Crazy Summer of '92

July 4, 1992 remembered

In 1987, we went to Germany with AAFES (the Army Air Force Exchange Service, my husband's employer). We spent two years in the Aschaffenburg area (south of Frankfurt) and three years in Berlin.  The July 4 weekend  of 2011 is the 19th anniversary of our return to the U.S. from Germany.

Leaving Berlin

We lived in military housing when we first arrived in Berlin. Our apartment there was decent, but about 18 months before we left, we were moved to a spacious apartment in a lovely, brand-new building. We had playgrounds and a small shopping district within walking distance, and bus service practically to our door. We liked where we lived. And we had friends in Berlin -- church friends, German friends, and military friends. When AAFES gave us orders to Fort Campbell, Kentucky, it was hard to leave Berlin.

Keely was five years old and Isaac had just turned two. Dennis had to work full-time until the last few days before we left, so much of the work of preparing for our PCS (Permanent Change of Station) fell to me. I didn't get much sleep during the last few days. On our departure date, July 3, I lay down on a bare mattress at 2 a.m. for a nap. We got up at 4 a.m. and left for the airport at 5 a.m.

I was so exhausted that I don't remember many details of the long flight back to the US. I guess the children were good. I don't remember. Maybe Dennis was entertaining them. I suppose we came through New York -- we usually did. I do remember asking Dennis if we should make a sign with our name on it, so the AAFES manager from Fort Campbell who was meeting us in Nashville would recognize us. My husband said not to worry; he would be able to pick us out from the crowd.

Arrival in Tennessee

When we finally landed in Nashville, we gathered our children and carry-ons and headed for the baggage claim. Before long, a dark-haired, thin young man with glasses approached us and asked, "Are you the Netz family?" It was George Ricker, an AAFES manager from Fort Campbell and one of my husband's new co-workers.

As we walked from the terminal to the car, I observed that the air was very humid and unpleasantly warm. It was 11 p.m, but heat was radiating from the pavement. It certainly didn't feel like Berlin, where we had been wearing little jackets in the evenings. I had packed sweaters for Keely and Isaac,  but clearly we wouldn't be needing them. George told us that Tennessee was having a record-setting heat-wave.

We stuffed our luggage into the trunk of an AAFES car, and the kids and I got in the back seat. Dennis rode in front, and George drove. We got on the interstate and drove through the city and out into the dark night of the countryside. George and Dennis talked about Fort Campbell and the job and AAFES people for a long time, and the children dozed against me. It seemed that surely we would reach our destination soon.

Then we passed a large, green road sign that announced we were entering Kentucky. George exclaimed, "Oh, NO!" And then he groaned, "I can't believe I did that!"

"Did what?" we asked.



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"I forgot to turn off I-65 onto I-24, and now we're way up north," he said sheepishly. "We have to turn around and go back. There's nothing else to do. I'm sorry! I was too busy talking!"   So we turned around and drove back to the intersection George had missed on the north side of Nashville, and then we headed west on I-24 from Nashville to Clarksville (TN).

Our detour more than doubled the amount of time it should have taken to get to Clarksville, but at last, we checked into our motel suite and fell into our beds. It had been a very long day of travel.

Unbelievable heat

About noon the next day -- July 4, 1992 -- we walked out of our dark, air-conditioned rooms into the staggering heat and brilliance of a parking lot on a 102-degree day. The blinding sunshine, intense heat, and suffocating humidity made me feel weak.

My husband started work immediately, so he could save his "PCS" time-off for moving into our house later. With no consideration of his living situation, his boss assigned him to the midnight shift. Every day about 10:00 a.m.,  I left the motel with Keely and Isaac so Dennis could try to sleep. Mid-afternoon, we slipped back into the other room of the suite, and I tried to get the kids to take a nap or watch cartoons quietly.

At last, a home

We spent about a month in the Clarksville motel and another month in a Hopkinsville motel while we located, purchased, and waited for possession of our new home. Keely started school while we were still living in the Hopkinsville motel. I talked to the principal and explained that we weren't yet living in the district, but we soon would be.

One final bit of lunacy in our lives was the woman who was living in the house we bought. She didn't want to move out, and she was angry that we had bought the house. She found out what motel we were in, and she started calling frequently on the telephone to scream at us. The motel couldn't or wouldn't screen the calls. We wondered if she would even move out of the house, but she finally did.

It was a happy day when we moved to our new home on the Tuesday after Labor Day. A big truck brought our furniture a few days later. Gradually, we developed some routines again and began to feel comfortable in Kentucky. But every year at Fourth of July, I remember the long (very long!), hot (very hot!), and crazy (very crazy!) summer of 1992.

Airplane image from Clipart Inc.

Flea Market in Clarksville, TN

Rainy afternoon at the junk store

This Old Place is located on College Street in Clarksville, TN. The large brick building with full-front dock looks like it was once a feed and seed store.

An amusing summary of the flea market biz is posted near the door:  "We buy junk & sell antiques." It's amazing how junk is improved by a price sticker!

After Isaac and I looked at the antiques, collectibles, and junk on the first floor, we climbed the stairs to the loft and wandered through even more booths. The photo at the end of this post was taken from the loft, looking down onto the first floor.

