How Sweet It Is In Government Housing

I am sitting in my government housing, enjoying our tax dollars at work. Then I realize that I have to move out of my house for at least two days, possibly a week because of the holiday. The shower door in our master bathroom has been leaking and has totally rotted the wall. Then, some mold started to grow. The garrison Sergeant Major called in the work order for us in the beginning of July. Fast forward to early September, and the work was still not completed. Talking to our friend, the Sergeant Major, he asks how our new shower is. "What new shower?" is our reply. He had thought that the work would have been completed, since it was a Status 4 - to be completed in 30 days. Sixty days into the process and nothing had happened. No one had looked at it or even inquired about it. This is where it is nice to have friends in high places. He gets on the phone and contacts the Directorate of Public Works (DPW) to raise some holy hell. Within an hour, I have two men at my door requesting access to the aforementioned shower. They spend about 30 minutes evaluating the situation, then leave to drink some coffee or something. (Okay, I am generalizing that last statement...they could have been drinking Dr. Pepper, tea, or mineral water.) Then, the Sergeant Major for DPW shows up. I proceed to explain what happened to him, and then he calls someone else. In two days, I had eight men come look at my bathroom and tell me that every thing was going to be alright.

Two weeks pass and nothing happens. We have been relegated to one bathroom, although we still use the sink and toilet in the master bathroom. Thankfully, no one has come to stay with us or we would be having more people showering in the same bathroom. Then, out of the blue, two gentlemen, knock on the door and ask to take pictures of the bathroom. They are planning on showing the pictures to their boss so he can determine how to go about fixing it. "Great," I think. The following day, the boss, Wayne, shows up. Now, he wants to see the bathroom. Maybe he should have come in the first place. Do you think that we were making up the problem? He tells us that things will get fixed sometime next week (which would be this week). No confirmed date though.

Yesterday, I get a call from Phyllis, informing me I need to move to Lodging on post. "HUH?" Yes, while the crew is fixing my bathroom, they can't have small children in the house. It makes sense since Jax is so inquisitive these days, that I think the men might spackle him to the wall. So, they are going to set us up in a hotel room for possibly a week, while the work is being completed. We can come back and get things if we need to, but no hanging out at home. I asked if we could get a kitchenette, as I know how small the regular hotel rooms are and I don't want to be confined in there with two kids. She will see what she can do.

A few hours later, Phyllis calls with some good news. We are confirmed for the apartment style room, which means kitchenette and a separate bedroom, but there is no guarantee. Basically, if someone comes in who outranks us and wants that room, we are out of luck. So here's hoping that no one is trying to visit Southwest Oklahoma!