Air Force Sweetheart -- TacPzlSolGp Chap. 34/34

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Air Force Sweetheart
TacPzlSolGp
Chapter 34/34

 

by T. D. Aldoennetti

previously:

It isn’t like a switch where I am either male or female despite my physical changes. Doesn’t it say in the Bible, ‘Male and female He created them?’ Maybe I’m both, male and female, no matter what organs I had on the outside or the inside, a bit of each. But my personality, my soul, is still the same person I always was, as far as I can tell. I’m a human being, someone who can share the anguish of other human beings, someone who can share their joys.

Randolf looks apprehensive.

Luckily, because I am human, I can feel his uncertainty. I smile.

Looking at his face and again at the ring, I make my decision and open my mouth to speak, still smiling.


Admin Note: Originally published on BigCloset TopShelf by T D Aldoennetti on Thu, 2008/12/04 - 9:32pm, Air Force Sweetheart -- TacPzlSolGp Chapter 34 is revised and reposted on Tue, 2010/01/05 - 01:12 PM. ~Sephrena


 

Love… is a Many Splendored Thing:

 

Chapter 34

 

We celebrate my answer — it was ‘YES!’ of course — I’m a bit conflicted, but not an idiot — with another gentle round of lovemaking before showering together. I don’t entirely recommend this, since the showers in these places are so small, never intended for two (ahem) ‘active’ adults, but it was fun. We finally force ourselves to get dressed and packed, and then walk down to have a final breakfast at my café before calling Daddy and telling him that we’re on our way to the airport to hire a charter flight. I also tell him that I need to stop in Cheyenne on the way back to pick up the rest of my luggage, but we’ll only be there a couple of hours before continuing to the destination indicated within the orders. Then I happen to mention that I’m now engaged to one of the nicest men I could ever hope to find.

When he wishes me every happiness, and gives both of us his heartfelt congratulations, I can hear in his voice that he really means it. Then he gives the phone to Mom Too (Julie) and we talk for nearly fifteen minutes before Dad chases her off the phone so Randolf and I can get moving.

We call ahead to arrange the charter, giving them the flight plan we need and telling them we’ll arrive at Lindbergh field in about an hour. They tell us where to meet them and what the costs will be for the flight. Ouch. I hope that we’re spending the Government’s money wisely, but those are the orders. Our charter takes us first to Cheyenne, where I call Sis from the same phone booth I’d used to call Mom just a few days before. I tell her to meet me at Mom’s and refuse to tell her why she has to rush out, other than that it isn’t bad news, of course, and then we take the only taxi waiting there by the terminal over to Mom’s house. When we arrive, I tell them both that I’ve accepted Randolf’s proposal of marriage and that the taxi meter is running.

Mom is crying and Sis is screaming while Randolf runs upstairs for my luggage and carries it out to the cab. They’re both extremely happy for me, but not half as much as I am. Mom drags out several of her photo scrapbooks and begins sharing my female childhood with Randolf in fast-forward while he stands on one foot and then the other, glancing from picture to waiting cab then back again. She even shows that cake I baked and, eventually, the burned roast. I pride myself that there are lots more pictures of good meals I’d prepared than that one bad one. She somehow had photos showing Sis and I going out trick-or-treating, and of me as a bridesmaid in the group photos, as well as some of me alone or with Sis, including some which were taken of me dancing with one man or another, usually during a double date when Mom was concerned for Janet’s safety (or virtue — at the time, I’d assumed safety, but now I’m not so sure) and a few from Janet’s reception. She even has one of me kissing Jack when he brought me home that evening the five of us celebrated together.

“Mom, how did you get those?” I ask.

“Mothers have their ways, Lucy, as you will eventually discover when the two of you start having children.”

“I wish we could stay and see more, Mom, but we need to get going. Another disaster is waiting for us in Washington, so naturally, we’re elected to pick up the pieces.”

Mom, Sis and I share hugs and then they both hug Randolf and I run upstairs to make sure he got everything (he’d missed my good overcoat) and then we’re out the door, rushing back to the airport to find our charter, which has taken on additional fuel in order to make Baltimore without another fuel stop. When we arrive at Baltimore, we find a car waiting to take us to Fort Meade. In minutes we pull up to a guarded entrance where we show our ID’s and orders and are soon on our way again.

