Col. Tom Bailey, 32nd AAMDC
Alfonso Bustamante, Furniture Management Office
Terry Shannon Escobar, Future Combat Systems
Sgt. 1st Class Héctor A. Rivera, WBAMC
Maj. Glen Dunlap, WBAMC
Danara L. Lira, WBAMC
Ileana San Nicolas, WBAMC
Romancing, Army style
After several grueling days of analysis and debate, the six-person panel of judges
has decided on the winners of the Valentine’s Contest. All the stories submitted were romantic, touching and insightful but we felt “The Engagement Ring” was particularly so and it is our first-place winner, followed closely by “The Sandwich” in second place and “Sparks After 16 Years” in third. While choosing the top three romantic stories was difficult, choosing the top five phrases was even more so. With so many entries and so many different and endearing sentiments expressed, it was a challenge for the judges to agree on five, but finally we did. The Monitor would like to thank all the participants who shared their stories and feelings with us for this contest and would like to wish all in the Fort Bliss and El Paso communities a very happy Valentine’s Day.
The engagement ring
Col. Tom Bailey, 32nd AAMDC
I met my wife Laura in college 29 years ago. She was sitting in the bleachers with a girlfriend when she spotted me on the basketball court. She asked her friend who the tall guy with dark, curly hair was and, lucky for me, her friend knew who I was. A plan was hatched between the two of them on how to arrange a “chance meeting.”
At the small college we both attended, incoming freshmen like Laura were not allowed to keep cars on campus, so “borrowing cars” from upperclassmen like me was a common practice. Laura’s friend knew me well enough to surmise that I would probably not let just anyone borrow my car, but instead I would offer to drive her to where she needed to go. The plan worked to perfection.
On our first “date” I was completely smitten by the brown-haired, green-eyed freshman I drove into town on an errand. Over the next few months, we slowly became inseparable, and, after 12 months of courtship, I knew Laura was the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. Engagement was the next logical step, but I had one serious problem: I did not have the money for a ring. Every penny I earned went toward college and living expenses, but imagination is your only limitation when you are in love. My solution: plasma donations.
Unlike giving blood, which you can only do every six to eight weeks, you can donate plasma up to three times a week. The going rate in the early ‘80s was $10 per donation. The nearest plasma center was in one of the worst parts of town, and as I surveyed the plasma center clientele I suspected I was probably one of their more unusual, educated clients. Despite these less-than-ideal conditions, I was a man on a mission and I would not be easily deterred.
Over the next few months I made many trips to the plasma center, and slowly but surely, a “ring” nest egg began to build. After 89 plasma donations I had developed quite a scar on my left arm and I had just enough money for a small diamond engagement ring. The size of the diamond I was able to afford was pitifully small, but when you are both in love, diamond size is not an important factor.
When I presented Laura her engagement ring, the look on her face made the many needle sticks and lost blood seem very insignificant. Laura knew this “blood ring” signified my commitment for the long haul. The small engagement ring has long since been replaced by a much larger one, and the small blood ring diamond now resides in a place of honor on my wife’s 25th wedding anniversary ring. The scar on my left arm is still very visible and an eternal reminder that “determined, true love” always finds a way.
The sandwich
Alfonso Bustamante, Furniture Management Office
While stationed at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., in the early ‘70s, I was a young Airman and had been married four years. My wife packed my lunch every day before I went to work on the night shift. She made two scrambled-egg sandwiches for me and wrapped them in wax paper along with a couple of cookies for dessert.
While eating my sandwich one night, I tasted something I thought was the wax paper my sandwich was wrapped in. I looked around the sandwich, but saw no wax paper, so I didn’t think much of it.
When I got up in the morning and kissed my wife, she had a big grin on her face and asked me, “Honey, did you get my note?”
“What note?” I asked.
My wife knows I put salt on everything I eat, especially on a scrambled-egg sandwich, so she wrote on a napkin “I Love You – Happy Valentine’s Day” and put it inside the sandwich, so when I opened the sandwich to put salt in it I would see her note. Guess what? I ate the note, and until this day she always laughs about it on Valentine’s Day.
Sparks after 16 years
Terry Shannon Escobar, Future Combat Systems
Rufino and I met on the job at White Sands in 1980. We were coworkers for a few months, then I left for another job. Sixteen years later, we were put in touch by a former coworker and chatted on the phone, catching up on each other’s lives. We discovered we were both recently separated and decided to meet for dinner.
I already decided there had been enough romance in my life and was looking forward to living out my life as an old maid, so I was a bit nervous about a date – especially with someone who hadn’t seen me in 16 years! We met at La Hacienda Mexican Restaurant in Las Cruces. The place was packed, but we eventually spotted each other, and it was an awkward moment. Sure enough, we had both acquired a few pounds, wrinkles and gray hair. But a spark was there. And I realized, on that Friday night in August, I might have to change my mind about the old maid thing. We made a date for a Sunday afternoon movie, and soon Rufino was driving from El Paso to Las Cruces almost daily.
We married at the courthouse in Las Cruces and then moved to Panama where Rufino was offered a job. From there he was fortunate enough to get another job in Hanau, Germany. We couldn’t have asked for a more romantic, very-extended honeymoon.
I didn’t fully experience and appreciate Hispanic culture until I married Rufino Escobar. Now I routinely make three dozen homemade flour tortillas at a time, have huevos con chorizo for breakfast, make salsa by the quart and listen to Mexican music. I’ve become a part of his very large and loving family. I never had children of my own. I had nieces and nephews whom I loved dearly, and that was enough. If someone had told me that after I got divorced, I should marry a Hispanic man with seven children, I would have said, “Oh, yeah, sure. And let’s poke both my eyes out with a sharp stick while we’re at it!”
I’ve learned so much from my wonderful husband and his equally wonderful family. They’re all very close. They know how to have a great time, whatever the occasion. All seven of his sons have children – and with that many sons, daughters-in-law and grandchildren (a couple dozen), there is always a birthday party or something going on!
We are celebrating 13 amazing Valentine’s Days together and looking forward to many more.
Top five romantic phrases
• “You make my face go up with happy!” Terry S. Escobar, FCS
• “Baby, I can’t afford to give you all you deserve, but I’m willing to give you all that I have. Thank you for all your support.” Sgt. 1st Class Héctor A. Rivera, WBAMC
• “As Valentine’s approaches let’s set a date, go out and celebrate,
That we have so many more happy years together, for us to relate,
Our love for each other, yes there have been some hard times and tears,
But let’s look ahead to how great we can make our golden years.”
Maj. Glen Dunlap, WBAMC
• “My love for you is like a flame, a roaring flame, and it burns for only you.”
Danara L. Lira, WBAMC
• “When I look into your eyes, all I can see is the reflection of all my dreams come true, I love you.” Ileana San Nicolas, WBAMC