(The year is 1941 as our newlyweds arrive at Fort Riley where Jack will begin his basic training in the army)
*
The dirty old busses carried us away from the train station, across vast wheat fields that seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see. The view of the countryside was not anything unusual for Jack and me. However, the passengers from the big cities like New York and Philadelphia looked upon it with wonder.
Jack nudged me with his elbow and whispered quietly, "Look at who the rubes are now."
I smiled and fought back a giggle as I remembered how we must have looked when we were first arriving in New York City. All around us the other passengers were making derisive comments.
"Geez! You gotta be kiddin me"
"Doesn't nobody live here?"
"
Maron!
Whatta we supposta do out here?"
I noticed that the lightheartedness that had been on display during the train ride was disappearing, the closer we got to our final destination. I glanced at Jack and noticed that he too was staring intently out of the front window of the bus -- as if he could somehow develop super seeing powers like those characters in the comic books that my brothers were always reading.
I reached over and held his hand and waited for him to turn and look at me.
"This will be our first home together," I said, "Isn't this exciting?"
Jack smiled and seemed to relax just a bit, "I'm looking forward to it too, Honey. I just wish we would hurry up and get there already."
At long last, our bus entered through a large gated fence and continued on for perhaps another half a mile. We came to a halt in line with the other seven busses that had made the journey with us and we all filed out to get our first glimpse of what would be our new home.
"Is it too late to go back to Queens?" someone joked and there were snorts of laughter all around.
The laughter was cut short presently, as a jeep slid to a stop on the dusty road right before us. Four soldiers wearing khaki uniforms climbed out of the jeep and one of them called out, "Alright! All you men -- fall in line right here."
Jack gave me one last glance, then released my hand and moved into position with the other men. As soon as he took his hand away, I suddenly felt all alone. This was becoming real much faster than I had imagined.
Another of the soldiers from the jeep approached us and said, "Will all of you ladies please gather your things and board this bus over here?"
We did as we were told and the other two soldiers that had come to greet us helped to load our belongings onto the bus. We all found seats on the bus. The soldier that had addressed us climbed onboard as well.
"My name is Lt. Daniels," he said, "I'm here to take you to your quarters and give you a quick tour of the facilities.
"Don't worry about the rest of your luggage. The busses will meet us when we reach our destination."
I turned to look out the window and -- sure enough, the other busses were pulling out. "How were the men supposed to get to our new homes?" I wondered.
There was no time to figure it out, as our bus roared to life and we were off once again. All around the bus necks were craned to catch one more glimpse of our husbands before we left them behind.
The first part of our trip was completely silent except for the loud noise of the bus engine. I looked around and counted thirteen other women besides myself. The young lady seated next to me was a tiny little thing. Her hands was clenched in fists in her lap so tightly that her knuckles were turning white. She had jet black hair and very dark eyes that looked as if they wanted to spill tears.
I was feeling very much the same way inside, but I waited until I caught her eye and told her, "Everything's going to be alright. You just wait and see."
She looked at me hopefully and said, "Do you think so? I've never been away from home before."
I wondered how many of the other girls were in the same boat. I managed a smile and a nod, "I'm sure the army is going to take good care of us."
Lt. Daniels Pointed out, "To the left you will see a brand new hospital which is almost finished and just up ahead is the Commissary where you will be able to get your groceries."
I smiled to myself at the sudden memory of my father always referring to Johnson's Market back home as The Commissary. When I was little I had always wondered where that bazaar word had come from. Now, I knew it must have come from the days when he was in the service, himself.
We continued our tour and the Lieutenant pointed out various other places of interest. All around the base you could see construction going on as buildings were hastily being thrown up to accommodate the swarms of new arrivals that were pouring in everyday. Lt. Daniels would point to a building that was barely begun and inform us, "This is the Post Office," as if it were a completely functioning operation already.
When they let us off of the bus to have a better look around, one of the other wives said to me, "You had better not stand in one place too long. They may build something right over the top of you."
I was to learn later that Fort Riley had been around since the days of the Indian Wars. However, looking around at all of the construction that was taking place, you were struck with the notion that, up until a week ago, none of this had ever existed -- that it was being built just for us.
"I think you're right," I replied, "Maybe Rome
would
have been built in a day if the U.S. Army had been in charge."
The tour was enlightening, but all around me I kept hearing whispers from the others women about when we were going to see our new homes.
"I hope it's a big house"
"Let's get on with it, already"