Monthly Thought-Provoking Question: August 2010

Oops! I totally forgot to post this back on the first of the month. Forgive me?

August's TPQ:
(in honor of my semester starting in ONE week! Eek!)

What level of education have you accomplished? How has that impacted your life? Would you change it?

Email Post

This is my first time trying the blog post via email thing, so we'll see how it goes.

In fact, I am writing this from work because I am heading out for the evening to attend a wedding. I will be back sometime tomorrow but I have to work at both jobs and take care of other important things, like an oil change for my car. Therefore, it is likely that I will not be able to post anything, or read any of your blogs (the saddest part) until I finally slow down on Saturday night.

I purchased my books for school yesterday. It cose me $800. Yes, almost twice my rent to buy books for one semester. Depressing.

On the up-side. I was able to buy them free and clear, without touching my savings and without compromising any other bills. Between this awesome job this summer and my budget (that I've somewhat diligently stuck to), I managed to do this without much stress. I am pretty proud of myself for that.

One final note before I leave for the weekend. Didn't ya'll just love Al's post? I am so happy that he was willing to be a part of this whole experience, as I really enjoyed telling our story. I hope you appreciated it too! With the good response it's already received, perhaps I can convince him to contribute again in the future. Then again, maybe I shouldn't push my luck!

Have a happy Friday, all!

Our Story BONUS: His Perspective

That's right folks, in what he would likely call a moment of weakness, he agreed to do a small post in conjunction with my series for your reading pleasure.

I simply asked him to write anything he wanted relating to our relationship: a memory, a funny story or anything else he wanted to share.

Without further adieu, I present Al:

I first met Mel a little over 5 years ago when we were working in the same building, I had been working in another plant down the road and had recently transfered for a promotion to the plant that she worked at. I was working in the shipping dept. and she would come out of the office to check on special orders that needed to be handled appropriately to please the customer.

I remember a particular time that she came out one evening to check if one of these "special orders" was going to ship out. The department before me had screwed something up on the order and I had to send it back to be fixed, so I told her that I would do everything in my power to get it out on the next truck, even if I had to drive it to UPS myself. This was a friday night and she was going to drive back to her parents that evening for the weekend, so she gave me her phone number so that I could call her and tell her if it made it out in time. She made sure that I understood that she was only giving me her number for business reasons and I was pretty sure that she was involved with someone else at the time anyway, but I am not going to lie and say that my attraction to her at this point was strictly plutonic. She was with someone else and I was working a million hours a week at work and helping my father on the farm, plus I didn't think that my hick ass would ever have a chance with a beautiful city girl like that.

A few months past and we talked more and more, I think she may have even been yelled at for being out on the production floor so much. One day a guy that worked for me invited me to a party at his appartment and after carefull consideration (who am I kidding, I hadn't been to a party in over a year) I said that I would go. Turned out that the guy that Mel was dating at the time, was roomates with the guy that invited me to the party (ok, I kinda knew that but it was an added bonus to going to the party.)

Fast forward a couple more months and she had broken up with the guy from work, and I am a little rusty on who asked whom but I went over to her appartment to hang out, drink some beers, and watch TV, (Lame I know, but I had been out of the dating game for quite a while....actually come to think of it I never actually got into the adult dating game at all after a long relationship from high school ended.) This was right after I had decided to re-persue the Army after the idea fell though when I was 18. I felt like I was in a dead end rut at work(mostly cause I had advanced so quickly that the position that I was in some others had been in for 20 or more years) and my personal life wasn't really tied down so I up and joined the Army. It was the weekend before I left that I was on my way home from my brothers wedding in wisconsin, I had given her a call and asked her if she would like to meet up later for dinner (this is the time that I ordered a salad at a steak house and she will never let me forget that) it was a great dinner and we said our good byes and that was it, "it," whatever it was, was over before it even got started.

I was in Korea at Camp Casey, a little drunk I might add, and late night drunken phone calls back to the states were of little harm because our late nights over there were middle of the day for anyone in the continental United States, and they rarely woke anyone up at odd hours of the day. I decided to give her a call and see what she was up to, she had been at Navy OCS doing something that I couldn't make out cause the connection on the phone was crappy, not surprising. Which pretty much brings us up to date with her stories.

I have struggled for days (cause she asked me a few days ago to contribute to her blog) about what to write about, I picked the timeline before we were together because it amazes me even to this day that such a broken road can lead up to a wonderful life with such a wonderful woman. I often think about the way things would be if I had chosen certain different paths in life and now I can say that I wouldnt have done anything different and instead of focusing on things I could have done differently in the past, I can focus on things that I WANT to do with her by my side in the future!