We ride past many famous buildings and displays, finding ourselves slightly overwhelmed at the visible history we see outside the car windows as we pass by. Our destination looms in the distance as we drive by a mix of both civilian and military vehicles parked around the massive structure, evidently ‘The Building,’ the headquarters of the National Security Agency, an agency of the Department of Defense, although it has many civilian employees. The personnel entering and exiting the building seem to be both civilian and military as well.

The driver tells us that he’ll take our luggage over to our respective BOQs for later pickup, and then drops us off right outside what looks like the main entrance, so we walk through the large doors and into the lobby to check in with security. After a little business at the desk, we receive our passes and an escort, so we’re on our way again, trailing after the escort past door after door, some marked with cryptic designators, and others with nothing more than a room number to indicate whatever it is that goes on behind them.

A minute or two into our trek, we pass one door and I do a double take and stop dead as Randolf and our escort walk on, oblivious until I say, “WAIT!”

They both turn and walk back toward me, puzzlement on their faces, as I stare at the small crest on the door.

The escort tells me that we can’t stop here and Randolf is about to go off with him until I repeat, “Wait a minute! Randolf, look here.”

They look at me like I’m crazy as I reach into my purse and pull out the ID and crest which I’ve so proudly carried with me all this time. I hold the crest next to the one on the door and they’re identical. The escort wants to know where I found the crest and ID so I allow him to examine it, so he can see my photo and name. The rank color on the badge even matches — through the hand of fate I’ve mentioned before — and I pull a slightly yellowed sheet of paper from my briefcase, showing my orders from back at the school in Dallas and allow him to see that I’m a permanent advisor for this very unit. So there.

I ask his permission to take back my ID and reach up to place it on the plate next to the door. A quiet buzzer sounds somewhere beyond the door, and I’m rewarded with a click as the door unlocks. I open it and we walk inside. We’re in a small room with two doors leading off of it, each with another small plate. The Staff Sergeant sitting at the desk comes to his feet in recognition of two Colonels entering the room as I hang my ID and crest from my pocket. He acknowledges our presence and checks my ID, scanning through his lists but not finding my name. That causes him a little confusion, until I show him my orders, which he copies before adding my name to his lists.

“Thank you, Ma’am. There’s no one here at the moment. The OIC is down at photo with Captain Marten.”

Walking around the room, I see photos on the walls showing our original lab, and remember my little group of warriors and their precipitous initiation into the fast-paced world of combat intelligence. I quietly ask, “Is Spooky still the OIC?”

“Yes, Ma’am,” he says. “But I haven’t heard anyone call her that since shortly after they arrived here. The original officers used that moniker for her and each of them had their own code names, but about a month or so after they arrived they suddenly stopped using them. They don’t exactly promote their use any more. I’ve been told that it’s in deference to the leader of their group who didn’t make it here. The building’s rumor mill has it that their Colonel was killed in ’Nam.” He begins to eye me speculatively.

I turn to look briefly at Randolf and our escort, who are both watching our conversation with interest. I turn back to the Master Sergeant and say, “You said Whizz is here. What about Skirmish, Benny, Prue, Cypher and all the rest?”

“Yes, Ma’am. The entire original command is here, along with about fifty others who’ve been added over the months since they first arrived, as well as those from a pre-existing group here, which was folded into their command structure when they first arrived.”

“Are you able to reach Spooky, Whizz and the other original officers quickly?” I ask.

“Yes, Ma’am. Would you like me to tell them you’re here?”

“Could you please? Just say to them, ‘Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated,’ and tell them Magician wants to say hello.”

The Sergeant looks at me for a moment, blinking, before he suddenly grins and says, “YES, Ma’am,” and picks up the phone as I turn back to the photos hanging around the room, showing everyone working in our little lab. There’s even a shot of the original MPs at the door, which is open to show a glimpse of the lab interior.

