Bugle Buddy
Your proximity to the enormous speakers that disseminate the pre-recorded, ear-splittingly loud, highly traditional bugle calls – during the Revolutionary War, America's Army used bugle calls for Cavalry and Artillery units and drumbeats for Infantry units; these bugle calls evolved from Continental Army contacts with the French and English armies during the Revolutionary War (www.fas.org) – will most likely influence your bugle call affections. Pearl, for instance, finds herself responding to her ingrained bugle buddy schedule, yelling at her children to snap to attention while hustling through HEB near the dinner hour (much to their complete humiliation).
With significant combined time on multiple Army posts, we have overcome our initial horror at being “tootled” awake at 6AM and have embraced our bugle buddies, adopting the timely, enthusiastic musical signals as reminders that children must go to school, dinner must be cooked, and the mall does close at 9PM no matter how many pairs of shoes are left to be purchased. For those yet to adapt and adopt, our suggested usage follows.
|
Time |
Soldier Meanings |
Family Translation |
|
06:00 |
Reveille: The American Flag is raised upon the last note of this call; all soldiers must be assembled for their morning roll call. |
Option 1: Immediately pull the covers over your head and hope to heaven the sound machine can drown out the noise; Option 2: Realize that it’s yet another day that your commitment to family, God, and country will be tested to its limits. |
|
06:30 |
Breakfast Call: Now morphed into the gun shot start of unit P.T. |
All main road arteries are closed. During the next hour, if you happen to need diapers for the baby or milk for your child's cereal, you will need to call in a CareFlight rapid emergency response – you aren’t going anywhere via vehicle on post. |
|
12:00 |
Dinner Call: When dinner was the main meal of the day. |
If you have not made a quick lunch run to Subway, the line now stretches around the corner of the building – consider PB&J. If you’re still waiting on workout motivation to descend from the heavens, you’ve waited too long. You only have two more hours until your children come home from school - go directly to the shower. |
|
18:00 |
Retreat: The flag lowering ceremony, traditionally at 17:00. |
Realize, while absorbed in dinner preparation, that you have not seen your children for at least 30 minutes clearly putting you in violation of post line-of-site policy. For spouses of soldiers shackled to desks at the Pentagon, “Beltway Hour" begins (a cocktail tradition observed by wives as husbands fight their way home through the Washington, D.C. traffic). |
|
21:00 |
Tattoo: Soldiers prepare for bed and secure the post. |
Consider passing on the third glass of that excellent red – or just call it a Tylenol PM chaser. |
|
23:00 |
Taps: All lights extinguished and loud talking ceased! |
Fall exhaustedly into bed, make a note to wash your face in the AM and once again ponder the implications of skipping flossing. |
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