[Chuck Roots' weekly columns are written for his
hometown newspaper, the Ripon Record.]

Home at Last
August 18, 2004

These past few months have been very interesting in their uncertainty.

When the new I MEF chaplain, Captain Tom Thies, arrived in early June, he was planning to head for Iraq as soon as possible. He wanted me to go with him, spending three months at Camp Fallujah before having to return, demobilizing from active duty by November. This would have given me two years of active duty on the nose.

We were scheduled to leave for Iraq on July 15. The week before I was contacted by the Navy and informed I was being demobilized by Aug 10. Cancel the trip back to Iraq! So for the past several weeks I've been taking care of all those nagging little administrative matters that would allow me to finally load my car and drive the four hundred and fifteen miles north to my home in Ripon, CA.

I rolled into my driveway just after 10:00 p.m. I sat in my car for a few minutes before beginning the process of unloading my accumulation of clothing and books. I reflected on the past 21 months and how now all that had come to an end. Will I miss the flurry of active military life? Sure. But, now I will revert back to being in the reserve. I can once again focus on being the pastor of my church here in Ripon.

Oddly enough, as I was arriving home, my wife, Isaura, and daughter, Jenny, were at the Sacramento airport to pick up my mother who was returning from a three-month stay at my brother's in Virginia. At the same time, Isaura's brother, Tony, was flying in from his home in Utah. Two nights later, friends from my seminary days in the mid-70s, arrived for the weekend with two of their grandkids. We had a full house, as you might suspect.

My first day back in the pulpit was Sunday, August 15. We have two services in the morning, so it gave me an opportunity to greet the congregation. We had a great time of rejoicing and worship.

Then, on Sunday evening, there was a "Welcome Home Celebration" held in Stouffer Park just around the corner from my home. I was completely overwhelmed by the event given in my honor. Family, friends from church, the community and neighboring communities where I have ministered came out for the evening event. Isaura and I were seated in the front on a raised platform. The crowd was seated under the large gazebo. We began with a presentation of the colors by the color guard from the Marine Corps Club of Stockton. This was followed by the Pledge of Allegiance and the singing of the National Anthem by our friend, Jackie Botley. The invocation was given by a friend and seminary classmate from way back, Pastor Roland Kramer.

Several cute skits were done by our two youth interns, Curtis Dean and Sean Robinson, poking fun at the military. Then there were skits done by my daughter, Jenny, and her friend, Brittany Francis, having some fun at my wife's expense. It was all good fun and everyone had a good laugh. Several recognitions were made in my honor. One was from the Friends of the Library for my "Roots on Deck" articles. Another was given by Mayor Tim Hearn on behalf of the City Council, another from Rear Admiral Darold Bigger (just retired), and yet another was read on behalf of my boss, the conference superintendent, Reverend Forest Bush.

My friends from the Golden Valley Chorus sang some great barbershop songs bringing Jackie up to join them in the finale by singing "God Bless America." Then we all milled around munching on cookies and cake until darkness drove us home.

It was a wonderful celebration and a great homecoming, being reunited with the people I love the most. One friend commented to me after it was all over, "I bet this almost makes you want to go away and do this again!" After considering this for, oh ... say, half a second, I replied, "No!"

I'm home once more with my family and friends. For this I am truly grateful and consider myself blessed of God.