Next to it is a shot of Whizz looking into a scope, surrounded by photos scattered on a table.

There’s one of Prue. She’s pointing up at that relentless deadline clock, which shows 1400 on the dot, and shouting something. In memory, I can almost hear her saying, ‘Your primaries are due!’ Dizzy’s off to the side, frantically pounding a typewriter with a stack of notes beside her. Beside it is a candid shot of Chance. He’s waving his arms of course, the way he always did when he was hot on the trail of something that none of us could see until he’d found it and pointed it out.

I have to laugh at the next one, Cypher is working a crossword puzzle on the table with one hand as he simultaneously solves a cryptogram held in his other hand through pure brainpower. We’d tried to hide that sort of thing when the brass was around, but his eccentricities seem well-tolerated here. Good. I feel better already, just seeing them, but seeing that they’re valued for who they really are, just as I’d valued them, warms my heart.

Here’s another one, of Skirmish organising those little toy solders he used to demonstrate tactical concepts which none of us understood without visual aids, and there’s Benny, my favorite after Spooky, quiet and reserved, standing next to piles of documents. Knowing him, and seeing his countenance, I can tell that he’s just said precisely the right thing at precisely the right time. You could always count on him for that.

Next comes the largest photo, framed in a position of honor. It shows General George, with all my young officers standing beside him, and all the enlisted clustered around them. There’s a placard underneath, naming each of them, and at the bottom it says, “We are met here sans one, Magician, who pulled us all out of a silk hat.”

My tears are flowing freely now.

Randolf finally remembers to give me his handkerchief to dry them.

The escort places a phone call from the Sergeant’s phone, but I’m not paying much attention by now.

The hall door opens behind me, and I turn to see my officers charging through the door to find their nemesis and mentor happily weeping, smiling at them all, unable to speak, I’m so filled with joy.

Karen reaches me just ahead of Whizz and screams, “MAGICIAN!” as she throws her arms around me in an enthusiastic embrace that almost topples us both to the ground. Luckily, Whizz is right behind her, and sweeps us both up into an impromptu rugby scrum, soon joined by the others crowding around.

For a few minutes Randolf and our escort are forgotten, as the nine of us talk excitedly over each other, much as we did so many months ago. Karen and Whizz are crying too, and Prue, bless her, is trying to gain our attention while tapping on her watch. Cypher is just standing there smiling, still holding whatever it was he was thinking about when he got the word.

Randolf sits down to wait for me to recover, and for the group to allow him to get a word in edgewise. A few moments later, General George comes in, led by that General who took my little group and ran off with it. They must have been brought in by the escort’s phone call.

I finally come to my senses and quiet the group enough that I can talk at a normal level. “Ladies and Gentlemen, I’d like to introduce another advisor. This is my fiancée, Houdini, commonly known as Colonel Randolf Scott.”

This sets off another round of hugs, from the women at least, and admiring examination of my engagement ring in a ritual that must be as old as time, although I suppose the particular objects of admiration may have varied, based on whatever object of value the local men supplied to their brides to prove their worth as great hunters and protectors. I’m glad it’s not a pile of beaver pelts, or a herd of reindeer; my ring is much easier to carry around.

The men congratulate us both, a little more restrained, and then we all get back to business and my group disperses to their various offices and labs in order to get back to work.

Karen stays behind to explain that the different groups have grown so large that they’re now divided, so consultations are more difficult and the pace is slowed, but the good work continues. There are still lives to save.

Magician has finally found her way home, and she’s pulled another rabbit out of that silk hat of hers, Houdini, who has a few tricks of his own.


 

1996_pcc.jpg The End (of this adventure)

 

 

© 2008, 2010 by T D Aldoennetti & Rénae Dúmas. This work may not be replicated or presented in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder) or her assigned representative. ALL Rights Reserved, including but not limited to ownership of Characters, final content decision, and more. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental. An Aldoennetti Original.

 

 

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Comments

Original comments to this story

Puddintane's picture

Thanks For the Ride

It's been fun. Looking forward to Lucy's further adventures.

MORE

[email protected] I want more Lucy !