Our Story #7: An R&R Anniversary

{the final and 7th part in a 7-part series on my journey of love, with Al by my side}

(Photos aren't working, but I really wanted to post this now. I will re-post when Blogger lets me get the photos up.)

Less then three months into his deployment, Al was informed he'd be taking his R&R early. Really early. I'm sure most of you know that the married guys and dads, especially those expecting, get first dibs on R&R dates and tend to choose ones as close to half-way as possible.

Which leaves the singles with the R&R dates at the beginning and end of deployment.

It actually worked out pretty well for us because we got to be together for our (official) one-year anniversary.

One of our R&R weekends, we headed out to the farm to spend time with his parents and siblings. His sister had gotten married the summer earlier and her husband and her were trying to conceive. They had some trouble and stopped trying for awhile. That weekend we all went out to see the DJ Chopper at a local bar. It was a great time!

Chopper has a 57 Chevy as his DJ booth, so people can get up on it and dance.

We ended up drinking, dancing and shutting the bar down.

A few months later we got a "thank you" call and the night was re-dubbed "the night of conception." They are expecting a boy in November.

The one in the middle is the proud mama!

Since I had school to focus on, Al got to spend ample time with his dad helping with things at the farm and enjoying his friends from back home. It was nice to let him do his own thing and me do mine and still come home to each other to share our days.

We spent some time with my sister and friends where I went to college. And we had plenty of dinners with friends and family. All-in-all, it was a great R&R.

Our last weekend before he left happened to be our Anniversary. We still wanted to do something special, so we booked a hotel and dinner downtown and got dolled up.

I remember how good dinner was, but I couldn't tell you a single thing I ordered. What I do recall is the dessert - that delicious and amazing red velvet cake!

The next day was his last in town, so we met his family for a little dinner celebration and spent the night in a hotel near the airport so myself and his parents could see him off in the morning.

I got a pass to enter security and wait at the gate with him this time. Thankfully it was virtually no hassle. So we grabbed bagels and coffee and curled up by his gate while we waited.

We laughed and hugged a bit.

Mostly, we sat in silence, with me curled up in his arm-crease, chewing on my bagel.

He sat there and ran his fingers over my arm again and again. Every once in a while he stopped to kiss my forehead.

And then it was time.

I didn't cry. At least not in front of him.

I walked away and the tears started coming. By the time I got to my car, I was bawling.

(I don't think he knows this, but I had to turn around and go back to our chairs. I'd forgotten my jacket. I was worried he'd see that I had started crying so I hung back until I knew he wasn't in line anymore before I grabbed it. Oh, I KNOW it's completely ridiculous but...)

But I didn't cry in front of him.

I'm not sure why, but that was really important to me.

I wanted him to remember a face of resilience and strength; love, trust and support.

I didn't want him to see weakness or have any reason to worry about me.

I pulled out of the parking lot and over along the fence line at the airport. I sat there watching planes take off, listening to various songs that make me cry or smile. By the time 30 minutes passed, I was calm.

Now I reflect on that day and realize just how great it really was. I woke up next to my best friend and the most amazing man I know. He quietly showered, trying hard to let me sleep some more (like I could!) I watched him pack his sack and get into uniform. He hugged his parents and said his good-byes. Even though we both knew of the upcoming separation and how hard it would be, we were just happy to have that morning together.

It was just us. Saying good-bye.

On Valentines Day.

(Sure we try not to celebrate it, and we try to avoid giving it much meaning, but I'll be damned if it doesn't sneak in anyway. Perhaps this falling on V-day is the "perfect" thing for our anti-v-day souls!)

Valentines Day is now, for us, the day we said good-bye. Again.

Normal

Yesterday, I had three significant moments where the discussion of "normal" came up.

First, a friend on FB asked no on in particular why her family "isn't normal?"

Second, I read THIS excellent post from Wife on the Roller Coaster about what a "normal" deployment is.

Finally, I was chatting with the wife of Al's BF. She just brought her husband back to the airport last week to return to Iraq after R&R (he's currently deployed with a Minnesota NG unit.) She was commenting about how hard it was to get back to "normal" life only to have it be stripped away once again.

This got me thinking. Is the life of a Mil-SO ever really normal.

Sure, we could argue that nothing is normal; normal is in the eye of the beholder; normal is boring...Blah blah blah.

