tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2733812559283418635.post8479094706759923996..comments2023-09-08T09:45:10.235-04:00Comments on Coffee With Hallelujah: BLOGTOBERFEST13 (Day 4) Odyssey to Ft. Benning, Georgia, to remember and honor my fatherRuth Schowalterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03106140875246572230noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2733812559283418635.post-19641753507599172992014-06-16T10:24:38.548-04:002014-06-16T10:24:38.548-04:00From a Pacelli classmate, Ellyn Forgach, who left ...From a Pacelli classmate, Ellyn Forgach, who left this comment to my blog on Facebook: From one Army Brat to another, I appreciated this very much. I have always had trouble answering the question "where are you from?". I don't have lifelong friends from childhood. Resilient - hell yes! Wouldn't change a thing. I feel the world cultures shaped us & made us who we are today. I was determined to give my daughter the 'roots' I never had, however, and she has known Brockport as home for her entire life & has childhood friendships that will hopefully last a lifetime. As an adult, I now often think of the toll that military life had on my mother. Never having a home to call her own; no career of her own despite a wealth of potential; having to uproot her 5 children every couple years; few lasting friendships. It couldn't have been easy for her. Anyway, Ruth - great tribute to your dad! I have not been back to Benning since graduation. I did, however, visit Aberdeen Proving Ground several years ago with my brother, stopped at our old elementary school, etc.Ruth Schowalterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03106140875246572230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2733812559283418635.post-66642194220981406562014-06-16T10:23:54.130-04:002014-06-16T10:23:54.130-04:00Omigosh Marti! How wonderful for you to share your...Omigosh Marti! How wonderful for you to share your memories of those long ago Ft. Benning days! Thank you! Did we really have a bus that took us to Pacelli or was that Spencer? Didn't we have to drive to Pacelli in our own cars?Ruth Schowalterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03106140875246572230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2733812559283418635.post-52861232060709937802014-06-15T15:09:41.593-04:002014-06-15T15:09:41.593-04:00Omigosh, Ruth! (This is Marti Pounder) Seeing the...Omigosh, Ruth! (This is Marti Pounder) Seeing the picture of your house brought back memories of stopping in front of it in the olive drab shuttle bus that would take us to Pacelli. As hard as it was having my Father go to Vietnam 3 times, I can't imaging having any other life growing up. I cherish those memories at Ft. Benning and the sense of community we had. I know what being an Army brat meant for me...the only constant that was ever in my life was change and it prepared me well for the world and propelled me into a relentless search for adventure.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06858551578157709350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2733812559283418635.post-27649688705053542852013-10-06T20:36:35.818-04:002013-10-06T20:36:35.818-04:00Rachel! It is so great that you are here and findi...Rachel! It is so great that you are here and finding out more about you! I have joined your creativity group on Facebook and look forward to finding out more about you.Ruth Schowalterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03106140875246572230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2733812559283418635.post-23225270741790430872013-10-06T20:35:36.185-04:002013-10-06T20:35:36.185-04:00 I love you SEE SEE and all of your good stability... I love you SEE SEE and all of your good stability and immense creativity! And I miss you when you are gone to Vermont in the summers. We will have to make sure to get together while you are here in Atlanta! Welcome home!Ruth Schowalterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03106140875246572230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2733812559283418635.post-91059315199415163332013-10-04T23:33:54.666-04:002013-10-04T23:33:54.666-04:00I am so very touched by your story....your mother&...I am so very touched by your story....your mother's story...and of course your father's. Thank you for sharing it with us!Rachél Payne - Creativity Tribehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15177593210826330599noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2733812559283418635.post-17313768563854573622013-10-04T19:53:27.110-04:002013-10-04T19:53:27.110-04:00Your story is a tribute to your Dad and your famil...Your story is a tribute to your Dad and your family's dedication to his work. I spent my first 15 years living in Jersey City NJ in a 4 room apartment with my Mom & Dad. No siblings. I had my own room and lots of solitude. Dad worked in Brooklyn and commuted by subway and bus each way. Mom was a nurse in the local hospital. We visited my mom's family in Vermont every summer until we finally moved up there 4 years after my father died. This is the only time I changed schools to a Vermont HS. My NJ high school had a kindergarten and grammar school attached, so I never changed. Pretty stable stuff. Definitely influenced who I am as an adult and my penchant for Vermont summers and living inside my head. Cheers, Ruth. Cecelia Kanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08403373465333657007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2733812559283418635.post-68035742111731411402013-10-04T11:25:58.685-04:002013-10-04T11:25:58.685-04:00Christine, I'm curious as to what piece you un...Christine, I'm curious as to what piece you understand now about me but know we will talk about that in person. Did you grow up in one place in Texas? Do I have the correct state? Wonder what your childhood did for your development. Would love for you to share some day.Ruth Schowalterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03106140875246572230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2733812559283418635.post-19667454673218620782013-10-04T11:24:32.922-04:002013-10-04T11:24:32.922-04:00Dear Darlene! I love it that we share being ARMY B...Dear Darlene! I love it that we share being ARMY BRATS together. What a difficult time you had--7 schools in one year? Oh! How wonderful that you lived in one place to raise your children. <br /><br />You are such a strong, joyful, and creative being! I am so glad we met and our sharing our lives now. <br /><br />I don't have a much of a thick skin either but perhaps it is the anchor of creativity that tethers me to this big beautiful Earth.Ruth Schowalterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03106140875246572230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2733812559283418635.post-84604582671466407012013-10-04T10:51:30.001-04:002013-10-04T10:51:30.001-04:00Ruth - Thank you so much for sharing your story an...Ruth - Thank you so much for sharing your story and this amazing tribute to your dad! Truly a hero! Your blog also helped me understand a piece of you better too - thank you. Why yes, our childhoods do have such an impact on who we become - your blog was very touching today (as usual my friend).Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01979779346417987447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2733812559283418635.post-61389783584383459972013-10-04T10:47:59.112-04:002013-10-04T10:47:59.112-04:00Thank you for posting this Ruth. I grew up being a...Thank you for posting this Ruth. I grew up being an army brat like you, moving more times then I ever wanted my children to have to move.. Seven schools I went to in one year. I hated having to change to a new school and try to start over making friends. I grew up with no roots, no good friends from childhood and no real good memories to cherish, and was determined to make sure my children had them all. They did...we lived in one home for 27 years and my kids still keep in touch with old friends... But one thing I did learn being an army brat was to have a thick skin and learn, mostly the hard way, to be myself and not give a care to what others thought. I never managed the thick skin very well but did learn to not give a care and be myself..It has made me what I am today. A strong and determined person. For that I am grateful. Darlene Sperberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10842207296309478132noreply@blogger.com