Well, it was. Cold was the operative word at Fortuna AFS, North Dakota. Even during the summer, the talk invariably turned to "cold." War stories about things freezing...cars, pipes, people. Today's weather forecast for Fortuna is typical for December: the high will be 15 degrees, the low 6 degrees. Right now it's 3 degrees...at Williston, ND, the reporting station for Fortuna. Williston is about 85 miles south of Fortuna.
I was stationed at Fortuna from 1977 - 1978...12 months, three days, eight hours, and ten minutes. One of the fondest memories of my Air Force career was watching that checkerboard FPS-35 antenna fade into a dot in my rear-view mirror as I left Fortuna, headed west to North Bend AFS, Oregon. All that said, I did have a good time while I was at Fortuna. Like everywhere else I've been in the world, Fortuna was what you made it. The people I met there were great and we had tremendous fun!
My good friend Lori, who was a young two-striper while we were at Fortuna (I was a young TSgt), will be arriving in Portales in about an hour. We'll reminisce, laugh, and have a few beers. One of the best things about a military career is the friends you make, and the friends you keep. I can't wait!
Damn that looks cold!!!! And, what a culture shock from there to coastal Oregon!!!
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