Memory Monday

Well...I get lots of comments about this, but I never get anyone who wants to PLAY with me. C'mon...I KNOW you've all got memories to share...and you can share them on MONDAYS with ME!!!

Today's memory Monday comes with kudos to Suzanne B (no, not Suzanne B or my other Suzanne/Suzy B friend...)

She did a little photo montage of places she'd lived. So that's my memory this Monday. I'm only going to do some of the places we've lived.

I can't seem to find any pictures of the place I lived when I met Scott. It wasn't a huge apartment complex...it was on Channingville Road in Wappingers Falls, NY. There were only 2 buildings. I had a basement apartment...a studio. It was good enough for me. I paid more than I really wanted, for a studio, anyway. Before we moved to Atlanta, I lived with Scott for a short time. Once again, I don't have any pictures. I'm sure we have some upstairs in the photo albums, but I don't feel like going up to get one! This was a one bedroom condo that Scott rented when he got to West Point. I didn't live there long.

When we arrived in Atlanta, we tried to find the best place at a good price, with a short 20 commute for Scott. We ended up at the suspected soon as our Rivermont Apartments. They weren't bad looking...there was a pool (I fast minutes...that never used it) a cute little pond with ducks, and a tennis court (we did get some use out of that amenity). We lived at the top of the hill...there were no sidewalks down to the clubhouse/office area, so we never walked down (cars went WAY too up the curvy road). Aside from the regular palmetto bugs (flying cockroaches, for you uninformed) we didn't have any vermin problems. What problems we DID have, however, were worse. We didn't feel safe and so we moved out as soon as our lease was up.


The Rivermont, College Park/Riverdale, GA - I think this might even be our apartment, based on the tree right outside the window. We had the 2nd floor unit.


The next place we lived was in McDonough. It was called Waterford Landing. It was really a classy place, and really quite large. We got another 2 bedroom apartment on the first floor of a 2 story building. We seemed to have hit the jackpot...for the first few weeks. All of a sudden, the people upstairs showed up (they must have been on vacation). What ensued was month after month of noise, disruption, obnoxious behavior and pleas that fell upon deaf ears of our management. The people above us would go do their grocery shopping at 11:00 p.m. Then they'd stand at the top of the stairs and holler down to each other...the other person was usually stationed RIGHT by our bedroom window. Didn't matter how much we complained, management would tell us they'd take care of it. The teen boy upstairs would stand on his deck and SPIT down onto our teeny-tiny patio. They had about 10 people living up there. It was always SO noisy; drove me NUTS! The management had enough written complaints from us that they had no choice but to let us out of the lease early (only by a few months, though)

Waterford Landing, McDonough, GA. We lived in a building opposite of this one. Those that you see are 3 story.


When we left Waterford Landing, we swore we weren't going to live in an apartment anymore. We were blessed to find this great house in Stockbridge. The rent was a bit more than we wanted to pay, but the lot was HUGE...almost an acre. We had decent neighbors and the neighborhood was quiet and pretty. This was a nice 3 bedroom, 2 bath house. It had a huge living room, decent dining room, GIANT kitchen with floor to ceiling windows which made the kitchen warm and sunny. It had a good sized patio out back, too. This was Hannah's first home...we brought her home to this:


This was on Winterwood Drive, Stockbridge, GA. The only thing that was a pain was the big lot...for Scott, anyway. He had to mow it and it grew FAST...as did the fireant mounds. He mowed more than a few of them down!

We moved out of Stockbridge after Scott became a Warrant Officer. We spent 6 months in Virginia Beach. We lived at North Shore Apartments. They were nice, but not what we really wanted. We knew, though, that we were only going to be there for 6 months, so we made do. We had a 2 bedroom apartment. It was hard to go from that big house in GA to this, but at least we didn't have ALL our stuff...a lot was in storage. We lived on the 3rd floor and had an end unit, so we had the big Palladian window in our bedroom, which gave us an little nook to stick our computer desk into! We arrived in July and left in January. I think we used the pool a few times.