But I think most people would agree that "normal" does exist in some sense.

Going to college, living with your husband, having kids, working - these are all typically considered "normal" phases of ones life. Everyone does them a little differently and some people skip a few steps, but many still fall in line with what's considered "normal."

But a does a "normal" life as a mil-SO exist?

Is the unpredictability and ABnormality of military life our sense of normal?

And if that's the case, isn't the possibility of any circumstance and any outcome absolutely and positively within the realm of normal?

Coming from someone who likes planning, certainty and control, getting used to no sense of "normal" was a hard transition. So, instead of going to the traditional "normal" mile-markers to plan out my life - I decided to adopt my own rules of "normal."

1. Being able to talk to Al, in whatever form, whenever possible, is normal as long as we say "I love you" at the end.

2. Taking things one day at a time, as opposed to worrying TOO much about the future, is normal, HOWEVER

3. Making a plan for marriage and graduations and babies with some fluidity, to account for any of life's changes, is also normal.

And finally...

4. Having a man I am proud of, who I love and support so deeply AND who loves and supports me back - is completely, wholly and without a doubt NORMAL.

This is a standard of normal I think I can keep up with.

What are your thoughts?

Doing it Better

Al and I were talking last night about life after deployment and more specifically, life after his contract. Which led to a fight *ahem* a discussion.

See, we both have the same future in mind. That's not the problem.

The problem is that he forgets to express the positive stuff.

He's so frustrated with his job. You may or may not remember what happened - that his COC asked him to join another unit and stay behind? Well, his old unit is home with their wives and families in the states right now. Hugging their kids, drinking beer and having a good time. And he is not.

So he's continually struggling to have a good attitude and stay positive and focused.

When I told him yesterday that I was doing my best to support him, but he needed me to meet me in the middle somewhere with his attitude, he replied:

"This is above meeting you in the middle. You don't realize how much I already change my attitude so I can call you and treat you well. I know it's not much, but it's the best I can do right now."

I am continuing to learn (because it takes TWO) how to support him in that way.

I try to work on being a better listener and hearing the stuff he isn't saying. And NOT taking it personally when it feels like the attitude is directed at me.

It's pretty typical "men are from Mars, women are from Venus" stuff, but it still requires continued work and growth.

He keeps reminding me how well we're doing. That we've pretty much kicked-ass at this deployment (not that we want to do it again anytime soon, Army-man!) His unit/s went through A LOT of divorce during this tour (when I say a lot, I mean that our of the 18 or so guys who were married when they left, 3 of them are coming home that way.)

His unit has been through the ringer work-wise and it's seriously affected their personal lives.

And Al and I have managed to stick it out together.

We are still on the same page, with the same goals and the same ideas for our future. We continue to work towards that goal, sometimes with big, giant steps and others with little baby ones. And I'm happy to say that we BOTH work; no one carries the burden.

It's yet to be determined what the aftermath will bring (which we are really, really close to figuring out) but I have no doubt it will be a great experience. I also have no doubt that since the bond we've created can withstand a deployment like this one, it can withstand anything else life wants to throw at us.

Hurry home, baby, we've got to kick life ass!

Our Story #6: A First Good-Bye

{part 6 in a 7-part series about my journey of love, with Al by my side.}

This part of the story actually continues with the previous one. Once we got back to Minnesota after our long road-trip we had many adventures planned. After all, this was Al's last time in Minnesota before deployment and he/we wanted to spend as much time as possible with family and friends. And of course, with each other.

There isn't really any crazy story about this trip.

We didn't go on any adventures.

No one peed outside, got caught in the rain or mud, or mistaken for a hooker.

Instead, we just spent time with family and friends as much as possible. It was divine.

My family had a going-away party for him. The cake was my mom's idea - so sweet!

His parents threw him a going-away party in his hometown.

This is a picture of Al and myself with his best friend from high school. He's in the Guard and currently deployed also. Him and his wife got married just before he left.

Al likes to ruin perfectly good pictures when he's drunk. Although, I happen to love this picture anyway because it's a pretty good description of us in a nutshell: I'm trying to take a nice, serious picture and he's goofing off.

After many days of festivities, it was time for him to go. I checked in with my professors and took the day off from classes. We just decided to sleep-in, stay in bed an enjoy each other until early evening when I brought him to the airport.

It was a nice way to end our visit and see him off.

~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~

Al and I had been together about 1 year when I drove him to the airport that Monday.

