This particular entry from Mom (Joyce Nelson Sawyer) harkens back to when they were stationed at Hahn Air Force Base in Germany. That would have been the early 1980s.
When we lived at Hahn AFB, Germany, I was a Red Cross volunteer, assigned to the hydro pool in the hospital. I manned the desk, emptied the tubs, cleaned them, and filled them again after each patient.
One day an alarm went off and all the military personnel ran down the hall, put on protective clothing and gas masks. I asked my supervisor what I was supposed to do. He said I should get to the hospital emergency room and wait until the drill was over. I asked what the school children were doing. He said they all went to the basement of the school.
I soon realized that I had nothing to worry about. If the alarm was for real, I would be dead in a short time.
As you can see, I’m still here and we had one of those drills once a month. In fact, I got off easier than the military who had to put on heavy, hot gear and gas masks. I stayed in the hydro room and finished my paperwork.
Hahaha. C’est la vie! This does remind me of the Aesop’s Fable of The Boy Who Cried “Wolf.” I’ve always thought that the perfect time for a criminal (or terrorist) to attack, would be during a standard drill. I mean, how many of us take them seriously?
And so … always be prepared.
