What a difference a few days can make!

 
Okay. I went on the Alaska cruise. Had a wonderful time. Didn’t see any whales (except for what might have been the back of one just breaking the water), any seals or otters (at least, not up close; there was one head bobbing above the water in the distance), bears or moose (outside an injured-animal refuge). Deer, yes, and plenty of eagles. Susan really wanted to see puffins, but again those just weren’t where we traveled.

For anyone considering an Alaska cruise, I’ll say this: determine first whether you’re more interested in the cruise, or in seeing Alaska. The cruise was a wonderful, luxurious experience … but, if I had it to do again, I’d cruise the Mexican Riviera or the Caribbean, and do interior tours of Alaska. For all that, I don’t regret it a bit.

So, the whole “on the one hand, on the other hand” deal:

• On the one hand, I went on a cruise.


• On the other hand, it was with my ex-wife.


• On the one hand, the two of us fell totally in love.


• On the other hand, it was with Alaska.

We seriously loved the country and every moment we spent there (even when it was raining, which was basically every day, though usually just a light, misty rain). Susan works in a VA hospital, and she’s going to be investigating the feasibility of someday transferring to a VA facility in Alaska (probably Anchorage). I will myself, eventually, look into what Army Reserve units are based in Alaska, and consider the possibility of effecting a transfer of my own.

I say “eventually” because, the day after we got back from the cruise, my unit training NCO called to say there was a DLI slot available for me. In five weeks.

So, assuming I can pass the Army Physical Fitness Test (still working on pumping up my run times), I’ll be in Monterrey for about a year and a half. By the time I finish, my unit will be shaping for another deployment, and I will almost certainly choose to accompany them on that. Everything I wanted is coming to me on just about the schedule I wanted it; it’s going so well, I’ve begun to watch for something to go wrong.

( Lots of personal stuff that may not be very interesting )

I got a call from my daughter yesterday; she was at the airport, about to begin her Far East tour. We spoke for about twenty minutes. I’m glad I heard from her before she left. She said that, once this tour was over, she intended to look at taking online college courses. She’s happy in what she’s doing, and wants to stay with it, but is not blocking off the rest of her life. Since that’s essentially what I’m doing with the Army, I can hardly object. I hope she has the time of her life. Even if it’s not a good time at all, she’ll always know she went to China. She’ll know that she had the nerve to jump out into something unknown.

My life is good. Things may change — usually do — but I’m happy right now.