The Chronicles of Marna

Last year while boarding a flight home mere days after the US Airways jet landed in the Hudson River, all my senses were on high alert. After cinching my seatbelt snugly, I memorized where the emergency exits were–five rows behind and five rows ahead of me–in case I needed to grope my way blindly in the dark. Considering it was 10 A.M., this may have been overly cautious, but you never know.

When I first heard of The Way We Get By, I hoped it would be shown at a theater near me. Thank goodness for the Cable Car Cinema, a cozy, single-screen streetfront cafe in Providence. I went with my friend, Pat, whom I can always count on to attend eclectic events with me.

It’s not the first time we’ve sat through a movie with me scribbling notes furiously, except this time I reached for my tissues a lot. The Way We Get By is an emotional documentary about the Maine Troop greeters, those Senior Citizens who gather at the Bangor Airport to welcome home planeloads of returning US servicemembers from Iraq and Afghanistan. Since Bangor is the easternmost major airport, it’s the first stop on American soil after deployments.

I’ve always said there’s a special place in heaven for the Maine troop greeters. They’re volunteers, mostly retirees, who venture out in the middle of the night through treacherous ice and snow to show their gratitude. The greeters shake hands with each soldier, back slap them, thank them, and send them to the hospitality room for food and free cell phone calls. What brought me to tears (and Pat too) was watching the soldiers emerge from the plane at 2 a.m. and seeing their faces light up at the cordon of applause and thanks.

The Way We Get By is also an up-close profile of three greeters. Joan Gaudet (mother of the film’s writer and director Aron Gaudet), who is a widow and grandmother struggling with the infirmities of old age. Yet she activates the telephone tree and marshals her fellow volunteers to the airport on a sub-zero winter night. Her granddaughter, a Blackhawk pilot with the Maine Guard, deploys and this is very tough for Joan.

Bill Knight, 87, a WWII Navy veteran and widower, is in the throes of crushing loneliness and growing depression. We see him auction off his belongings and sell his home to pay off  mounting debt. At a doctor’s appointment, the camera lingers on an x-ray showing a dense mass on his ribs. Yet when at his post with the other greeters, he shows life and vitality. He’s found purpose and meaning.

We also observe Jerry Mundy, a Korean War Marine, as he experiences heart trouble, the death of a beloved dog, and the lasting sadness of losing his ten year old son many years earlier. But his natural joviality comes through as he takes a smoke break with the  troops “Welcome home, GI,” he says to one. “Thank you, sir,” replies the young soldier. “Don’t call me ’sir,’” says Mundy, “I was a beetle cruncher like you.”

Ever since I read about the troop greeters in 2006, I’ve been so grateful for these folksy Mainers who send off and welcome home service members on behalf of all Americans. The Way We Get By is a loving tribute to them.  Its personal glimpses of heartache, kindness, and service will leave you in tears.

The Way We Get By is on PBS for Veterans Day. Check local listings   http://www.pbs.org/pov/tvschedule/
Watch a clip http://thewaywegetbymovie.com/

  Colonel Tim Kopra is a Mission Specialist on the Endeavor space shuttle which lifts off today. I’m really pleased about this because Tim and I went to flight school at Fort Rucker at the same time (’85-86). Back then, a lot of my fellow pilots aspired to become astronauts. It seemed ridiculously ambitious at the time, but Tim actually achieved it. As they say in the Army, “Commendable!” (COL Kopra is on the far right in this NASA photo.) Godspeed, Endeavor Crew.

At this link, click on the hot spot in the sky to see an interview with COL Kopra

http://www.goarmy.com/home/vw/index.jsp

Follow him on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/usarmyastronauts

I picked up a copy of Newport This Week at the commissary yesterday and the lead story made me smile.

Remember this famous Life magazine photo of the sailor kissing the nurse in Times Square in 1945? That picture so perfectly captures the joy at the end of WWII.

Neither Life magazine nor the photographer (Alfred Eisenstadt) recorded the names of the two people, but an 85 year old man in Rhode Island named George Mendonsa is convinced he’s the sailor. Three investigations support his claim. One was a forensic analysis by a professor at Yale. The second was a 3D facial analysis by the Mitsubishi Electrical Research Laboratory at Cambridge, Mass., and the third study was completed by a renowned forensic anthropologist at the University of Michigan. All concluded that “Mendonsa’s physical traits are consistent with that of the kissing sailor and that other contenders can be eliminated,” according to the article.
Quartermaster 1st Class George Mendonsa

In the interview, Mendonsa says he was a quartermaster on the bridge of the destroyer The Sullivans when it was sent to San Francisco to refit for the invasion of Japan. While on leave in Rhode Island, he and his girlfriend, Rita, went to see The Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall. Halfway through the show, the lights came on and it was announced that Japan had surrendered. Mendonsa and his date went outside and joined the celebration in Times Square.