We said our good-byes in Minneapolis although he wouldn't be leaving El Paso for about a week or so. We discussed me coming down and saying good-bye with everyone else. We didn't think it made sense to go through the "separation" feelings twice. In fact, he said he wanted to have our memories of this trip and our time together be enough and me coming to El Paso would feel artificial. I agreed. (Plus it was time and money we didn't feel the need to part with.)

So Minneapolis was our good-bye spot.

But about two weeks later, he called me to say he was getting on the plane and that he loved me. I was working on homework for class and trying to stay focused.

Two hours later he called again. They'd stopped for a layover...in Minneapolis. He'd let me know if he'd be able to see me and whether I should come down to the airport.

I didn't wait for him to let me know.

Since I lived about 15 minutes from the airport, I took the chance.

I got in my car and drove down there.

You should understand something about me.

I'm not a romantic. I'm a realist.

Life isn't like the movies; you can't just drive to the airport and run slow-motion into each other's embrace; the world doesn't stop spinning while you stare into each other's eyes.

But for this moment in time, I wanted with every fiber of my being to have just that experience. I wanted time to stand-still long enough to see him one last time.

As I pulled off the high-way into the airport, my cell phone rang. They weren't going to let the guys off the plane. They were instructed to stay seated while the airline re-fueled because they would be back in the air shortly. He told me not to bother coming down there.

My heart sank.

I told him I was sitting in the parking lot at the airport. I hadn't waited because I wanted to see him so badly. I was embarrassed.

{silence}

"I'm sorry. I love you."

{silence}

"I love you too. Be safe. Bye."

He was 50 ft. away and I couldn't see him, touch him, kiss him. Luck would have him make a stop in MY city and I couldn't even get him off the plane long enough to be near him. I turned around in the passenger pick-up and left the airport.

As soon as I could, I pulled over and cried. Really cried.

I felt like an idiot for going against my nature and hopelessly following my heart. It only led to disappointment. It only led to heartache.

Once I could see through my tears enough to do so, I drove home.

I was a mess for a couple of days. Of course (as you all know) it took a while before I would hear from Al and know he'd made it there safely. So I had plenty of time to reminisce over the whole thing. Once I processed what happened, I was able to realize that I did exactly what I should have at the time and I can't control everything (especially the Army.)

Al and I talked about it later and I asked him if he thought I was silly for speeding down there like a romantic idiot when they stopped in Minneapolis.

"Hell no, I would have done it too." He responded.

At the airport, November 2009

It's really too bad the Army isn't as romantic as Al is.

{coming up in the 7th and final part - R&R}

Getting to Know You...er...Me!

I thought I'd join in, once again, to fill up my Sunday post. I am/have prepared the rest of the Our Story series (thankfully...it's about time, huh?) They are set up to post on Monday and Tuesday.

Maybe, just maybe, I can follow through on a little surprise I've been brewing up.

I can't make any promises, so I'm not giving it away, but if it works, it's going to be totally awesome!

In the meantime, enjoy a few more things you've ALWAYS (OK, maybe never) wondered about me (courtesy of MannLand5, of course.):

1. Do you think mustaches are sexy?

Sometimes. Most of the time they look unkempt or creepy (think 80's porn-stache - NOT sexy). Other times, they look like this:

2. What's the last concert you've been to?

Umm...I'm not sure I even remember. I think it was Kenny Chesney 3 years ago. Sad.

I'm going to Tim McGraw in about a month, though!

3. What was your favorite 80's sitcom?

Another hard question. I think most of the sitcoms I recall are actually 90's.

But, one that I KNOW is 80's and I LOVE is Growing Pains - because we all "get by with a little help from our friends."

4. Were you named after anyone?

Nope. My mom just liked the names.

5. When you buy new clothes do you wash before wearing?

Not normally. I'm too excited to wear them to wait to wash them. I will if I bought it somewhere where it seems necessary to do so.

6. If you didn't blog, what would you do in your spare time?

I'd probably read a lot more.

7. What is your favorite department store?

Does Target count? 'Cause that's my mecca.

8. If you were to get laser hair removal, where would you get it?

Brows. Definitely. I get the same wax job on them every time so why not cut to the chase. I would also do a part of my bikini line so I wouldn't have to worry about continuous "upkeep."

A Special Shout-Out

I've been meaning to do this for a little while, but wanted to give her a little time to get her head wrapped around this glorious life we all share before I sent you over to give her some love.

My life-long bestie, Linus has recently joined the mil-SO world!

