Confessions

I was out Saturday night at a club with a group from the clinic. I got to talking to one soldier, who said, "We need more people like you on post." Because I'm apparently more open-minded, and a bit crazy on the attire/glasses side, adding color and flavor to the otherwise drab uniforms and mental uniformity which populate the base. My reasons for being in Germany are unlike most everyone else here. Generally the first question is, "Did you come here with your husband?"

This particular soldier was about ten years younger and still in the throes of the angst of the twenties. (Not realising that I was much older and therefore much calmer and much more self-confident.) As we got deeper into conversation, he said (almost apologetically and like he was revealing something bad), "I'm a democrat." I said, "There's lots of them on post. Not as many as in other places." He didn't seem to know that. He'd joined the army because he wanted to make a difference. I think he feels a bit like he has to hide his feelings.

However, I know quite a lot of people on post who think like me. But then I think I'm obviously liberal. And I am also obviously pretty open-minded and non-judgmental, so people feel safe telling me things. It's very interesting that I can attract (not in the romantic sense) open-minded people so easily on an army base in Germany. Just another thing I wouldn't have thought.