Now here’s the funny part: the nurse isn’t a nurse (she was a dental hygienist) and the nurse wasn’t Mendonsa’s girlfriend–she was just someone passing by. Still, in the photograph you can see the smiling face of Mendonsa’s girlfriend just beyond his right shoulder, so I guess she was okay with it under the circumstances.

Instead of invading Japan, The Sullivans got decommissioned and Mendonsa returned to Rhode Island where he continued his work as a commercial fisherman and married Rita in 1946.

The nurse/dental hygienist has been identified as Greta Friedman. She will join George Mendonsa on the Raytheon Corporation float in the Bristol, RI Fourth of July Parade, along with a life-sized sculpture of the famous kiss.

Thanks to Newport This Week for a fascinating article, and thanks to George Mendonsa and Greta Friedman for their wartime service and their iconic kiss.

Read the complete story

There’s a special place in heaven for all those folks at the Bangor Airport who meet and greet our military when they arrive in-country. This article from the Boston Globe tells all about it. I especially like this piece because Chaplain Ed Tolliver (in the photograph) is a childhood friend from Indianapolis, Indiana.  Ed, Welcome Home and heartfelt thanks to you and your fellow Soldiers.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/05/24/a_touch_of_home/?commen ts=all&plckCurrentPage=2

I was going to plant geraniums in my window boxes. Then I realized the coconut liners were ragged and needed to be replaced. I ordered new ones. Now while I’m waiting for the liners, I’m looking at the faded shutters and thinking “They could sure use a new coat of paint.” But then the front of the house would REALLY look shabby because it needs to be repainted too. Where does it end?

We call it “mission creep.”

You start out painting the half-bath and end up painting the front hallway, sitting room, and all the way up the stairs before you’re done. Oh, and the carpet needs to be replaced too. Might as well buy new drapes while we’re at it…

A time to remember and honor all the fallen who’ve served their country.

Jess at The Army Wife website has posted a review of Household Baggage Handlers: 56 Stories from the Hearts and Lives of Military Wives.

In her review, Jess writes “This book will bring you laughter, joy, and a sense of pride in being a military wife. You no longer have to feel alone in the military world. Trust me, there are others out there just like you and they want to share their story with you. Relax, get a glass of wine, and experience a lifetime of memories with wives just like you!”

In honor of Military Appreciation Month, The Army Wife is giving away a copy of Household Baggage Handlers. Go to thearmywife.com to see how you can win a free copy!

Today I inflicted my annual “Mother’s Day Torture” on my two teens. That is, I insist they accompany me to either (1) Botanical Gardens (2) A mansion (3) An estate or (4) A plantation for a tour. And (this is the biggie) they are not allowed to have a bad attitude about it. It’s Mother’s Day.

This year I force-fed them Blithewold, a Bristol, RI mansion with picture-perfect gardens and a view of the Narragansett Bay. As we drove into the grounds, Elena said “Haven’t we been here before?”

“No, that was Cheekwood in Nashville.”

“I was having flashbacks.”

Yet despite being hostile witnesses, they always have a good time during mandatory family fun. We estimate how long it takes to mow the lawn, try to name the perennials, make jokes about feeling like characters in a Jane Austen novel, and gaze at the 90 foot California Sequoia. Today we even played a game of checkers at a table set up in the cutting garden and then watched a bridal party be photographed. How sweet is that?

And then because I was in such a good mood, I bought everybody ice cream on the way home. I had my favorite—a Nor’easter with Reese’s Pieces. What is a Nor’easter, you ask? You might know it as a Dairy Queen Blizzard, a McDonald’s McFlurry, or a Friendly’s Frenzy. Anything with peanut butter, chocolate, and ice cream is the perfect ending to Mother’s Day.

If you live near Dulles Airport or Richmond, this is a good deal. Hurry–tickets must be purchased by May 7 (Thursday). More info at the JetBlue website.

“JetBlue proudly supports our men and women in uniform. In honor of National Military Appreciation Month, we’re offering active duty military personnel $1* fares for domestic, nonstop flights, for a limited time, departing from the two JetBlue cities nearest to our nation’s capital: Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) in Dulles, VA, and Richmond International Airport (RIC) in Richmond, VA. To further honor our military, JetBlue will donate $15,000 to the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP), a non-profit organization whose mission is to honor and empower wounded warriors.”