I've started watching a new program on TV. It's called "Army Wives," and it offers me a little flashback into my previous life. It's like if the "Desperate Housewives" had married soldiers…only without all the sex in the storyline.
I'm only two episodes into this series, and I'm pretty impressed. It seems to offer a pretty insightful look into the lives of military spouses. Oh, sure…some of it is a bit dramatized. But you know, I look and see flashes of truth.
There's the two most prominent versions of the "officer's wife." One is the wife that really reaches out to all the spouses, no matter what the rank of their soldier. Claudia Joy is the model of some of the more delightful officer-wives that I met in my experience with the military. She doesn't try to wear her husband's rank, or demand respect because of it. She is warm and genuine and real.
The other officer's wife that they've featured in the storyline so far is the polar opposite. She is snide, condescending and catty. I've seen those wives, too…all too many times.
There's the couple that are struggling financially. I think most lower-enlisted families have been there at some point. Just scraping by and trying to survive and keep the family afloat. This couple (Pamela and her husband) is doing some pretty amazing things to get by, and I'm interested to see where their story goes.
I see the gossips weaving through the scenes. Every base has them…the spouses that just can't mind their own business, and have to gab about other people's affairs. In the first few minutes of the first episode, rumors were flying - and I saw the parallels to real life there, too.
I relate most to the newly married couple. PFC Troy LeBlanc and his wife, Roxy. It takes me back to when Hubby first joined the army. He had five full months to fully immerse himself in the army culture and learn the ins and outs. I came in clueless. Struggling to learn what all those silly acronyms meant, the new "rules" governing our lives. It was hard, and I see Roxy struggling to fit in and adjust, just as I did.
So far, I really like what I see in this show. I can relate. When Roxy found out that her husband is due to ship out to Iraq in a matter of days, my heart sank with hers. I know what it feels like to go through that experience, and it tears my heart out every time. Such experiences have changed me so…I get all emotional and tear up anytime I see something on TV that shows a family being separated or reunited because of the duties of war.
I rejoiced with the Lt. Colonel and her husband when she returned from two years in Afghanistan, because I know what that experience is like, too. Coming together with the person that you love most, the person that you desire to be with no matter what…and then having to experience the unfamiliar as you learn about each other all over again. I watch their reintegration experience with keen interest…thankful that Hubby and I have not had such trying experiences. Praying that we never will.
I've noticed that this show seems to really try to focus on the truths of military life. The housing that the lower-enlisted are living in are almost mirrors of where Hubby and I lived in Alabama. We referred to our little duplex as the "crack house" with good reason. It was by no means luxurious, but it was shelter and it was free, and we were thankful. I see the houses that the officers and their families are in and reflect that yes, this seems to be true to life as well.
I want this show to reflect the closeness of military life. How people run into each other at many different duty stations throughout their military life. How the base operates as its own little city…you see all these people every day…you live together, you work together, your kids all go to the same school and daycare, you all shop at the same places. You run into each other at the bank, the gas station, the store, the library. There is no getting away, and that can swing either for the good or the bad.
I hope that this show stays the course and does well. It seems that so many shows fail to make it past the first few episodes anymore. I'm almost afraid to become a devotee to any show because of the fickleness of the industry. But I see that this show has potential. With a bit of time and seasoning, I think that it may offer a peek into the trials and tribulations of the military lifestyle…something that the average person most likely will never get a taste of any other way. It is a unique experience…full of personal little successes and failures. I hope this show is that window…letting other people see what it is like inside the cultured existence that is military life.
No comments:
Post a Comment