Well, today started with that feeling you get in the bottom of your stomach when you know the good times are about to end. After a great breakfast, we left Albuquerque around 7, and five or six hours later, we found ourselves driving in Fort Huachuca, AZ … my home for the next four months. We knew we were at the end of our road and I think that put both of us in a ‘down’ mood.
After we got checked in to Army Lodging, where I must say … the room is nice, but smaller than a hotel room. We just dropped everything in the room and took off around the fort to get our bearings. Post Office, Vehicle/Weapons Registration, finding my classroom building, finding food in town. It was a packed afternoon and we never really slowed down until after dinner.
This is an old post (a post is Army-speak for a base … which is what the Air Force calls their installations). The last military base in Arizona left over from the Indian Wars, and the original home of the Buffalo Soldiers. As such, it’s named a Historic Site … and … as such, all of the buildings are original and date back to the 18- and 1900′s. It’s a lot smaller than I anticipated too. I cut my teeth in the Army at Fort Benning, GA … one of the larger military bases. This place isn’t even close. Yes, there’s A LOT of land, but there’s not too many people. And those who are here, are all in training, so there are no deployable, active-duty units here. Classes started on Thursday with in-processing, so I’ll find out more bout what it’s like then.
Laura leaves in the morning too. Which is pretty sad honestly. We’ve been within about 10ft of each other since Sunday, and this trip has been really good for us. I’m not looking forward to tomorrow … but I know that tomorrow is just another day until I get to come home, so that’s a plus.
When I get back tomorrow, I plan on wrapping up a few last minute errands (stocking the fridge, getting some drinks, familiarizing myself with town, etc etc) and then maybe walking up to the mountain behind my building for a bit. I can’t wait to finally get out there and start climbing the hills and seeing the lay of the land.
Keep telling that history:
Read the novel, Rescue at Pine Ridge, “RaPR”, a great story of black military history…the first generation of Buffalo Soldiers.
How do you keep a people down? ‘Never’ let them ‘know’ their history.
The 7th Cavalry got their butts in a sling again after the Little Big Horn Massacre, fourteen years later, the day after the Wounded Knee Massacre. If it wasn’t for the 9th Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers, there would of been a second massacre of the 7th Cavalry.
Read the novel, “Rescue at Pine Ridge”, 5 stars Amazon, Barnes & Noble and the youtube trailer commercial…and visit the website http://www.rescueatpineridge.com
I hope you’ll enjoy the novel. I wrote it from my mini-series movie of the same title, “RaPR” to keep my story alive. Hollywood has had a lot of strikes and doesn’t like telling our stories…its been “his-story” of history all along…until now. The movie so far has attached, Bill Duke directing, Hill Harper, Glynn Turman and a host of other major actors in which we are in talks with…see imdb.com at; http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0925633/
When you get a chance, also please visit our Alpha Wolf Production website at; http://www.alphawolfprods.com and see our other productions, like Stagecoach Mary, the first Black Woman to deliver mail for Wells Fargo in Montana, in the 1890′s, “spread the word”.
Peace.
By: Buffalo Soldier 9 on March 4, 2010
at 5:17 pm