North Shore Apartments, Virginia Beach, VA

Scott's first assignment as a Warrant Officer was at Ft. Gordon. We left Va Beach with no home lined up. Housing waits on post were 5 months (or so we had been told by the housing office). We looked at a LOT of places, but nothing seemed to click. We had been looking at another house and called on it. The rental agent told us that house had been rented, but she had one that wasn't even listed yet. This ended up being our home for the 2 years we lived in Augusta. We LOVED this house. It didn't have a garage, but it had a little yard (less mowing for Scott), a swingset in the backyard for Hannah, and it was in a great little neighborhood. This home holds sweet memories for me too, since it was Scotty's first home. We brought him home to this:


Dunes Drive, Evans GA

We were sent to Germany after this. We KNEW we'd have to live in housing. We also knew we'd be assigned a "stairwell" unit, and we'd heard these were small and cramped. We ended up being quite blessed with the unit we got. It was a large 3 bedroom with 2 bathrooms. The kitchen was tiny (as are most European kitchens) but everything else was decent sized. We were on the 2nd floor. Our upstairs neighbors moved out about a month after we got there. No one ever moved above us for the rest of the year we were there. We had decent neighbors, too. Of course, I don't have a good picture of OUR building. We were not supposed take pictures of the buildings on post (security reasons). But in this picture, you can see the buildings we lived in. Ours was to the left of the photo, but they all looked the same!


Haupstmoorstrasse, Bamberg, Germany

The last place, of course, is our current home. We moved here to Kansas after only a year in Germany. We were heartbroken, of course. We'd wanted our three years in Europe. But as with everything, we made do. Coming to Manhattan was HARD, though. We arrived in 107° degree heat. Housing was almost impossible to come by because we were fighting with the other thousand or so soldiers and families who had returned with the Big Red One. Everyone was trying to buy, and houses were WAY too expensive. We STILL can't figure, to this day, why housing is so expensive in a small college city. It's about 13 miles from the major highway. There are NO huge industries...the largest employers in the area are Kansas State University and Ft. Riley.

After deciding that there was little chance of buying a decent house, we looked to renting one. THAT was another exercise in futility. What was available was HORRIBLE. Most of these homes were rented by college kids..they were trashy, nasty places. Scott was getting desperate and he took the phone book and started calling ALL the apartment complexes listed. Of course, there was very little available...especially to fit our needs (3 bedrooms). He was at the letter M in the apartment listing...when he called McCullough Development. They said they had a house and we were excited. When we drove up, though, we realized it was a duplex. But we decided it was better than living in a hotel or apartment. And if we'd get housing on post, it would likely be a duplex anyway. So we took it. And it's been our home now for almost 2 years. And it will likely be hour home for another year or so.


Manhattan, KS...ours is the left unit. We currently have the party boys (see my post about Ha ha not funny and the CrazyPsychoNeighbor reference).

Memory Monday

Today's memory is not so dark as the last one.

11 years ago this week, I met my husband.

It was a Saturday, April 12, 1997 (April 12 falls on a Saturday this year, too!). I was part of a group called the Danbury Brass Band. I'd only been part of it for a short while. My friend Gus was a drummer for our group (despite being a brass band, we still needed a rhythm section from time to time). On this particular Saturday, the Danbury Brass Band (DBB) was one of several performing groups at the Brass Music Festival and Conference. It was held at The Lighthouse.

The DBB was playing a concert to promote our trip to Bermuda in the summertime. IT was an early concert. Most of the DBB were traveling together from CT. Since I lived in Wappingers Falls, NY, it was easier for me to take the train into NYC from there, rather than drive all the way to Danbury, CT (an hour east), then take a train to NYC. I had NO idea where I was going, I did the best I could. I got off the train and had to hike at least a dozen blocks to get to The Lighthouse. (I could have taken a different train and gotten off right at the site...oops!) I was carrying a trumpet case, wearing a blue button-down oxford and a crazy tie (our "uniform), so I must have looked...well, I suppose I didn't look TOO odd in NYC! Anyway...I hurried, since our group was performing first that day...9:00 a.m.