I loved this story

I was unaware that the gov't messed with any sort of intersexed/trans issues. I know that there was a little problem when I was born but it must have been relatively simple because I went on to sire two children.

I have written a total female sexual organ transplant into a couple of my stories, but also realize that it will be a long time before that is posible. I write fiction here folks.

There is that part of the Sci Fi Genre, whose contributors attempt to remain within the known laws of physics. I don't suppose I would be one of those.

Great Job.

Many Blessings

Gwen

Intel

I am so looking forward to the continuing adventures of Lucy. What a wonderful story!
I actually understand most of the technical jargon. I, also, was an analyst. I was stationed at Tan Son Nhut AB at the 12th RITS (Recon Intel Tech Sq) as a Photo Analyst. It was my job to find the AAA and SAM sites in amongst the trees, as well as other targets. I have been to Ft Meade and that civilian/military bldg. But that was another life time ago.
Danielle True

Thank you

Thank you for bring both good and very bad memories to the light of day. I look forward to reading more of Lucy and her adventures. Mishell

love needs to be unconditional

I've been following this one from the start

and have to say that I've enjoyed all of it. Now I'll just have to wait until Lucy's further (mis)adventures come to light. Thank you for an engaging story and a character that felt so real I feel as if she's a friend of mine.

what an adventure

I had a wonderful time these past weeks reading Lucy's adventures. As a Vietnam Veteran, I enjoyed the look back in time. I will look forward to more tales. Thank you for a great series and may yoy continue to write more.

You Mean you haven't post the start of the next story yet!

Teddi: just teasing, this is a great story and have really enjoyed it even with all the bad time I've gave you. God Bless! Richard

Toni,
I want to thank you

Toni,
I want to thank you deeply for the excellent story you have given us all and I, for one, look forward to reading more of Lucy's adventures and your wonderful stories. Thank you very, very much. May you have a very special, Happy, and wonderful Holiday Season.
J-Lynn

Errrr

I believe her name is Teddi ... supposedly. Can't trust those spies ;-).

Kim

Errrr ????

I resemble that... Just don't look too closely or I'll vanish in a puff of smoke.

1955-12y5m.jpg Teddi (when I was more than a "few" years younger, )

God Bless You All...

Brava !

I love the ending. It is a very appropriate semi-major climax that makes the reader think of what comes next. Immediate things that come to mind include: How will that scum bag 'husband' of Lucy get his comeuppance. Cutting of his genitalia sounds appropriate :). Who is that spy - God I hope it isn't Randolf even though he played a German in this. I can see adventures ahead.

Finally, I am glad you gave that little primer for Flash, Immediate, Priority and Routine ( or 'FIPR'. ) I work in the defense industry with C4Is and I always wondered what each priority level meant.

Okay, enough of standing there and getting a swollen head over all this praise, get cracking and bring on Volume 2. After all, 10 minutes rest is all you need, right ;-).

Kim

A quick thank you

Ditto what the others said.

You have a solid heroine here, Magician suits her, she even pulled her Randolph out of a hat. She created the TacPuzSolGp, pushed and trained them to think, to look for hidden paterns or look for bias. She made them each and as a group better than they ever thought they could be, challenged them and made them a continuing sucess. She is making a sucess of her delayed womanhood and she has brough Randolph back from the brink of self destruction.

Now to get those bastard spy people to face justice, save the World and, um, gulp, toughest task of all, maybe be a mommy. And what of the real Lucy, do they meet?

Great effort.

John in Wauwatosa

As I read this complete over

As I read this complete over the last two days I skipped over the comments, noting that they would take much more time and indeed be distracting. Because of this I might have missed a question and/or answer that would make this needless.

What was the mission in the first place and what made it so special that a GG would not be found? This story has been enjoyable but that one question has bothered me for the whole of the story.

A backwards change to reset some prices might be suggested and perhaps Stuckies or Caravel might fill in for the Ice Cream.

As for flying in and out of area, flights on Star-lifters and Hercules aircraft were my main means of travel, but one contract airline comes to mind also and that was Transamerica which did a lot of military charter flights to Nam. Flights on most military air craft were cold as the lack of insulation make keeping one's feet elevated useful.

