stationed at Lakenheath. Well his step-brother bought two tickets to see the London concert and I never cried so hard in all my life because they were for the two of them. I had an almost brand new baby and his step-brother didn't know how much I loved Pink Floyd and he figured I would want to stay home with her but we had good friends right across the street from where we lived and they would have kept our baby overnight I'm certain. So my only sense of satisfaction is that I kept his ticket and I still have it today and will never give it to him. I was angry with him for days but really I was just plain angry that he got to go and I didn't.
Thank you so much for sharing this story. I am going to print it out and share it with my ex=husband at our next celebration. You have literally made my day and I thank you for that.
Thanks for your kind comments. By the way, I lived in Round Rock and Liberty Hill when I was in Central Texas. We found our way to East Texas and love it, although I miss having season tickets to Longhorns Football. I had them for 10 years and that was my daddy/daughter activity. She is almost 30 now and recently flew back and took me to a game - full circle.
As for the wall - there are 2 things here. Yes Pink Floyd did build a wall and tear it down, but I believe it was Styrofoam. There is a documentary about it somewhere but I don't remember the name. And the real wall - I was referring to the Berlin Wall that came down in 1989. The one that Reagan said "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall". Pieces of the wall were very popular souvenirs - especially ones that had graffiti paint on them. I have a big chunk that is about 5 inches by 2 inches (with paint), and a smaller quarter-sized piece glued to the framed picture along with rusted barbed wire and a 10 pfennig coin. The picture is people climbing the wall and breaking it with pick-axes.
Oh yeah - I knew Lakenheath (and Mildenhall) very well. I used to have to drive to Lakenheath once or twice a month when we had a base computer issue. They held our backup tapes, and other OS tapes we needed if the problem was bad enough. I would try to go over to Mildenhall while I waited to try to catch a glimpse of an SR-71 taking off or landing, or maybe just to go to a bigger BX that had more stuff than Alconbury.
I found a link to the full concert in Berlin, and a link to the documentary. They aren't perfect HD of course, but it is truly amazing they pulled this off. You might watch the documentary first to get an idea of what happened to pull this together. The Soviet marching band story is jaw-dropping. Enjoy!
Concert
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Acc_aK_bcRA&list=PLEF0CE16D6FC4C748&index=1
Documentary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_tyw7kukJI
OMG, I simply can't think of a better gift than the links you have sent. I will enjoy them when I have that much time and that won't be today because I have three different therapist coming today.
Now we have to talk about this UT thing because we are a family of Aggies and you know what that means. My husbands father when to A&M and we still have his ring. My husband also graduated from A&M and proudly wears his ring when he can. My only daughter graduated from Texas A&M Galveston with her Maritime License. She worked for NOAA until she had the very first accident ever in NOAAs history where they were using computers to map the ocean floor in Sitka, Alaska. A rogue wave popped up out of nowhere and before the driver of the boat could get it turned around, it flipped completely over. The driver drowned. There was my daughter and one other person stuck in the boat. My daughter struck her head on a beam and passed out for a brief moment and when she came to she couldn't see out of her right eye. She and the other person decided to try and swim to the front of the boat where they knew they could get out. Her shipmate made it to the front but she couldn't breath or not breath well enough to make it out so she was by herself stuck in the boat. Her shipmate was on top of the boat yelling at her but she couldn't do what he ask so he went to shore while she was still stuck in the boat. Someone had given her a small amulet that was clear plastic and had an angel on the inside and she carried it everywhere with her. She said she just held that amulet and kept looking for a way out when suddenly the boat tipped up out of the water and she saw a window had broken out and she made a quick dive for the window. She made it out but by now the waves kept her from reaching shore. She had on heavy work boots that hindered her a great deal. Every time she would reach the shore that was all rock, she would be pulled back out to the ocean. Her shipmate saved her life by yelling at the top of his lungs telling her what to do and indeed she was able to make it far enough onto the rocks that he was able to grab her and bring her to shore. Just by coincidence there was a box of flares that had washed up on shore and they fired one off. Some kids were on the same shore doing some work and when they saw the flare they came running. My daughter fractured her skull but by the time we realized it (and that is a whole other story in and of itself) and had to have major surgery that still makes me shutter.
So I am so very blessed to have my daughter and she is my only child. She is now a high school science teacher at a Chistian Academy in San Marcos, TX and doing very well. Her two children, my grandchildren, also attend the academy. So she is officially a "Sea Aggie."
We could have some fun with this if you are ready for it because believe me we can get cocky when it comes to our Aggies. "Gig-em"
First - I'm glad your daughter made it out alive.
I never got much into the Longhorns vs Aggies. I didn't even go to college. I graduated HS early at 16yo and immediately signed up for the USAF as soon as I hit 17. Delayed enlistment (because they were full) kept me waiting until I was almost 18 - graduated basic on my 18th birthday. I stayed in for 10 years, and got out when a headhunter (now called recruiters) found me and offered me a job making about 5x what I was making in the Air Force. The job was in San Antonio, and in 6 months Cisco bought the company and moved us to Austin.
My boss was an Aggie but he tried to get UT season tickets so he could at least see some games. He couldn't get them but somehow when I tried I got 2. That happened to be the year the Longhorns won the championship with Vince Young. I kept the tickets until my daughter went off to Florida for college and eventually we moved there until I got sick of FL and we moved back to East Texas. Fortunately I had been contracting for a company in ETX and they offered me a full position and a relo package. Easy choice.
As for A&M - I would've probably gone there because they are more conservative on the whole. But - I'm not sure about some of the traditions. I'm not a fan of UT politics either. Their whole "Cocks, not Glocks" protest for guns on campus was way over the top. Plus, I have an ex-coworker that also teaches there and he invited me to guest-teach one of his classes. I was supposed to talk about pen-testing and cyber in general but UT wouldn't let me because I didn't have a degree. Their loss. At this point in my life you couldn't pay me to go to school, so I'll stick to just going to football games if I get out that way. I'm what you guys call a T-Shirt fan, but I would call it a Hat fan. I wear my hat all the time - black fitted with a black Longhorn logo. I have a polo shirt for the games.
Wow, what a story. My ex-husband went into the USAF on a 6 month delayed enlistment during which time we got married. He stayed in for 6 years. I really wish he would have made it a career because I got to see some cool places. I did not go to college and like you have been rejected from several jobs because of it. But now I'm retired and living with my husband in a smallish town called Spring Branch. We absolutely love it here though it is growing by leaps and bounds. I raised my daughter in Austin and it sickens me what the democrats have done to that town. My daughter and I can't stand going back for anything there except to see my niece who is a liberal and loves the place. We are staunch conservation and I like to call myself a "passive activist" as I am now retired and enjoy gardening and papercrafting, reading and baking cookies. I don't get into the whole UT/Aggie thing either but I certainly can't say the same for my husband and my daughter. I guess once you get into those traditions, they get in their blood. Thanks for sharing your story and God Bless you and yours.