After our performance, Gus and I wandered around. I was in absolute heaven, having never experienced a brass conference before. It was awesome to try out different horns, listen to great recordings, check out books and solos. Having Gus around was nice...someone to talk to...but he was a percussionist...not a brass player, so I really couldn't talk to him about the merits of this mouthpiece versus that one...or why I thought this horn played better. In the same way he'd never be able to discuss most drumming stuff with me, I suppose.

By the time we'd made it through most of the exhibits, it was lunch time. We got a bite to eat. I know he was ready to leave by that time, but I wanted to stay and watch a few of the performances in the auditorium. I saw a group called The Titus Trumpet Ensemble, from the U.S. Military Academy (USMA) at West Point. Gus was a member of The Hellcats, the Field Music Group for The USMA Band. I showed him the schedule and we decided to stay and watch them perform. He pointed out the folks he knew from The Hellcats...those he knew were in the concert band, others in the Jazz Knights.

After their performance, we went around to meet them. Gus introduced me to most of them. Scott was one of the people I met. Scott was also a member of The Hellcats. All of a sudden, I had someone to talk to about playing trumpet. My life had been at loose ends...I'd been thinking about joining the Army, about entering the band field. And here was an accomplished Army musician...a TRUMPET player...one who could teach me what I needed to know. But I was scared to ask anything.

So, we talked a bit, wandered a bit, discussed the merits of this mouthpiece versus that one; talked about our favorite pieces. We probably spent an hour or more together. Scott was easy to talk to, quite knowledgeable about the trumpet, and when he would pick up a horn to play, I was SO impressed...he was REALLY good!

His group was preparing to leave (they'd driven down from West Point as a group) so I sat with him and asked him if he gave lessons. I told him I'd be willing to take lessons if he gave them, and told him what I intended. He said he'd teach me "the book" and I would know exactly what I needed to pass the Army auditions. We ended the day by exchanging numbers.

And then I chickened out about calling him. I put it off...I dialed, then hung up. I don't know why. Maybe it was the fear of the unknown...but I didn't call. Until Gus told me that he asked if I was going to call, did I still want lessons. That gave me the needed nudge. So I called. And the rest is history.


Do YOU have a memory you'd like to share? Participate in Memory Mondays with me! Just let me know you've posted a Monday memory, and I'll be sure to let everyone know!

Memory Monday...

On Tuesday. Yeah. I forgot.

So I leave you with a few photos I found while searching madly for some Flat Stanley pictures that were lost on my computer (the Flat Stanley and Flat Micaela tales will be told later!). Quality not guaranteed on photos.

When I worked at Yahoo, circa 2000. Yes, LONG hair

Taken for the directory at Steven's Creek in 2002
Look at that little peanut!!!

When I worked at Pagenet, 1999 - hair was growing

Yahoo's Christmas Party 1999

Easter in Evans, GA, 2002 - Scott had a gig at 1st Presbyterian...
that explains the fancy duds on him!

Me and my Kiki, circa 1970

Me and my friend Sandy M., circa 1978 or 79

one of only 9 wedding pictures that came out half decently
we had the WORST wedding photographer!
Circa 11/1998

Memory Monday

Today's memory is not that long ago...only a few years, actually.

Scott had just finished WOBC at Virginia Beach. The movers had come, packed our belongings, picked up our storage stuff, and were headed out to Augusta. Hannah was being kept by Ida Holt, a friend of ours. Her husband Dell (LTC, Retired USA) was the Commandant of the School of Music, and had been Scott's commander at Ft. McPherson when we had been stationed there. It was nice to have a familiar face to rely on, and Ida was really good with Hannah, too. At this point, Hannah was just shy of 2 years old!