Flying into Air Force Sweetheart

True most of the AF and charter flights were cold. I Did, however, take two that were Commercial and they were H O T and landed in Thailand then Starlifted to Nam C O L D.
they didn't have (sob) a Stuckies or Caravel in my neck of the woods...
The mission itself I couldn't place into the story as it is S T I L L classified. (It not only happened where we never were, It never happened... get the drift?)
I had been back to the US of A for about 14 years or so when I ran across someone I recognised... He recognised me also but couldn't place where (yea...) We mutually decided I must have a "twin" somewhere and that he saw them as he continued to try to place me into USA locations where "I never was there".
Sorry about the mission problem... tried many times to invent one which was believeable for use in the story but nothing came a close second to the reality. The only hint I will give other than the use of French is wearing black. Now that is more than enough said. I will neither confirm nor deny any involvment in any situation in SEA, Okay?

I'm glad everyone enjoyed the story... Bits and pieces of it were true and either happened to me or to my "team" members. I, (sort of) compiled them all into one person and (trans)possed them into SEA from a nearby location which, for my team, would have been considerably more dangerous had we ever been found out... talk about front line intelligence.

Thanks everyone...

Now I need to finish two stories for my agent, Tranquility beyond chapter 21 and then I may turn my way back to Assorted Biologicals and Lucy once again... But for the Holidays I am taking a holiday.
OKAY Already...

I will contintinue posting Tranquility, but it isn't as much fun (for me) as Lucy's adventures down nostalgia road.

Teddi

1955-12y5m.jpg Teddi (when I was more than a "few" years younger, )

God Bless You All...

Not Fair

Randolf and Lucy were on their way to save the world when they left Cheyenne. Now we have to wait for her to save the world until Volume II. It's just not fair. All that being said, it is great to have her back with her group and I am so looking forward to the next installment in this wonderful story.

Thank you so much for sharing.

As always,

Dru

P.S. Tranquility is a wonderful and fun read. I recommend it to everyone. Need Chapter 22 soon.

not fair??? I'm hustling as fast as my...

anyway... I'm sorry. Tranquility is a work in progress and chap 22 is about 2/3 finished will post it there soon. and I'll post a chap. at least every other day on BC for those who don't like to hunt for the story.

Do I get to take a break for the holidays???????????

1955-12y5m.jpg Teddi (when I was more than a "few" years younger, )

God Bless You All...

Take A Break

... take as long as you need. AFSH was quite an accomplishment. Write only when you feel like it Teddi ^^. There is no requirement. All of us have an insatiable for more. Always.

hugs
 
Sephrena Lynn Miller
BigCloset TopShelf

Oh for goodness sakes.

I do believe 99.9 percent of us are just kidding hon. Rest up and you will be that much better for it !

In any case, I sincerely wish you a wonderful Christmas or Hannukah and News Years.

Kim

The public want something for nothing, duh! No brainer.

You have given so freely and well and we are becoming little piggies wanting more more MORE! Greedy aint't we?

-- Oink Onik!!--

-- snicker --

I'll admit I am greedy for more but you deserve a break. Take a well deserved break and post as and when YOU will. We will wait, we'll grumble and mutter and whine and pleed but we'll wait.

John in Wauwatosa

You darn well will

Wait, that is. If she has to take a bit more time to get it the way she wants it, and to give herself a break, you WILL wait, John

One of the most difficult things to give away is kindness.
It usually comes back to you.

Holly

John, you remind me

of "Happy Too" and "Sneezy" when you put your comment like that.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL

HAVE A HAPPY HOLIDAY AND NEW YEAR...

1955-12y5m.jpg Teddi

I'm Sure Somebody Else Must Have Noticed

... and I just missed it in the comments but using the name "Randolph Scott" for the name of the male hero is too cute given the TG theme, eh?

Yours from the Great White North,

Jenny Grier (Mrs.)

"You'd do it for Randolph Scott!"

I remember that line from Blazing Saddles.

I noticed the name of the famous *westerns* actor too but refused to give in to the urge to make a snarky comment but ... I can;t help it I'm weak!

