After spending a couple of days in the barracks we celebrated our first christmas. The next day we went to base housing. Our two story housing unit was just acouple of blocks down from our school. The first few weeks were good and i began the process of making new friends. On saturdays we would either go play bingo our go to the matinee. The movie cost 25cents,a bag of popcorn 10cents and a candybar 15cents. If you had a dollar your were lucky. My Mom always had a dollar for each of us if we were good for that week. Sometimes i was'nt. During Halloween we would have parties in almost all of our classes and all kinds of treats. We would spend the entire night going trickor treating all over the base, i mean we would have two or three grocery sacks full of candy. That was alot of fun. Things were getting much better now. During the summer we would go swimming in the Marmara dodging those jellyfish. The girls thought they were gross but us boys always found ways to have fun with them. On friday nights we would go to the NCO and have shish kabob. The food was excellent and those Turks really new how to cook. I know from experience becus my father was the head cook there. About three years later and many fieldtrips with friends and family all over Turkey, the basesball games, friday night football and much more, we were headed stateside. New orders to Texas. iremember looking back at our home leaving and i cried alot then. But i kept that secret too. Thomas Tipton Thanks Paul

I love your stories Thomas. More please:) Patty