Still standing by

Turns out w/the broke plane and crew rest issues (meaning they had already left to go drink beer), we are still at Ramstein (it's almost noon on the 30th). There was a plan to bus us over to one of the Kaserns to sleep in some old Army barracks, but there wasn't a driver available until an hour later and trans wouldn't give us a bus even though we had someone that had a license to drive it; so the decision was made to just stay in the terminal and take up all available floor space (which they continuously announce not to do).

The new Ramstein Inn/Mega-BX (which is only partially open) is right across from the terminal. So a couple of us go across the street to see if there are any rooms available. There is one. And it happens to be a female room. Did I mention I am the only female in the entire group of 53? I tried to feel bad about my good fortune, but considering that I had been suffering nausea inducing, OMG-someone-please-remove-my-uterus cramps, I'd say we're even karma wise. So I got a couple hours sleep in a bed and a good shower.

Others were not as fortunate. A group of four or five guys decided to sleep outside since it was cooler than staying in the terminal. It started raining. So they moved across the street and camped out under an overhand on the side of the Ramstein Inn/Mega-BX. Around 0630, one of the managers comes over, wakes them up and tells them they have to move because it doesn't look good that they are sleeping on the sidewalk. Turns out the base commander happened to be going to the Mega-BX, saw them, and wanted to know why Airmen were sleeping on the side walk. So they explained to entire fiasco to the Commander; one of the civilians even said, "Sir, I'm 50 years old. I really don't want to be sleeping on the sidewalk." The commander was thankfully outraged that this situation occurred, especially to Airmen that are deploying to the desert. Who knows, maybe something will actually change as a result.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Uluru stories - Kuniya & Liru

Image
Long, long ago, there was a young Kuniya (python) boy was surprised and ambushed by a Liru (poisonous snake). Liru threw spears at the boy striking him and killing him. The spears were thrown so hard that holes were left in the rock of Uluru, which can still be seen. The boys aunt felt the evil that happened to her nephew and went to search for the Liru, leaving traces of her tracks around Uluru. When the python woman (the Kuniya of the story) found her nephew she fell to her knees in mourning. Liru, seeing this, began to mock Kuniya. In her grief and anger, Kuniya took her digging stick and struck Liru three times, killing him. This is the only spot on Uluru where water from the rock runs red. Even though Liru was dead, Kuniya curled up on the spot and keeps watch for his return. The first photo shows the path of Kuniya and the second shows her curled up watching for Liru's return. If you look at the rock, the top of it looks like the head of a snake resting on it's ...
Read more

Kerplakistan

I finally made it after spending almost four days in Germany sitting around the terminal. Eventually, I think it came down to timing - it was the last day of the month and the aircrew wanted to get their two months of tax free. (cynical? Who me?) I can't get into to many details of life here or what I do, but I can give the basics. I live in a B-hut (I have not idea why it's called that). It is basically a plywood tent that has been divided into "rooms". My 'room' is about 6'x7'. I have a bed, a wall-locker, a lamp...really what more do you need? I work about a 20 minute walk from where I live, so I'm getting my exercise every day. Plus, I've been really good about working out everyday after I get off work. What I REALLY want to do is go right to bed, but I know I won't get up in the morning to work out so I force myself. The food is deployed chow hall food. It's not really that different from the food I ate in Iraq. We aren...
Read more

Yasmin Farms Tour

Image
I have to say, I'm very glad this was an organized trip on a bus and I didn't drive, because it would really not have been worth it. The ride is about an hour - the farm is only a few miles from the Saudi Arabia border - and there is very little to see once you leave Kuwait City. I was amazed by three things - the camel herds (cool), the amount of tent cities (workers, I guess), and the amount of trash in the desert (not cool). From the description on the website, I was expecting an in-depth farm tour - how they grow produce in the middle of the desert - that kind of thing. Once we arrived, we loaded up in a golf cart, the driver said, "This is potato." Pointed at a field. "This is lettuce." Pointed at another field. We drove through an open sided barn with milk cows in it, and were dropped off at a kind of petting zoo place. The kids loved this part, I will say that. They got to pet and feed the goats; Harper rode a donkey, they got to see camels u...
Read more