new rules

In the Gulf War (1990)

I was in the US Army. As a Graduate Nurse. 

I was assigned to a General Hospital. 

NOT a MASH unit. 

Hell to the nay nay! 

So I was actually stationed in Frankfurt, Germany. 

I wore a white nurses dress every day of the war,

And worked in a brick and mortar building. 

The Germans 

-especially the older ones- 

Are very disciplined. And strong. 

Frankfurt is a world-class city. 

Like New York, London, or  Paris.

Lots of trains and not lots of cars. 

Lots of high-rise apartments. 

People walked or rode bikes everywhere they 

Or took the trains and subways. 

We didn’t get a lot of time off for exploring. 

I had 3 days off in 6 months. 

But I earned 2 Army Achievement Medals. 

For triaging war casualties. Win-win!  

Here’s an interesting story. 

Also it’s a true story. 

The first night there, some nurses went

To get supplies. We went into the city proper. 

Well, I got separated from the group. 

It took me like 6 hours to get home!

I drew the subway system on my arm

(It was all I had) and finally found the barracks. 

Turns out it was a good thing! 

Whenever anyone got lost, 

They called for me to go find them. 

I had such a vast working knowledge 

Of the entire metro system. 

(Photographic memory, ya know!)

I also had the ability to convert Deutsche Marks

(Before the Euro) in my head. 

So I was doubly valuable. 

I should have brought some Brandy. 

Or at least a good German Beer! 

The Germans have little plots of land

Out in the country. Community gardens. 

Little beer gardens. They plant veggies 

And just go hang out. 

Half hour by train. 

What a cool idea!

They also had long walks on Sunday. 

They loved Volksmarching. And Spazieren. 

And Sonntagsspaziergangs. 

This is also why Germans can’t play scrabble. 

The words are just too long. Lol! 


Here’s my walking last year

Compared to this year. 

I couldn’t respect myself if I didn’t try

after I worked so hard - not dying. 

Quit wine. Quit Advil. Started really walking. 

Pace doesn’t matter. Time matters. 

Move the heart. Make it work. 

Make it strong.

The test to see if you’re on track. 

This should come down quickly! 

Yay me! 43 days and going strong.  

High for my age and gender is 25 and above. 

Above average is 20 to 25. 

Below average is 15 to 20. 

Poor is 15 and below. 

I was above average. 

Now I’m below average.