While we were upstairs, the skies opened, and rain pounded down onto the building's metal roof. It reminded me of being in a barn. It was a pleasant place to wait out the storm .

I didn't find anything to buy, though. Knick-knacks and dust-catchers don't really tempt me. I don't need any more of them -- I have plenty already. My main weakness is books, but I didn't happen to find any that I liked, despite searching high and low.

Isaac is on spring break from college this week, so I have been running around with him. This was just one of our stops on Thursday afternoon. We visited several flea markets, thrifts, and antique shops in Clarksville and then went to the mall. I did find a good old book at another antique shop -- a history of Cairo, Illinois.

Hay Shortage in Christian County, KY

Cornstalks baled for winter feed

Rain was a welcome sight!

One day last week, rain came down in torrents in Hopkinsville. Low spots in the streets were flash-flooded, and the electricity all over town went out for a while because of a TVA substation problem. Hopkinsville and Crofton got about two inches of rain from this little cloudburst.

When I went home, it was disappointing to learn we'd only received a sprinkle. To the west, east, and south of Hopkinsville, much less rain fell, and in many cases, there was no rain at all.

Though it's too late for most of the crops, rain would still help the grass in the pastures and relieve the fire danger of crisp-dried fields.

Coming home from town the other day, I passed by a parched and barren pasture with a herd of cows in it. A little creek (dried up, no doubt) runs through the pasture. I saw a cow balancing on the very edge of the gully and stretching as far as she could, so she could eat leaves off a little tree that grows in the stream bed. It was a pitiful sight -- she wouldn't be doing that if she had anything else to eat.

Farmers are baling their cornstalks and soybeans for winter feed. We really only got one half-decent cutting of hay this year. Usually, we would get three cuttings. The first grass was set back by the late freeze, and then the weather turned so dry. Prices for a big round bale of hay are around $70, compared to $20 a year ago. [UPDATE: An ad in the Kentucky New Era on September 5, 2007, offered "horse-quality" hay in big square bales, 3x3x8 feet, for $85 each.]

On the radio a few days ago, they announced that the Montgomery County, TN, extension service had located 5000 bales of bermudagrass hay in Oklahoma. (Montgomery County is just over the state line from us.) Planter's Bank will front the money for shipment, and farmers can purchase the hay when it arrives.

The lack of pasture grass and the shortage of hay has forced many farmers to sell calves early and to reduce or sell out their cattle herds. It's a very bad year for agriculture in this area. Even though we're not totally agriculture-dependent in Christian County, we'll feel the effects of the drought on our local economy.

A trailer of baled cornstalks

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Hot August Night

Sunset, Clarksville, TN

Sunset, August 9, 2007

When we came out of the mall in Clarksville, TN, last night, this brilliant sunset was painted across the western sky. Everyone was stopping to stare at it, and little children were pointing and chattering.

This image has had no processing except for sizing it down. This is exactly like it came out of the camera.

A few minutes later, as we drove away, most of the lights in the mall and most of the street lights in the area went out. Within 30 seconds or so, the mall lights came back on (from a generator?) but the street lights didn't.

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Gas Lantern Restaurant in Clarksville, TN

Restaurant in an old mansion

Scenes from the Gas Lantern . . .

Two friends took me out to eat today in Clarksville, TN, as a celebration of my birthday (last week). Clarksville is about 25 miles southeast of here, just across the state line.

We went to the Gas Lantern, a restaurant in a beautiful old house near the historic center of town. The restaurant is on the first floor, and the owners live upstairs.

Like many old homes, the front door opens to a large central hall with a big staircase at the other end. Four spacious rooms in the front of the house have been converted to dining rooms, and a room at the rear of the house serves as a miniature bar.

The kitchen is in the rear of the house, but it's certainly not apparent from the front rooms where the food comes from. I suppose the house was built with an invisible line between the formal front and the service areas in back.

The menu is Italian, and the food was good. We had a nice appetizer of Cheese Fonduta made with artichokes and spinach, and I had a grilled turkey sandwich that came with potato chips and a choice of pasta salad or pumpkin-apple soup. My only complaint was that the potato chips were hard.

When we were ready to leave, it was mid-afternoon and we were the only customers, so we walked through the other rooms and I snapped these shots.

This restaurant was formerly "The Rose Garden" and its hours were very limited, but now it has new owners and longer hours on more days of the week. It's an interesting place, and I hope it succeeds.

Historic photos of the home

After we left the Gas Lantern, we went to the Clarksville Museum in the old Customs House, and there (ugh) I received my first senior discount. The lady at the desk discretely asked if any of us ladies was over 55. I guess I could have lied and said no. Being of a truthful nature though, I admitted my age and accepted the $1 discount on my ticket.

Clarksville Museum

Montgomery County (TN) Courthouse

Deck the Halls

In July?

At Hobby Lobby, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. I came upon an entire long aisle hung with baubles and doo-dads for the Christmas tree. I might have thought the aisle was dedicated to Christmas year-round, but then I spotted a freestanding display of giant shiny Christmas bulbs right out in the main walkway. I even saw a miniature Christmas tree. No doubt about it -- the winter holidays are upon us.



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holidays