“I know my dad is a hero, because he has a heart as wide and open as the sea. I guess that’s why they say from sea to shining sea.”
Clare Virginia Zupan (Army)
Spouse Calls this Memorial Day weekend (click to read) is about heroes. Actually, a book full of them.
As promised in this week's Spouse Calls column, here is the uncut version of the essay by grown-up military kid, Susan Phalen:
I'm a grown Air Force brat. My dad was in the Air Force for 28 years. We moved every 3 or 4 years. I went to 13 different schools in my 12 years of schooling. Some schools I'd attend for up to three years in a row, and then some years I'd attend 4 different schools. As a child it was great. As a teenager it was horrible.
For the Mother's Day edition of Spouse Calls, hear from a mother of two who has put her own career on hold to support her husband's demanding job. She waves good-bye to him often as he flies off to foreign countries -- sometimes flying overseas herself -- and she lives in government housing: Mrs. Laura Bush.
Click here to read the Spouse Calls e-interview with the First Lady.
This week Military Spouse Appreciation Day was observed at The White House by President George Bush, while his wife was preparing for the wedding of their daughter, Jenna, in Texas.
There's a saying about Ginger Rogers that she did everything Fred Astaire did, except backwards and in high heels.
I used that phrase in this week's Spouse Calls to describe the busy life of First Lady Laura Bush. When I went online to find out where the quote came from (It has been mistakenly attributed to Ginger herself, but may have originated with comic characters Frank and Ernest) I discovered a blog entry called "Backwards and in high heels" by Julie Negron, who draws "Jenny," the comic strip about military spouses.
In an opinion piece for the Washington Post, writer Andrew Carroll suggests one way Americans can use their tax stimulus checks: Donate them to an organization that helps the military, such as Fisher Houses or the USO.
Click here to read his editorial: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/01/AR2008050102902.html
