Fred Moore

? 2009 by Author

Our Prolog:

Here begins the story, a plowing of new ground the Moores knew would co@comcast.net easier by the fact they have quite literally become Turkish in spirit. We at @comcast.net sense their trepidation and their sadness. Or, as Fred told us recently, "Reality is where it all comes together after all the other mind bending challenges; you?ve made the transition and now you begin the reorientation to work, life and new routines. It all comes together very nicely as it has over the last 14 years but it still no thrill to uproot and reestablish!"

Knowing there is nothing the Moores can do about the situation and their obvious mixed emotions over leaving the country they have so gladly adopted, toured, written about, and photographed, they return to the United States with a wealth of memories, and we're thankful that many of those have been made part of our website for all to share.


Fred and Carol Prepare, March 23, 2011:

Speaking alphabetically, here are the words that come to mind as we contemplate our Turkish departure:

Anxiety, Car, Family, Fear, Friends, Frustration, Health, Household Goods, Preparation, Reality, Routine and finally Travel.

Anxiety: everything goes into turmoil; where will we go (we know the States, but specifically where, we don?t know), what will be our new job or jobs? (I?ll be job placed but Carol will not, she can retire). Where will we live (rental or purchased housing)?

Car: it must be shipped; that means it must be cleaned (inside and out), no oil leaks (the car is 11 years old), less than a quarter tank of gas and nothing in it at all. We have to rent a car; both here and in the States once we return or buy one on our return.

Family: returning to the States means visiting all over the country as we transition which makes for far more anxiety; you can?t visit this one more than that one without causing hurt feelings and questions of loyalty. We have immediate family in New York, Alabama, Georgia, Virginia and Idaho! Do we see her family or his on the trip back; do we stay here or there or in a hotel?

Fear: this is all about starting over; even though we?ve done this most of our adult lives, it doesn?t get any less trying. We step into the world of the unknown and that is never easy.

Friends: we?ve lived here nearly eight years, we have an untold number of them to say goodbye to; some we?ve known since our first stay in the 1980s. This is NEVER an easy thing to do. We know that we will never see some of them again!

Frustration: not knowing our future; where will we go, what will we be doing, what?s the cost of living going to be. We know our lifestyle will change radically but HOW, we have no idea?

Health: not eating properly, not sleeping well, flying for twelve or maybe 24 hours depending on our destinations. The disruption in our lives is likely to be months, not weeks or even days. These kinds of changes are always filled with health-affecting stress; we try to minimize it but there are so many unknowns it?s impossible to alleviate all of it.

Household goods: this will be two shipments (the bulk of the house and a smaller shipment of hold baggage). What goes into each shipment? How much damage will be done to our worldly belongings? How many months will we be without our things on this end and on the other end? We know it will be at least 3 months for the household goods, but it is often longer so we will most likely have to rent furniture once we arrive in the States. When our shipment leaves our home here, will we ever see it again (this not a practical comment, maybe, but it?s certainly a real one)?

Preparation: not only does this mean looking through all the ?stuff? to see what we should get rid of and deciding what that last item we can?t do without is (in Carol?s case, that?s lots and lots of Turkish yarn), it also means preparing our work stations for the people following us. For Fred, his job is in such a transition state presently, it probably doesn?t mean much work for him. Carol, on the other hand, will be busy updating her 3? continuity binder and editing the Wing Administrative Guide. She is also concerned about training her successor (if she gets the chance). Both of us will have to weed through our e-mails to decide what to keep, what to delete and what to ?save? on a personal disk, especially those e-mails with family pictures! This summer will be especially hard at the wing because we will ?change out? our commander as well as the executive officer (in fact, 5 of the 10 people in the command section will leave this summer).

Reality: this is where it all comes together after all the other mind bending challenges. You?ve made the transition and now you begin the reorientation to work, life, new friends and new routines. It will come together very nicely as it has over the last 40 years, but it still no thrill to uproot and re-establish especially when you?ve lived in the same house for 8 years!

Routine: this is a big thing; our sleep is disturbed, our eating is disturbed as our world is turned on its head. These things must be re-established each time one moves and they don?t get any easier the more times you do it. Our life together has been ?on the move? (Carol and I have moved 8 times in our 30 years of marriage, sometimes even moving within those moves). We started our marriage in Texas, moved to Turkey, then on to Arkansas, to Arizona, then back to Turkey, then on to California, then to Tennessee and now here in Turkey again!

Travel: an hour from Adana to Istanbul, 11 or 12 hours to the States (depending on where we fly into), then where to from there we have no idea? Into and out of airports, security control checkpoints in every airport from here to there, wherever there is!

So, there?s the two cent tour of where we are and the myriad challenges we have to look forward to! Visit this page frequently, as we will add updates of the planning process and the part we are already dreading: taking leave of Turkey.


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