MAJOR NO MORE MARGARET HOULIHAN,
R.N ATLANTA, GEORGIA,
EMORY MEDICAL CENTER
"Nurse Houlihan," one of the younger nurses I'm in charge of appeared at my shoulder, "you have a phone call. It's your Father; he says to tell you that it's urgent."
I nodded, and she left quickly, as if she didn't want to be seen talking to me; Margaret Houlihan the war veteran, Army brat, all the other names they could think of. I was used to the rejection by now. From always moving around when I was a kid right up to the early years at the 4077th when my only friend, if you could call it that, was Frank Burns I had never had a tight group of people to be around. I said the Army was the only friend I needed. I don't even have the Army to fall back on now, which is precisely why my Father is calling me.
"Hello Daddy," it sounded pathetic even to me, but what else could I say?
"Margaret, I just got a rather disturbing call from General Greene. Do you have any idea what this might have been about?" I hate it when he doesn't yell. I don't like it when he yells either, he does this kind of whispering thing that makes you want to cry just as badly as his yelling.
"I think I might Daddy."
"According to him you not only resigned your commission, you told him to, 'take your shiny brass stars and shove em' is this true, Margaret?" He was near yelling now.
"It is. I just got carried away, please don't be mad," I wasn't going to cry right there in the hospital, not in front of everyone.
"I'm not so much angered by the fact that you told the General, my superior officer, the man in charged of my promotion, to 'shove' something, but that you resigned your commission. Explain this Margaret!"
"Daddy," I had rehearsed this several times, I had it down. This was going to be easy. I just wanted to know how something so easy could be so hard. "I saw more gore, death and destruction in Korea than most people see in a lifetime. I don't want to end up in that circumstance again, and I don't think that the Army is the best thing for me anymore. I'm sorry Daddy." There, I said it. The tree has been cut, now I wait for it to fall.
"Margaret, we are going to have a long talk about this," he sounded like he did the night I staid out until past 3:00 AM in high school with my friends. I get the feeling this talk will be much worse. "I'm coming out to Atlanta myself and we are going to have a nice little chat. I have to go now Margaret. I'll see you soon."
"Bye, Dad," I don't think he heard me; the other end was dead by the time I finished. A stack of files was placed next to me by one of the doctors for me to complete, but I didn't mind paperwork as much as I usually do. I was OK for now, at least until Dad gets into town.