I was 27 and was mobilized for Desert Shield/Storm, to Ft Campbell KY. We were down there waiting for the rest of the unit to catch up with us. In the meantime there was this hang out called the Red Carpet. Bunch of us went, I was sitting at the bar, talking to someone to my right. A lady about my age strikes up a conversation with me. we start talking, then I was asked to dance, I find out that she is divorced and has a daughter that will be going into 3rd grade in the fall. I had some real strong feelings for her. while on the Arabian Peninsula we are writing a letter a week. it was about an 8 month deployment. My feelings have grown stronger for her. so we get back and start to out process, gone on some dates and some real serious talk, about staying down there . My biggest hang up was finding work. At the time of me volunteering I was unemployed, and had a hard time finding work, where I am connected. We spent the whole night up talking about the difficulties I was having trying to find work in Michigan. Trying to find work in Tennessee where I am not connected, is a whole different ballgame. I decided that I was going home. I thank her for showing me what being in love was like, because I would not feel that again until December 2023. If I do not come back , I probably do not write my book about Mackinac Island. If I stay who knows.
