T. G. I. F.

Yes, I made it a whole week, even with the Dickens of a cold! (I wonder why people started using Dickens name?) Anyway, here I am again. A whole week, and I made it. HURRAH!!

Did you realize that if you eat celery plain, that it develops a peppery taste on the tongue? It does. I thought that it was just one off, but it has been happening to me every morning. Celery has been my snack each morning when I come in. It staves off the craving for sugar, and is a great thirst quencher. I remember when I was pregnant with DS, oh so many years ago, at 9am Okinawa, or 0 hours zulu, I would HAVE to eat a plain salad with plenty of celery. The only dressing-salt. Lettuce, tomato, cucumber, celery and salt-sprinkled on just before I ate it.

I would take a bite, run around the military area I was responsible for tearing sheets off of printers, and then take another bite. My staff sargeant asked me to wait until after the collection of reports (those sheets of paper) to eat the salad. I told him that I would try, but that I would not be responsible for the outcome. The next day I did not eat my salad at the prescribed time. I did the collection of reports. Then started eating my salad. Half an hour later I was running from the room yelling "Cover my cell!" Barely made it to the ladies room before I lost my salad. When I returned, he told me I could he my salad any darn time I wanted to. I found out later that another staff sargeant was giving gruff.

The cell was the area I was responsible as an analyst. The guys thought it was a hoot that I had to eat like that. Most treated me with respect. The couple that didn't were older guys. One was going thru a divorce-the staff sargeant and the other didn't think that females in the service should be 'allowed' to get pregnant. They both started to make my life miserable. The prints to be collected were at the backs of machines-the guys usually tore them off for me. I was one of those women who went from flat to puff within the first 3 months. I could not get to the back of the machines. The staff sargeant told the others NOT to tear off the reports. Shall we say a slight rebellion took place. When the staff sargeant started using foul language, I took action. After I politely told him that I did not use that language and did not appreciate that language being used to me or around me and his response was basically tough I was in the Army, get use to it. I took it all to my staff sargeant and laid it on the line.

I need to explain something here. My staff sargeant and his wife, and my husband and I also socialized somewhat. Even on the job, he was 'Don' when I talked to him. So when I went up to him that day and said, ""Staff Sargeant Remington, I am requesting to talk to you regarding Staff Sargeant Johnson." He knew a formal request was coming. Don wasn't deaf to what was happening, but until I requested assistance, he couldn't do anything.

Well, all h**l broke loose. You see, I didn't realize it, but the Command Sargeant had been watching what was going on too. And he followed up on it all. Both sargeants were reprimanded and had to apologize. OOPS, publicly. I didn't want that. I just wanted them to go back to treating me with the same respect they had before I got pregnant.

The other sargeant later admitted that it was only the idea that I got pregnant delibrately to get out of the service that had him upset. I told him that he should have asked me outright and I would have told him no. That the decision to leave the service was one of the hardest I ever made. The right one, but hardest one.

Well, got to go. Talk to you later.