Hope the break/vacation is going well. I need to read your magic story next.

John in Wauwatosa

huh?

I just Googled Randolph Scott, and I don't see any connection. He was suspected of being a homosexual, but there is no proof and the people who allege he was were of dubious character and had a vested interest in promoting the rumor to increase the sales of their tell-all books. I see nothing about TG in his bio other than the homosexuality allegations, and those who knew him well, including his son, deny that completely.

KJT

"Life is hard. It's harder when you're stupid."
Sir Charles Panther

Randolf Scott

The reference was completely unintentional... please note the disclaimer at the end of every chapter.
I have a first name random selector and a last name random selector and it came up with that...

Sorry... I do not intend to impune anyone...

Been VERY ill... computer literally burned up and I have been unable to go purchase a new one until today.

hope to complete Tranquility soon and write my new TG story... Then I'll get back to Randolf and Lucy's misadventures with her old nemisis.

1955-12y5m.jpg (long ago... and, oh so far away)

God Bless You All...

Welcome Back!!!

Hope you are mended(ing?)and soon to be actively with us.
-Christine

Great you are back, you were missed, both stories and commentary

But you can't keep a good girl down and all that.

Don't push too hard now that you are back, your health comes first.

John in Wauwatosa

can't keep a 'good' girl down???

I hope that also applies to one who isn't quite up to the standards necessary to enter that place of greatest desire...

I suffered my third heart attack in late December so I have been out of it. Still VERY weak. went out yesterday and purchased a new notebook (my old one went up in flames two days before my H. A. ). I now remember why I hate VISTA.

I'm trying to recover the files I saved on a daily basis but my flash card has also been damaged as it was plugged into my notebook at the time of the disaster.

I still have my weekly backup but a lot of file are not accessable (as yet) since my software programs will not run under VISTA.

Grrrrr.......

1955-12y5m.jpg

God Bless You All...

Thanks for a wonderful story

Teddi,
I hope you are recovering well from your H.A. I wish you only the best of health. I am looking forward to your (yes you Teddi) further adventures. Keep up the excellent writing. Hugs, Wendy Marie

Ditto too!

I just finished reading 'Air Force Sweetheart' as a single file and enjoyed it a great deal, good enough to get my five-star rating (*****). The emotions and scenes of action were quite good reading. The only problem I had was the PTSD Lucy suffered. This seamed a little out of place as Lucy had already killed two of the three men that came after her and her family in Cheyenne. One might throw it up to increasing hormones, but still she's a blackbelt.

Again, well done.

I am a grain of sand on a near beach; a nova in the sky, distant and long.
In my footprints wash the sea; from my hands flow our universe.
Fact and fiction sing a legendary song.
Trickster/Creator are its divine verse.

--Old Man CoyotePuma

-

Cheers,

Puddin'

A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style

Notes on Chapter 34

Puddintane's picture

Notes on Chapter 34

Fort Meade is located in Maryland, closer to Baltimore than it is to Washington, DC, and around two thirds of the way between the two cities.

Some of the famous buildings located at Fort Meade include the headquarters building of the NSA, the National Security Agency, an agency of the Department of Defense which handles signals intelligence outside of the USA. Although there are other organisations which use the site, and the NSA has other locations used for its various activities, the NSA is so identified with Fort Meade that one often hears "Fort Meade" when the speaker means the NSA, just as one might reasonably refer to the University of California at Berkeley as simply, ‘Berkeley,’ or even ‘Cal’ or ‘California.’ For Berkeley grads, this placement of Cal Berkeley as the Omphalos of California and Centre of the Known Universe seems only just.

A few blocks away, there is a building which houses The United States National Cryptologic Museum, a museum of cryptologic history, affiliated with the NSA. At the time of the story, the museum was closed to the public and served as a reference library and resource for NSA and other Federal agencies. It's now open to the public, and has been since 1993. In it, one can see many exhibits illuminating the story of signals encryption and the ways in which encryption can be broken, including a working World War II German Enigma machine and one of the "bombes" (an early electro-mechanical computer developed by the British at Bletchley Park using a technique developed by the famous mathematician, Alan Turing, who laid the foundation of the modern electronic stored-program computer) used to break the code. It also houses displays that discuss the history of American cryptology and the people, machines, techniques, and locations concerned.

