Bitter Sweet

Somehow we've jumped to Sunday!  The last time I looked at my watch it was Friday morning and I was waiting around my office (which I no longer own) for the change of command ceremony to start.  I won't dwell on it too much but it was great.  All the folks who helped put it together did a great job.  Aaron Dimmock did a phenomenal job with the National Anthem, as I knew he would.  ADM Buck was very gracious in his speech, and I was especially appreciative of the kind words he said about Amie.  Split and the squadron presented me with an amazing Wing Flash, the size of a deployment plaque, with all their names on it!  It is great.  I actually got through my speech without choking up, until the very end.  I had 5 lines about family, I got through the first 2!  I purposely didn't look at Amie and boys to try to help me get through the speech, but it didn't work.  I had to pause and then read really fast.  The ceremony rolled into a great night at Blackwater Bistro!  Thanks to Glen, Pam and Paul for hosting us.

I would be remiss if I didn't give a special shout out to my JOs.  They did a great job trying to screw things up!  I thought I was prepared.  I carried my own speech, and I didn't drink the water which was conveniently put beside my chair.  Unfortunately the other three primary participates took a healthy swig of "water" and then immediately warned my not to drink it.  No kidding, you never drink the water!  You avoid it like you would avoid water from the tap in a third world country.

They did succeed in getting me with the chair.  How they knew which chair I would be sitting in, I don't know, but they pulled it off.  I didn't even think of the chair as I sat down in it and sank just about to the floor!  They had remove the support board underneath so my elbows were up by my shoulders as a sat there looking like a little kid in a far too big chair.  Fortunately my chair was right behind the podium so I wasn't that visible, or at least that's what I'm telling myself.

No one claimed responsibility for removing the script from the book, so I had to ad-lib my orders.  Special thanks to Ms. Sue who told me my orders number the day before.  It went something like this:
Sue - "Hey Peanut, your orders number is 1752."
Me - "Sue, why do I need to know that?'
Sue - "Just in case.  Just remember them."
Me - "Really!?, that's what the script is for."

Jokes on me.