Changes

It didn't take long to get pregnant after arriving in Germany. And I wasn't the only one. There were 82 of us due the same week. And that wasn't unusual. There were a lot of American bases, both Army and Air Force in Germany. They all had to report to the Landstuhl Air Force Base Hospital.

When I told G to arrange the first appointment, he discovered I would have to miss two periods before I could see a Doctor. We waited and then he called again. They gave me an appointment so far ahead, I had missed three when I finaly went to Landstuhl. There wasn't any doubt when that last period had been. It started the same day I left the states, and there was no period after that. They gave me a due date the second week in December. G had been a Christmas time baby and he was pleased.

Then G was offered a chance to join a country western band. A retired officer had stayed in Germany and started several bands to entertain the troops in Germany and France. As a soldier was rotated home, another was given his position in a band. G told them he could play anything and wanted the first position. It was drums. He'd never played drums before, but then he'd never played guitar before either. There was never any doubt in either of our minds that he could do it. G could pat his head, and rub his belly and tap a different beat with each foot and never miss a beat. He received the drums from the member who was leaving, practiced in our apartment that afternoon and went on his first gig right away. And, he got away with it. They never even knew it was his first time on drums.

The band was called "The Dudes" and they played at E.M. (Enlisted Mens) and N.C.O. (Non-commissioned Officers) clubs almost every night of the month. He still had his army duties, but as an intertainer, he got out of maneuvers and extra duties. He was having a great time, but, he wasn't around much during my pregnancy.

I still spent my days with friends in the village. But now there were new friends with more in common. The wives of the other members of The Dudes. We didn't go to the jobs at the E.M. clubs because they could get rowdy. But, we often went to the N.C.O. gigs. And, when they did have a day off, some of them would practice new songs at one of our apartments. What a mixed group we were. Two of the women were German. The front man was married to a Philippene woman. And I was the only American. The fifth band member was a batchelor. Pop Phillips owned and managed seven bands, (if I remember right) and he had big time connections back stateside. He brought some of the big country & western stars to perform on the bases. And, his bands, including The Dudes, took turns with opening acts. I knew nothing about that kind of music, or the stars G and I met. I'm afraid I wasn't suitably impressed. I'd never heard of Loretta Lynn, Bobby Bare, Buck Owens, Hank Thomson, Joe Joseph and others I can't even think of. Except that when I learned that Joe Joseph played a double neck guitar and was the man who played the theme song for the T.V. show Bonanza, I was impressed. That one I recognized. This introduction to their music did lead me to a life long love of Country Music. I'd be much more impressed if I could meet them now. Stupid Kid!!!

It was exciting, it was fun, and it was too easy. (Maybe that's why the aneurysm didn't show up for that pregnancy, or maybe it was because I was so young.) All I had to do was be there. Everything had to be handled through the army, and that made it G's job. He got the money, he paid the bills, he made appointments, and he handled all paperwork. I had no phone, or any need for one. I had no T.V., there wasn't any station for Americans. (Germans had to pay a luxury tax on T.V.'s and cars and a lot of things we took for granted. There weren't many in Siegelbach) I had a radio, but there wasn't much to listen to. When the pregnancy was confirmed and we had a due date, G bought a set of Encyclopedias from a G.I. who was earning extra money. I read the whole set while I was waiting for my baby. When the weather was bad, I did a lot of reading. All the wives saved every magazine and paperback and passed them around and around. We visited each other a lot and our numbers were always changing. Short timers and new comers meant there were always some farewell and welcoming.

With G in the band, now I didn't even have many meals to fix. He ate at noon on the base and in the evening the band ate where ever they were playing. I spent my pregnancy living on Tuna Fish and Peanut Butter. And whatever produce and dairy I could get in the village. I grew up with milk and still prefered it to soda pop. I had meals when I joined the band wives at the clubs. I also had a few drinks on those nights. The "girls" drank Sloe Gin Fizzes. Too many calories and they were a disappointment for another reason. I never felt a thing. I never got drunk, or had a hangover. Everyone else would get silly and have a ball and I never felt a thing. I even asked one of the medics at the hospital about it. He said he had heard of such a thing, but one day I'd reach a tolerance and then I'd get as drunk as anyone. (I'm still waiting for that day.) Different people have tried to get me drunk. They all gave up.

I was certainly living a very different life than anything I could have ever imagined or had ever known. It was a strange time.