After the movers left, we cleaned the place, had our inspection, the apartment was declared good to go, and we headed to the Holt's house to get Hannah. Ida had also invited us to stay for dinner and she prepared a wonderful White Chili. As luck would have it, the weather on January 7 turned out to be HORRID...cold, rainy....just disgusting. Of course, one wouldn't expect warm beach weather, but we'd hoped for something nice. At least our belongings had been loaded before the weather turned! So Ida's wonderful chili was a balm to our souls. We thanked the Holts for ALL they had done for us and headed to stay in a hotel for our last night in Va Beach. Of course, by then, it was SNOWING to beat the band! Hannah had a hard time falling asleep in the hotel. If I recall correctly, we had a 2 room suite, so she was sleeping in the front room in her pack 'n play.

The following morning, we headed to Augusta, GA. It was a LONG drive. We were in separate cars, of course. It was just a long day, stopping with a toddler who needed diaper changes all the time. We arrived at Ft. Gordon much later than we had expected. We were tired...exhausted, really. We had booked a room at the inn on post, so we headed there. Of course, when we finally found the place, there was a sign telling us to check in somewhere else. We were SO frustrated, and tired...and we knew we'd only been given one room, so we decided to take our chances off post. We headed down one road and tried 3 hotels...the first 2 either didn't have a room or wanted a ridiculously high price. We went to the Microtel hotel, resigned to the fact that we'd have to deal with a pack n play in the same room, with little Miss Toss 'n Turn who didn't sleep well with others. But Scott bartered a deal with them. He guaranteed them a full week...and he bartered TWO rooms down to less than $60 a night total...and adjoining, too!

Then came the worst part...finding a home. We didn't want post housing...and for us, the wait list, we were told, was 2-4 months. I wasn't prepared to live temporarily again....I HATE living out of boxes. So we started looking for rental homes. We'd looked at SO many. We quickly found out what the worst parts of Augusta were, and we were determined to stay away from those areas, so we set our sights on Columbia County. Still...we were close to the end of our hotel term, and hadn't found anything yet. The day before we were ready to leave the hotel (after our 7 day "contract", lol) we were driving in a neighborhood, looking at a house. We called on the house, only to discover that it had just been rented. BUT...our agent said she had another house, not even on the market yet, really...was being completely vacated that weekend...did we want to see it?

So we went...to Dunes Drive. And we realized that this little house was the one for us. While it didn't have ALL the amenities we wanted (fenced yard, garage), it had what we NEEDED (3 bedrooms, good sized kitchen...extra space), and we said we'd take it. We signed paperwork and went back to the hotel. We'd found our home.

We contacted the transportation office to see if our belongings had been delivered yet. As luck would have it, they had NOT arrived yet, so we were able to arrange delivery on the 15th of January. Hannah's 2nd birthday.

We DID have the world's SLOWEST movers...a set of twins who were unwilling to hire day laborers to help unload and unpack. It took them 8 hours to unload the truck. It only took 4 for them to LOAD it on the other end, and they had THREE flights of stairs to deal with!!! (but they had 2 more workers).

As our things were being unloaded, Hannah was getting restless. It was a fairly nice day, so I took her for a slow walk around the neighborhood. We were on the opposite street in our loop, when I saw a woman leaving her house with a little girl who looked to be about Hannah's age. The woman was pregnant, too. I waved hello, and she waved back, and I stopped to talk to her a bit. Her name was Christy I...and I didn't know that this woman would end up being one of my dearest friends, leading me to a fantastic church and core of Christian women. Christy and her daughter Annalise (who was, in fact, 4 months younger than Hannah!) would become very important in our lives. She invited me to attend a playgroup being held at her house a few weeks later. I said I would come, and she gave me a card from her church, and put her name on it.

The rest of this memory is for another day...

Suffice it to say that my 2 years in Augusta Georgia were going to be the best because of this chance meeting...definitely a God thing!

