Mark Morton

I heard from my friend Mark Morton today. I'd been trying to reach him to catch up on chit-chat and just find out how things were going for him in Miami. To my delight, I found out Mark got selected for Master Sergeant. I'd been keeping my fingers crossed for him. Mark is one my closest and dearest friends. We became friends when I got stationed to the United Kingdom for the third time. Before I met Mark, I heard about him. One person mentioned how he failed to certify at a position they trained him for. After I met Mark, I confess I don't know how he failed his certification as I thought he was very competent. I also found him to be very kind and a nice person to do things with. Me and Mark became friends. In time, he became my best friend while I was stationed in England. It was Mark that watched my car while I went on temporary duty assignments (tdys in military jargon) to Italy and California. It was Mark who helped me get my car started when I returned from Italy and found the car battery dead. He also forwarded my mail and kept me informed of what was going on back at base. His help was invaluable while I was gone.

My tour finally ended in England and I was reassigned to Florida. I kept in touch with Mark via letters and email. When I took a trip to London (my favorite city), I made it a point to see him and his then wife. I continued to keep in touch with him as I finished my tour in Florida, did a tour in Bahrain, and was assigned to the Washington D.C. area for my last tour. When Mark got to visit here for some training, I gladly showed him around and took him and his co-worker to Medieval Times. With my transition to civilian life, Mark was a source of support and encouragement. While I looked upon the transition with trepidation, Mark reminded me that it was an exciting new adventure. Mark also reminded me when I thought everything was going badly that things weren't actually that bad. My military retirement alone guaranteed that I'd be able to pay all my basic bills and have a roof over my head. Mark's own situation reminded me that things could be worse. Mark's marriage sadly tanked and he had to go through the painful process of divorce. Amazingly, Mark showed no bitterness over it. He still keeps in touch with his ex's kids (these kids aren't his, they were by a previous marriage by his ex-wife) and does what he can for him. He also has a mom who has been a royal nuisance for him and yet he strives to be a good loving son. He strives to do a good job at work and yet has been dissed more than a few times. Still, with all these things, Mark doesn't let himself get down. If it were me, I'd found it really hard to pick myself up after so many personal disasters but Mark carries on. I can't help but feel he is a stronger person than I am.

It seemed like Mark got dealt some really bad cards in the game of life. I felt it wasn't fair for him. He deserved some breaks. So it was with delight that I heard today about Mark's promotion. I think he'll make a great Master Sergeant and continue to be a credit to the Air Force. He is definitely someone the Air Force should keep. The Air Force needs all the good people they can get. Sadly, I won't get to pin Mark's new stripes on (tradition has it that you have to give the stripes a good punch so they won't fall off) as I don't live in the Miami area and there is no way I could travel down there for the ceremony. Instead, I'll just have to raise a toast to my good friend and wish him the best of fortune in his next two years in the Air Force (for retirement purposes, a person who achieves the rank of Master Sergeant must remain in that rank for two years for it to count toward his/her retirement pay).

This blog entry is my way of thanking him for being a good friend and congratulating him on his promotion. He is a super person and he really deserves it. Well done Mark!