My Brother Visits; Moving into Base Housing
In which Teófilo reminisces about the time his little brother came to visit, and when the budding family moved into base housing.
The year 1988 was a good year. It was the year we all started wearing camouflage-patterned work uniforms. We got to wear them ahead of everyone else, which marked us an elite for a little bit.
We also watched the yearly Fourth of July fireworks on base. We took a spot near the Military Clothing Store and laid down on the grass. When the fireworks started, baby Chris found them frightening. He held to me very tight and buried his head into my chest. It felt so good, his total trust in me. I swore I would protect him for as long as he couldn’t protect himself.
My little brother came to visit us the summer of 1988, and I took him to the airshow that year. We saw numerous Air Force and Navy planes displayed on the tarmac. The military services also made numerous demonstration flights. The show’s highlights were two flybys, one by an SR-71 and another by the Thunderbirds USAF Demonstration Team.
The SR-71’s was very memorable. I’d borrowed a video camera and took a video of its flight, shown below.
I treasured the time I spent with my little brother that year. We didn’t know it, but we would not see each other again until October, 2001.
We were very fortunate that by the Fall of 1988 we were able to move into base housing. The base housing office assigned us to a 3-room townhouse in a section we came to know as "Billy Mitchell Village." In the past the section had another name, "Skylark Housing." They told us the townhouse was "substandard" but we never complained. The house was perfect, and we were very proud to belong to the base's military community.
We were fortunate for the next door neighbors we had. The Lucero's were an awesome family and the husband, Eddie, was also a coworker of mine. He would later cross-train to another career field, but we remained neighbors. He was a Pentecostal Christian and harbored great suspicions against the Catholic Church. His suspicions had no effect upon our evolving friendship. His wife, Beatriz, also was to become a cherished friend. Their young daughter, Bethany would become a playmate of Chris. We were able to catch one such scene in 8mm film, as seen below.
Across our backyards and a common area, in another building, lived the Pomales'. Humberto and Pin were from Puerto Rico. Pin was Asian-American born in the Dominican Republic. Humberto, a Puerto Rican, also was a Shaolin Kung Fu master. Pin would have a daughter, Michelle, who would become another one of Chris's playmates.
We were part of a close-knit community. Times simple. We were happy.
Today, an empty field lies where Billy Mitchell Housing used to be. The substandard housing had got to go, but the memories remain stamped in us forever.
Bonus Video