The sounds of silence

It's Saturday and the base is quiet today. No planes taking off, landing or zooming over our homes and streets. It's almost eerie. Living on an active military base means becoming accustomed to the ebb and flow of the business of training pilots. Of course, not everyone on this base is a pilot--far from it. My son-in-law is a fireman, others work for security or at the clinic or in dozens of other capacities that keep this base up and running efficiently. We are, in fact, a small city, complete with bowling alley, theater, library, child development center, clinic, commissary (grocery store), BX (base exchange), post office, gas station, convenience store, church, fire station, flight line, control tower, playgrounds, gym, vet clinic and many more buildings, offices and departments that I can't think of at the moment.

The real difference is that we are a truly "gated community". Valid military or approved identification is required to enter the base at all times. Not just anyone can get in. That gives me a real sense of comfort--after all, important work is going on behind these gates and it behooves our government to make sure that the people assigned to that work can carry on in safety.

I will accept the silence of today and tomorrow with gratitude. But when the roar and rush of planes starts up bright and early Monday morning, I'll smile and be thankful for all the hard work everyone on this base is doing to keep our country free.

Until the next time...