The White Falcon - 10.12.1971, Blaðsíða 5

A Word to the Wives

by Dorothy Byrne
We women have put ourselves in an odd spot. Can
1:
L
i
you picture the
the American Express Bank, meet-
ing for a monthly luncheon simply
because their wives work to-
gether? Of course not! Men would
laugh at the prospect and go
about their business elsewhere.
Yet, we women have allowed
ourselves to be banded into all
sorts of auxiliaries from the Am-
erican Legion Auxiliary to the
General Electric Wives Club, to
the ladies auxiliaries of the
Moose, the Junior Chamber of Com-
merce or the hometown fire de-
partment. Therefore, it is no
surprise that the military estab-
lishment is endowed with a vast
array of wives clubs and groups.
We do exist. What, then, is
our purpose?
Ladies, let us put our clubs
under the eye of the microscope.
Let us see what is myth and what
is fantasy. As good housewives,
let us put our house in order. If
nything is amiss,let's not sweep
it under the rug.
Count our assets:
First, no one would deny how
wonderfully delicious it is to
have the support and comfort of
other wives whose husbands are
deployed. When a woman is sitting
alone on the California coast,
her husband is on the other side
of the Pacific and her family is
in Ohio, a close happy wive's
group can be like a supporting
family.
Second, you need to meet new
friends when you arrive at a new
duty station. At the wives club,
you will find other new arrivals
who are looking for friends, too.
Third, wives clubs provide all
sorts of classes and activities
from cake decorating to discus-
sion groups. A good organization
can offer you many ways to dis-
cover your hidden creative tal-
ents. This is especially import-
ant in overseas bases as it is
not as easy to find our way about
in the local community as it
would be at home.
Fourth, wives clubs are phil-
nthropic. They provide books
or libraries, scholarships, food
baskets, aid to orphanages and
husbands of the ladies who work at
lollypops for dispensaries. If
the group is small, sometimes the
amount is small, but surely the
effort is laudable.
Fifth, wives clubs support the
nurseries, thrift shops, family
service centers and other activi-
ties which some feel should be
command sponsored. Until the
government can be convinced to
provide the money,the wives clubs
will fill the void.
Do we have liabilities? Look
at the charge sheet.
Do we participate because we
enjoy our clubs? Some people
feel you must attend all wives
luncheons, coffees and meetings
or you will hinder your husband's
career. Is that true?
Try logic.
Do you really believe that the
men on the Joint Chiefs of staff
got where they are today because
their wives faithfully attended
240 monthly luncheons, 240 mon-
thly coffees, 480 twice monthly
bridge sessions and a vast mara-
thon of other functions in their
first 20 years? Husbands, this
idea is the biggest insult to
you! Alas, you have not been
promoted because of your know-
ledge of warfare, logistics, sub-
marines, airplanes or your spec-
ialties. Your wife won it for
you because she makes the neatest
brownie in town. How sad!
Ladies, do you really believe
that the military wants you to
leave your unhappy toddler screa-
ming at the nursery or sick at
home with the fever? Go home to
your sick child and skip a few
luncheons until Junior can be
alone without your feeling guilty
and don't blame your guilty feel-
ings on the military.
You will only end up complain-
ing at your poor husband. We
need more women at home in the
home. Look at the growth of the
juvenile dilinquency and drug
problems. Be yourself and stay
home. Be an anchor and not a
jellyfish. Your husband will do
(See WIVES, Page 4)
FORUM is a new weekly column
introduced to the White Falcon by
Dorothy Byrne, "A Word To The
Wives." It is an Inquiring re-
porter-photographer column to re-
lay different points of view on
current questions facing military
personnel and dependents.
Be ready, though, because you
may be the next person asked for
your opinion.
QUESTION: Do you believe single
and married personnel should re-
ceive the same amount of pay and
allowances? Do you favor paying
a military man or woman strictly
for the work he or she does, ra-
ther than for the number of de-
pendents he has?
WHERE ASKED: Navy Exchange LOB-
BY.
FULLERTON MRS. GILLETTE
• Maj. James Fullerton, 57th
F.I.S., married: "I am in favor
of the way it is set up right
now. I do think there are ine-
quities, but I don't think that's
the way to solve the problem."
• Cheryl Gillette, housewife:
"I think the married personnel
should get a little bit more be-
cause they have a few more expen-
ses. I never really thought too
much about it. I do think that
the barracks should be improved
a lot.
RODDY
MRS. BUTLER
• CSSN Gary Roddy, VP-56, mar-
ried: "I think there should be
two different pays, one for sin-
gle and one for married. I think
(See FORUM, Page 8)
WHITE FALCON
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