Memory Monday

You know, there are lots of "post starters" out there that people participate in...there's Wordless Wednesday, Thursday Thirteen, a Self Portrait Tuesday (can't find a good link, the name may have changed).

But poor old Monday...no one ever does anything for it. So...I'm starting something.

I challenge each of you to post a memory on Mondays.


My memory today:

I woke up with a song in my head this morning...it was "My Old Flame"...why?

The memory was startlingly clear:

I started playing the trumpet at age 9 or 10. As I got better, I loved playing it more, and looked for opportunities to better myself. From a small town, with not a lot of resources (read: money), and not a lot of educational opportunities to advance in music...I did what I could. My dream was to attend the elusive summer music program held at the University of Maine at Orono..."Music Camp". I knew we couldn't afford it. But I desperately wanted to go. All the other "good" trumpet players around the county got to go every year....Carrie Holden, Albert Spinney...they were names and faces I knew from years of sitting next to them at All-Aroostook Band (all-county for you non-Maine folk who might not understand), and they were GOOD. They had the privilege of private lessons; they had the money to go to camp.

The spring of my junior year of high school, I had been talking to a woman who was a member of the Lions Club Auxiliary. I can't remember why or what I had done with the Auxiliary, but we got on the subject of music camp. She encouraged me to write a letter to the Auxiliary leaders, asking for a scholarship, so I did. I wasn't sure I'd get one. I had applied to the music camp scholarship program itself and had been denied. I had a few friends from my hometown attending camp that year, too...that just made it all the more important for me to go!

I was THRILLED when I the Lions Club Auxiliary gave me a scholarship. That meant I could go. I didn't have much, if any, spending money, but it didn't matter...I could GO! I made arrangements to travel to UMO with my friend Tricia, who was going as well.

When we got to camp, we were checking in. I had the money ready to pay for my glorious camp. (It was the first time EVER that I had attended any kind of camp...away from home without ANY relatives at all!). It was then that I discovered that my scholarship money would only pay for one week. I was devastated. I had no way home after only one week, as Tricia was there for 2 weeks and her parents would be picking me up. I explained my situation to the registrar. They said they'd put me in for any scholarships that may have been turned down, but there was no guarantee. Later that evening, I found out that I'd been approved for a FULL two week scholarship! That left me with a balance of money? What to do? I called my mom...she contacted someone from the Auxiliary and let them know what happened. They said that I could keep the money for spending...paying for meals and such if needed, that I deserved it and didn't have to return it.

OH, what joy!

I did the required auditions. I was selected for concert band, in the first trumpet section. I auditioned, and was selected, to the Jazz band. I'd never played much jazz, so I was excited. I was assigned to the 3rd trumpet part, my buddy Albert joining me at 2nd trumpet. We had tons of rehearsals for everything. I got to sing for a "non-related" talent show (meaning you had to do something that didn't involve your main instrument), I did duets with Albert for a recital...and I LOVED Jazz Band. Turned out, I had a solo in one song. The one I mentioned above...My Old Flame. Solo...not a big deal. But there were 4 bars of improvisation...I did NOT know how to do this. Play any old thing based on chord structure? ME? I had NO clue! Luckily, I was also getting lessons. And the guy giving lessons was one of my "idols" from my hometown...Pat Hennessey (I think that's his last name). He was patient and actually helped me "learn" a solo based on the improv chords. It never sounded the same twice, but I knew I could pull it off.

On concert night, I was nervous, but confident. I remember going up to the microphone for my solo. Someone snapped a picture. I had on a dress...I know I have the picture somewhere...if I can find it, I'll scan it. I played the solo well, and I was quite happy with my performance.

Music Camp was quite the experience for me. I remember many names: Craig Skeffington, Steve Bryant....all were fantastic musicians. I wonder what became of all these people?


That's MY memory Monday....my challenge to you? Post a Memory Monday...label it as such...and link back to this blog so that I can post a roll of folks who participated. And pass it on to your fellow bloggers, too!