Promotion Party for Angie "Charlie" Howell

Prior to relocating to Langley AFB, I'd been stationed at Goodfellow AFB in the San Angleo TX area.  I'd worked in the Military Equal Opportunity (EO) office with TSgt Jeff Sealey and SSgt Charlie Howell.  Charlie was being promoted to TSgt and had invited me to come out for the ceremony.  Since I was heading out to Phoenix anyway, I figured I'd make a stopover in TX.  (Granted, the stopover was 3 hours away by car in San Antonio, but Charlie was worth the detour.)

When I mentioned to Russ on our 2nd date, the day before I left town, why I was stopping in TX for my trip, he asked me if Charlie had been an air traffic controller (ATC) before.  As it so happens, she had cross-trained from the ATC field to EO and had come from Travis AFB to Goodfellow AFB.  (Russ had come to Langley from Travis AFB.)  So it just goes to show what a small Air Force this is that we'd both worked with Charlie in previous assignments.

 



Here's Charlie Howell with her mom, Sharon

 

As you can see, describing Charlie as being on the petite side is an accurate description.

 

Here I am with now TSgt Howell and TSgt Sealey, with whom I'd worked in the EO office, too.

 

 

After the ceremony we stopped by the Sealey's home.  Jeff's wife Evy had adopted this little stray kitten and named her Angie.  You can tell how much I liked getting to feed little Angie!

 

Later that evening we all met at Outback Steakhouse for a celebratory dinner.  I'm sure glad I came to celebrate this big day and see my former Goodfellow co-workers.

 

Before I left town I stopped by the Little League field where Jeff and Evy Sealey and Charlie were all volunteering.  They still had little Angie kitty with them as she needed to be fed frequently.

 

Every assignment I've had in the Air Force I've made lasting friendships.  Goodfellow AFB was no exception.

 



 

First Date 24 Apr 2004

Russ is quite the date planner. He asked me out to the Azalea Festival at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens. NATO units also had displays for tourism to their various countries of origin. I think Russ was mainly interested in the Strong Man Competition.  (It certainly wasn't for the bonzai trees, as Russ "suavely" asked a man at a bonzai exhibit where "the events" were.)
For those of you who have never witnessed such a "manly" event, it consisted of such "interesting" matches as "pulling the anchor chain" or "tossing an anvil over a high jump bar." You know, these are the types of events we all try at home on a regular basis.
Anyway, the weather was great and we spent hours walking and talking and enjoying the day. It was such a great first date, mainly because we didn't have to go through the awkward "getting to know you" stage since we'd already worked together for 6 months. So we were just able to have easy flowing conversations.
Russ brought a digital camera with him on the first date.  He took this picture by holding out his left arm.  I think he had a plan as he told me to stand really close so we'd both be in the photo.  This photo became the first of thousands that Russ would take in this manner.