Many moons ago, she dated a mutual friend of ours. The timing was off, the maturity was, well, missing (on both sides) and things fell apart. At 19, it's hard to wait for someone leaving for the military. It's especially hard when they've got a lot of growing up to do.

So she (bravely) gave him the choice between her and military.

He chose the military.

I think they'd both say it was the right decision at the time. Neither of them were cut-out for the long-distance thing. And they both needed to grow up, her at college and him at war.

I think they are both much better people because they walked away (as hard as it was on both of them) and experienced their own lives.

I can say for Linus that she's able to handle the life now because she didn't try to handle it then.

Fast forward (Holy s**t it's been) 7 years and they recently reconnected. The wounds from many years ago have healed and they're both better, happier people. And all the good stuff clicked right back into place.

They are taking it slow. Trying to get used to the new concept and the new lifestyle.

But I really want her to have some support.

I can only really express my gratitude a love for my blog community of friends (many of whom I'd consider real-life friends if we ever had the chance to meet) by passing that community on to her. It's the best gift/advice/support I can give her during this time.

So pretty, pretty please, go check out her blog. You may or may not like her, and she's fine with that, but at least give her a look. We all need more friends in this life!

In other, somewhat related news...

Kaylee from Small Wonders and I were able to meet up again. Coincidentally, she was able to meet Linus last night too. It worked out so well. Of course, as the dunces we are, we forget photos AGAIN!

No worries though, I can tell you that she's still looking glowingly and blissfully pregnant.

We shared some laughs over celeb's crazy baby names (like Shannon Sossamon naming her child Audio Science - or Frank Zappa naming his kid Dweezle. I so wish I was kidding.) And we joked about her ordering an alcoholic beverage just to see the look on the waiter's face when she did. We did a little shopping and then called it a night. It was lovely.

Next time, we PROMISE to take pictures.

We're both on the hook now, Kaylee since I've publicly promised it!

Peace out and Happy Friday!

(I'll finish up Our Story right away next week, in the meantime, use this weekend to catch up on the ones you've missed.)

Our Story #5: A Long Road Trip

{part 5 in a 7-part series about my journey of love, with Al by my side}

After a great spring and summer together we were greeted with news of his upcoming deployment. We had expected this, but we all know there is no news like an actual date to damper ones mood. He decided instead of paying to put all of his stuff in storage on post and pay to ensure his car while he was gone, he would drive it home to Minnesota and store it all here.

Our plan was for me to fly down to El Paso in late October and join him for the road trip so we could share the driving task and get back sooner. The whole trip, from beginning to end, was a complete disaster. (Worse then all the other "mishaps" we've encountered. In fact, this was a real "test" of our relationship and happily, we passed.)

I was supposed to fly down the afternoon before leaving and we planned on meeting friends for dinner, going to bed early and taking off at zero-dark-thirty to get on the road.

As it turned out, my flight didn't even get into El Paso until 2 AM.

You might not know, but there are NO direct flights from Minneapolis to El Paso. They don't exist. So I usually end up flying from Minneapolis to Dallas or Houston and then on to El Paso.

This time, I had two layovers - one in Chicago and then in Houston.

I got to Chicago without a hitch. It was then I was informed that our flight was delayed because there was no one to fly it. Excuse me?! Don't you plan these things in advance. It was only suppose to be about an hour and wouldn't affect our connecting flights. So I nestled in with a book and waited.

And waited...

And waited...

An hour passed and then another announcement was made - the flight would still be delayed. If we missed connectors they'd deal with that when we got to the next stop.

They started offering vouchers for flights and asking people to switch to later flights and flights the following day. I couldn't do that. I wouldn't do that.

So I waited.

(In case you're wondering if this was simply a pre-cursor training for the upcoming deployment - I also noticed the irony. Surprisingly, I handled the deployment waiting game MUCH better then the airport one.)

They moved us to a new gate. And then another. 3 hours later there was no new information and we would all DEFINITELY miss our connections. They told us it would be another TWO hours before a crew was prepared and on site. I grabbed a drink at the bar (because I just HAD to at this point) and met a nice guy there.

The guy happened to work on Ft. Bliss. He had been in the Army for 20 years, retired and was now a civilian contractor who dealt with the mechanic units on Bliss. He actually worked a lot with Al's unit. So, we bonded over beers and I had a waiting buddy.

