THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, December 13, 1995 TAG: 9512120278
SECTION: MILITARY NEWS PAGE: A8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALVA CHOPP
LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
There's something very special about the Tidewater area.
Even the name ``Tidewater'' is a tie that binds those of us who have lived here long enough to remember the area before the ``Hampton Roads'' title came into vogue.
For military families brought here by the lure of big ships and fast airplanes, it has often become more than just a duty station . . . it has become our home.
That's the way my husband and I feel about this place. And so, when he decided to retire after a 26-year career, it seemed only fitting that we would return to the place where our marriage grew up.
For us, and I think many others like us, Tidewater Virginia is special because of the joys and sacrifices we've come to associate with this area.
In 1970, with a pair of shiny gold naval flight officer's wings on his uniform and all our worldly possessions in the back of a Mustang, we set off to make our first home in Virginia. We fondly recall the Nor'easter that welcomed us that first day. Gray, ominous clouds and a pounding surf muffling the sound of F-4 Phantom jets flying out to meet a ship at sea.
We couldn't believe we were here. This was the ``real Navy.'' This was where it happened. This was what all the training was about.
As newlyweds, our earliest memories are of long walks along the beaches after the tourists had left. . . sneaking up on hundreds of snow geese feeding in Back Bay. . . and exploring the surrounding area. It was a good time to be together.
Our memories of Tidewater are always intertwined with my husband's military career. How could we separate ourselves from something that was so much a part of our lives?
But the excitement of each new phase of flight training was tempered with thoughts of the next deployment.
To military families, this area is a reminder of long separations. . . of holidays spent with other Navy wives and children. . . and sitting beside the phone waiting from a call when the ship pulled into a far-away port.
It's remembering the times you shared the joys of the birth of a friend's first child and the unthinkable sadness in the final goodbye to a close squadron-mate killed in the line of duty.
Tidewater stands for pierside farewells on cold, blustery days and fly-in homecomings in the sun.
It's unexpected snowstorms at the beach, water shortages, hurricane threats, salty sea breezes and fishing boats on the horizon.
And it's sharing your life with some of the closest friends you could ever know.
Military families know they can't put their roots too deep in an area. Conflicts and commitments force them to relocate where their talents are needed.
It's part of the contract.
But even though we try to avoid it, because it's sometimes too painful to say goodbye to a special place, most families have somewhere they feel most comfortable. A place where their boxes of memorabilia take them each time they unpack.
It's a place where most of their memories fit together like the squares of a favorite warm and cozy quilt.
For us, our memories have brought us back here. . . And it feels good to be home. by CNB