On the Southside 2/14/13
A Southsider’s Valentine’s Day story
Valentine’s Day is upon us once again and I am, of course, reminded of a story. Imagine that.
My wife and I had our courtship while we were both in the Army and stationed in Augsburg, Germany. A side note: Her commander told her to avoid the soldiers in my unit as we were all “animals.” She has, since then, reminded me several times of my early reputation. Anyway.
My future bride lived and worked in the same building. Her room was on the second floor and her office in the basement. I decided one Valentine’s Day eve that I wanted to surprise her with a single red rose waiting for her on the door to her office. I went that afternoon and bought this token of my affection and, with the help of my roommate, plotted the action for late that night.
Course, being young and in love, (and “fortified” by a German beverage) my roommate and I decided we would sneak across the parking lot “Army style.” In the days before Rambo, we made our way across the dark parking lot (it was, I think, around 2 a.m.)and accomplished our mission. The rose was safely attached to her office door. We went back to our room and had a celebratory glass of our stored German beverage.
Unbeknownst to us, we had been observed and followed. The interloper had followed us back and now confronted me in the hallway of my building with the demand to know what I had been doing in his building. I told him none of his business whereupon he went back to his building and called the Military Police. The “MP’s” came out as well as my intended’s commander. It was, by now, about 3 a.m. and, so far as I knew then, she had no idea of what was going on. I went to bed that evening also in the dark as top what had transpired as a result of my midnight love raid.
I was later informed by my then girlfriend that her Commander had called her in and she had been instructed to tell me that I was to keep my amorous expressions to daylight hours and was not to be in her building at that hour ever again.
My own Commander called me in as well the next afternoon. He had the same instructions for me as my girlfriend had been given but he was laughing pretty hard as he told me. She married “one of the animals” anyway.
Happy Valentine’s Day you all!!
Scott Emmett lives in Greenwood with his wife, Karen, and an ornery old cat named Toby. Write to Scott at Scott@scottemmett.com
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