When they told us it was going to be another hour, I decided to talk to someone. I know there is nothing they can do, and often times, they're just as frustrated as we are...but I needed to do something. I walked up to the podium and asked her if she knew anything more. I told her that I had to get to Texas tonight and that I really, really needed her help in doing so.

She, of course, told me she was doing everything she could.

She offered to re-fund my luggage fee.

(Don't even get me started on luggage fees...)

I was carry-on only.

She offered me a pack of pretzels.

Umm, aren't those free anyway? Do you have any other food vouchers?

No, she indicated.

She assured me it wouldn't be too much longer and we'd be on our way.

So much for quality customer service.

It ended up being SIX hours.

My new buddy and I boarded the plane and chatted from Chi-town to Houston and then to El Paso. I slept a little, but was so stressed and nervous about the whole delay experience. I worried that Al was frustrated. I knew our whole schedule was already WAY off.

Mostly, though, I just wanted to see him. Now.

And at 2AM, I de-boarded and found Al. I was spent. He was equally exhausted by the whole thing. He had tried to sleep with the idea that we would just get on the road right away. Of course, he wasn't able to catch very many ZzZz's. But, we headed back to post and packed up the cooler and our clothes and took off.

We knew we were tired, but we wanted to get as far as we could before we stopped.

(We hadn't planned to stop at all. In fact, we planned on switching off driving and just driving straight through to Minnesota. Our low energy and bummed attitude simply didn't make that possible. It was actually safer this way, because it's really, really draining to START a road trip as the sun is coming up.)

We made it about 5 hours before we pulled over for a rest at THIS classy motel.

Who cares?! We just really, really needed to sleep.

After napping for a few hours, we grabbed a quick bite and got going again. This time, with a better attitude and even some smiles.

The sunglasses are actually saving ya'll from seeing the bags under my eyes. Al, of course, always looks good.

Cotton gin - They're everywhere in Texas.

Another thing that's everywhere - Texas pride. Even on the underpasses.

This is where happy Texans live.

We realized after driving for a few hours that Al's car was acting up. It was steering funny and it only got worse with acceleration. Somewhere in northern Texas we switched so Al could make a sandwich and catch some shut-eye. I got less then a mile down the road and freaked out about the car.

I consider myself a good driver. I'm especially a good city driver.

But I'm not good with cars. I have no natural inclination for them. So when something is wrong, I've got nothing. I couldn't do it. Which left Al doing all the driving for the next 20+ hours. Poor guy. For those of you who don't know, Texas is a big-ass state and takes FOREVER to get through.

We celebrated Halloween in a drive-thru in Tulsa, Oklahoma (birthplace of Garth Brooks, for those interested parties.)
Happy Halloween!

At some point, we stopped at a truck stop to find a shower - but it was disgusting and I refused to use it. We did a European bird bath (use a towel and soap and wipe the important parts) instead. Then it was night, Al was just busted tired and needed a stop.

Somewhere along I-35, we pulled into yet another truck stop. (Which I am now very familiar with and no longer scared that they're all creepy, murdered stations like in the movie Joy Ride. Haven't seen it? Google it. Paul Walker. 'Nuff said.)

I think we curled up with the seats back for approximately 45 minutes of sleep. It just wasn't possible to get more then that. It was November and we were getting farther north. And sleeping in a car just sucks.

We got back on 35 north determined to make it home that day. In Missouri, about 7 miles from the Iowa border, we were pulled over. Al was speeding.

The cop asked Al to step out of his vehicle and come with him to the squad car. I didn't really know why at the time.

Turns out, the cop wanted to talk to him without me hearing.

He asked Al where we were headed since he has Texas plates and a car full of crap. Al explained he was in the Army and bringing his car home to his parents in Minnesota. We are just trying to get home, he explained. I'm not sure if the cop didn't put it together right away or what, but he kept asking Al questions about his belongings and our trip.

Finally, the cop asked Al if I was a hooker. Yep, a hooker. I don't know where that came from, what "vibe" I gave off, etc... I don't really care.

Al insisted I wasn't in fact a hooker, but instead his girlfriend.

He told the cop he didn't pay for my company and I actually had more respect for myself then being a hooker would require. The cop EVENTUALLY believed him.

(WHAT THE HELL makes you think I would be a hooker?!?)
And the cop let us go with a warning. If we ever get pulled over in Missouri again, we'll be getting a ticket.

We made it safely home and believe it or not, went straight out to meet his family at the bar to watch the Vikings game. Sleep is for when you're dead, right!?

{Coming up in part 6 - we say our first good-bye}