There is was again. I wondered, is that thunder? Surely not. The sound started in the distance a while before sunset. But as the evening wore on and nighttime pulled the shades over the sun, the thundering sounds came closer. Kaboom! Kaboom! No longer a noise but a sensation, the explosions vibrated the ground and rocked my travel-ready home. What in the world?!?
My husband is a genius. Well, not really. Not like my blogger friend Walter Mitty or my son-in-law, Tony. But he is often what steadies me in a shaky world. He keeps me informed, and he thinks of things that would never cross my mind. He always knows where he is and what's going on around him. (Unless he is working or watching TV and I'm trying to talk to him.)
So when all the booming and shaking and rumbling prompted too many "I wonder..." remarks from me, he pulled up a map on his computer and showed me that we are parked, as the crow flies, only four or five miles from the backside of Fort Knox.
Fort Knox is the U.S Armor Center. (Just in case you didn't know.) Tanks. Those indestructible animals of battle. And when one of those cannons perched on top of one of those tanks is fired, it makes a loud KABOOM, and the ground shakes and the windows of an RV will rattle!
Thank goodness the soldiers and marines stopped their target practice or whatever they were doing before midnight so I could get some sleep. But they were back at it again this morning. Not long ago I heard some faint RAT-A-TAT-TATs in between the KABOOMS!
I had a oxymoronal (Is that a word?) thought. The thundering and rattlings of big guns, the sounds common to battle, are somehow comforting to me. With every blast I know that there are men and women staying in a state of readiness to defend me and my property from enemies of which I may be completely unaware. They train themselves daily to protect my home, my country, my family, my freedom.
Though the ground may shake and my windows may rattle, I can rest in peace. Thank you, men and women of our armed forces, for choosing to do what you do for those of us who can't do for ourselves.
10 comments:
yes, thank you to the armed forces and their great sacrifices...past, present, and future!
and, yes, i believe "oxymoronal" should be a word if it is not!! (my friend and i have a running personal dictionary we're making called "dictionary of words that should be"...complete with pronunciation and definitions)
i used to live on Catalina Island, and there is a rocky quarry at the east end of the island. there were several times i felt the effects of an earthquake...only to later find out, it was blasting at the quarry! : )
(that would be "rock" quarry, not "rocky" quarry!) :)
Hey Sharilyn,
I like your idea about words that should be. Sometime you just have to make up a word to fully express your thoughts. And I'm sure your quarry was rocky as well. ;)
When I was stationed at Fort Benning in Georgia, we would go on those training exercises and war games, but we had to be concluded by 1100 PM, if I remember correctly, so everyone could have some peace for the night.
The tanks are definitely noticeable. They make loud explosions. The rat atat tat is usually a .50 caliber--which is busy redefining quality of life for the enemy.
I became so accustomed to the sounds of war, that I had trouble sleeping when I left the Army.
You might step outside once in a while when the war is going on and see if you can spot the flares they shoot into the air. They will light up a large area, and they are easy to spot...
When we lived in Amarillo we had those great big aircraft fo over head. The ones that are big enough to car another airplaine or if not they look like that. Whe they would go over I would have to stop talking on the phone or to who ever we were talking to and everything in the house would shake. It was very loud. I can only somewhat imagine what it sounds like for you. We just got to where we got use to them. Maybe you will get use to them as well.
Here is one of those weird words for your dictionary. oxinesse. That was my word for verification.
Travis, thanks for the info. I'll poke my head out tonight and see if I can spot the flares.
Cindy, I know what you mean about the big jets. I forgot that you all used to live out on the north side by the airport. The big birds circle out over our place too, but they are at a higher altitude so the noise is not so bad. But we always know when one of the new Osprey is out for a test flight. Those things make a lot of noise too.
Yes, I'm sure Ill get accustomed to the kabooms after a week or so.
When we lived in Amarillo a plane landed that was carrying a space Shuttle.
Rock Quarries are often Rocky.
We are used to Kabooms and rat a tat tat's.
Rest in Peace.
Word:ounien
Just had to say that I love the picture "Sisters Love". Too bad my girls don't do things like that. Yes, I do sometimes scan the whole blog.
I have laughed through this whole blog:
1. Your second paragraph about "My husband is a genius...he is often what steadies me in a shaky world. He keeps me informed, and he thinks of things that would never cross my mind. He always knows where he is and what's going on around him (unless he's working or watching TV...)"
THAT IS RANDY EXACTLY !!!
2. I LOVE WALTER MITTY.
3. oxymoronal...HA HA HA...lol...tee hee hee...hoop and holler...
However, I became sober during the part about our men and women in the military staying in a state of readiness to defend us and our property from enemies of which we may be completely unaware... training themselves daily to protect our homes, our country, our families, our freedom.
Though you wrote this blog on Feb 6, 2009, today is 9/11/2010, a sobering day when we remember those who died at the World Trade Center and those they left behind. Probably all of us were touched by one thing in particular during those first days. My "thing" was a woman waiting in her home...and all she could say was, "I just wish he would come home." I know in my heart that he never did.
Deanna,
Thanks for commenting. And I'm so glad you got a good laugh. One of my greatest desires and constant prayers is that I can me a source of joy for someone.
Yes, today was a good day to reflect on the work that our military does for us.
I love "Walter Mitty" too. That is really an alias for him. I don't know if you have ever visited his blog, but if you do, you'll see that he sometimes posts deep truths and he sometimes has a very active imagination. He is a career Marine and the father of one of my sons-in-law. Apparently he has not been reading my blog lately because he no longer comments. I whined to him about it the other day so he left me a comment, "just to make my day". I miss him.
I'm sure if you met him you would like him.
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