encore
Duty Calls
Little did this offi cer suspect his wife’s injury would be his
greatest test of strength and launch him on a journey unlike
any he had ever experienced in his 26 years in the Navy.
A
fter my wife fell on ice and
shattered her ankle one February,
I had to take on more household
duties — cleaning, doing laundry, cooking
meals, and shopping for groceries. Every-
thing went smoothly for about a day until
I was tasked with grocery shopping at the
commissary — my fi rst solo full-scale, live-
fi re exercise of family food shopping.
I decided to bring along my 11-year-old
son, Mac, because I knew he had seen
my wife shop for groceries a number of
times and could provide useful knowledge
if needed — although I was confi dent it
would not be necessary. After my wife
briefed me on the items we needed and
drew a map of the aisles, Mac and I were
ready to roll.
When we arrived at the commissary, I Mac and I continued up and down
told Mac to mark the time, 9:45 a.m. I pre- the aisles, trying to get everything on my
dicted we’d be there 45 minutes at most. wife’s list. Apparently I was unfamiliar
We grabbed a cart and headed for the drug with the commissary protocol and traffi c
and toiletries aisle. Shampoo and condi- pattern, because I was the recipient of nu-
tioner were on my list — but what size and merous nasty looks and “excuse mes.”
what brand? I did a fl yby down the aisle in Finally, four hours later, after fi lling
hopes of recognizing the bottle. But that two carts and going $100 over budget, our
didn’t work, so I went with the brand that journey had ended.
had the best TV commercial. I learned a valuable lesson that day. Sail-
I was starting to get worried because ors can do the jobs they do only because of
we already had been in the store 15 min- the support they get at home. The commis-
utes and only had two items in the cart. sary bags had printed on them, “Navy wife:
Next we hit the produce section. It was the toughest job in the Navy.” If there were
a jungle. Other shoppers were bagging, ever a true statement, that would be it. MO
weighing, smelling, and feeling. I didn’t
have a clue as to what made one fruit or
— Wayne Tunick is a retired Navy captain. He
vegetable better than another. I decided
lives in Annandale, Va. For submission informa-
I just needed to avoid anything mushy. tion, see page 18.
8 0 M I L I T A R Y O F F I C E R M AY 2 0 0 9 ILLUSTRATION: ELWOOD SMITH
MMay_Encore.indd Sec1:
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