Next to the Cryptologic Museum is the National Vigilance Park, where three reconnaissance aircraft are on display. The U.S. Army Seminole RU-8D Reconnaissance Plane represents the Army Airborne Signals Intelligence contribution in the Vietnam War, and a Hercules C-130 transport, modified to look like a reconnaissance-configuration C-130A, memorializes a U.S. Air Force aircraft shot down over Soviet Armenia during the Cold War. Finally, the park contains a U.S. Navy Skywarrior EA-3B, commemorating a mission in the Mediterranean on January 25, 1987 in which all seven crew members died.

Both of these exhibits would hold great significance for the intelligence community.

During World War Two, Fort Meade housed prisoners of war, the most notable remnant of which is a cemetery which holds the remains of a number of German prisoners who died during their incarceration.

-

Cheers,

Puddin'

A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style

No cartoons, no silly words, no romance

Andrea Lena's picture

...I don't know if I've ever felt so close to someone I've never met, nor spent any time with in conversation, nor exchanged but a few notes. I am overwhelmed with a grief I can't understand, and I am weeping over the loss of this sweet precious soul, and I am sure I'm not the only one who feels this way. Thanks to BCTS for bringing back this lovely story.

  

To be alive is to be vulnerable. Madeleine L'Engle
Love, Andrea Lena

So True, So True

She had a way about her that reached out and touched you. She is and will be missed.

Sadly,

Dru

As always,

Dru

Air Force Sweetheart-34

Now I want MORE!!!

    Stanman
May Your Light Forever Shine
    Stanman
May Your Light Forever Shine

A great read, again.

I agree.

Hopefully the "To be continued" is not boilerplate.
- - - - -
Bear

TGNear-Avatar_0.png

Bear

It's not.

Puddintane's picture

The readiness is all.

Cheers,

Puddin'

P.S. There's still an Epilogue to come, which should be up tomorrow….

-

Cheers,

Puddin'

A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style

Is there anything beyond the

Is there anything beyond the epilogue?

I can hope.
- - - - -
Bear

TGNear-Avatar_0.png

Bear

Not the End

terrynaut's picture

I see there is an epilogue, and there might just be more of Lucy's story. I believe it's called Assorted Biologicals. We shall see.

I liked the reunion. It was sweet.

I feel like there are too many loose ends to this story. Some may be tied up in the epilogue but I think there's a lot more life left in this story. Here's hoping for more.

Wouldn't it be great if Teddi could come back and be her own ghost writer? *sigh*

Thanks!

- Terry

Happy and sad

I have thoroughly enjoyed this story identify with the lead character very much in more ways than one. I am just sad that I didn't discover the rich pickings of this site until after the authors had passed on. I truly hope there is some sort of sequel to this story as there are still many loose ends. My thanks to the ghost writers for bringing her stories back.
Joanna

Reread yet again.

Started reading this for the umpteenth time when I saw it on the front page. I just finished it. Tried to put it down and go to sleep several times but couldn't. :-) :-) :-)


"Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.”
George Carlin

From one vet to another

I am very sorry that Teddie isn't with us anymore and to be able to share some of my experiences with her as one vet to another. This was an amazing story with so much military jargo that was explained so well. When her dog was killed l cried. Her leadership is something that something that all managers should aspire to. "Lead by example" is still a valid axiom. I left the Navy in late '66 and returned to my home in Dallas. Seems like our paths may have crossed.

Am so glad that Bigcloset brought this back out for us newer readers to enjoy. If any of the original reviewers are still out there send me a shout out.

God bless to all that have and are serving.

Truly humbled,

Santacruzman

Recommended re-read

Happy Solstice and Holidays to all! I just finished re-reading Air Force Sweet Heart. I highly recommend it for those looking for a longer read over the holidays. it was last commented on in 2018 so has dropped out of memory, and it is so good!