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Last night I finally received the call I've been waiting... for... not quite a decade... but well... as she put it, "Jody, we can't go a decade again before we call each other." Then we laughed.  

I remarked, "For sure. Let me see. You were going on a long mission overseas..." She responded, "That's was 2012.... Jody that's a decade." I replied, "So it is."

As the first twenty minutes of catch up passed. I had plenty of fried chicken and vegetables that I'd made the night before for my youngest and I to warm up. I only had to prep and cook the rice for our dinner. 

Our youngest was studying. All remained quiet and our three pets which make very little noise, unless they feel threatened. Such as sensing someone or something is awry, or in our backyard. They'll thump... so loudly you'll think a huge object fell inside our home. Rattling you out of bed at 2am. No matter how exhausted you may be. Which then can set off our Guinea Pig to either tap his water bottle or to chew on his cage. However, even with my laughter and "Oh my's..." they were quite settled.

Youngest so headstrong showing her independence, served herself. Not something I'm totally used to. I just made certain it happened in a timely fashion as I remained on the phone, checking laundry, food and her. 

About eighty minutes into our phone conversation I remarked, "So like Norm was the 'social otter' of the two of us. Last time I'd socialized before this spring was June 2019. Norm would drag me to a movie, out to eat. I'm a homebody. So he then had this function for his school district in June 2019. And guess who Norm knew and introduced me to at this Teacher Awards Ceremony?"

She queried, "Who?" I replied, "Lou. He was in our unit. Back then Norm says, 'Hey. I think you know this guy. He was in the Marines.' Norm walks me over to this guy who's about my age. Guy turns around. He looks familiar. We shake hands. I ask his unit and location and year. It was ours. He and I laugh. I remark, 'Have I got a picture on my phone for you. I think you're in it. It was 1983 or 1982.' He's in front of me in the picture. He realizes it. Then we take a picture together that night near three years ago. I'll send you the 1982 picture and the 2019 picture."

She, Pam tells me about the unit that she'd stayed in for many years after I'd left. 

As well we reminisced about training sets and the 'Crazy Jody' running behind the mounds of dirt... the rifle range at 4:15 in the morning. Pam now has eleven grandchildren. 

Near the end of our one hour forty-three minute phone conversation, she asks, "How did you find me?" I replied, "I researched you, your husband, your family. I remembered all the names you were associated with. And then I took a guess and a chance I may be wrong. I said to myself, 'Oh well. It's either the correct person's phone or not.' Then I dialed it. Left a message. Hoping you guys were still around." Pam seemed to marvel at that. "Wow..." She stated. ---Jody-Lynn Reicher 






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