Originally I intended to post this old interview on Veteran’s Day.  However, since the article was misplaced until now, that has been delayed. 

I remember the day when the news reporter and photographer stopped by our house to do an article for The Huntsville Times about military families for the Veteran’s Day issue.  They stayed and talked into the evening, so the photographer had to come out the next day to get a good family photo of us in the daylight.  This was the finished result…

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The Huntsville Times Saturday, November 11, 2000

Family forces

When there’s a career Army person at home, everyone is on duty

By PAT NEWCOMB Times Staff Writer

Amanda Read counts on her fingers.  She was born in El Paso.  From there she moved to Monterey, Calif.  She moved next to Ithaca, N.Y.  Then it was Germany, with a two-month stay in Uzbekistan.  Then West Point and now Huntsville.  Amanda is 10.  A pretty girl with long brown hair and olive-shaped eyes, Amanda is what is often referred to as an “Army brat”.  Her dad, Bryan Read, is a major in the U.S. Army.

But Amanda is no brat.  She’s articulate and self-assured.  She helps her mom, Chris, take care of her four younger siblings.  She’s smart, too.  “They know their geography,” said Bryan Read of his children.  “Amanda can point out on a globe where we’ve lived.”

For now, home is Huntsville.  The family of seven lives in a modest, red-sided rancher on Redstone Arsenal.  Chris Read has made it home, with family photos, baskets and a piano that has nicks in it from many moves.  Those scratches are memories, said Bryan Read.  “Each one represents a different move,” he said.

He is one of more that 1,500 active-duty military members stationed at Redstone Arsenal.  More than 2,500 military dependents are also on the rolls.  A typical tour of duty at Redstone is three years, said Dan O’Boyle, a Redstone spokesman.

Bryan Read has been in the Army for 15 years.  He and Chris have been married 12 of those.  Before she and Bryan married, Chris had lived all her life in Tuscaloosa where her father, Roger Sayers, was president of the University of Alabama.  She was a nursing student at Alabama when she met Bryan, who was from Jacksonville.  He was in ROTC while in college and went into the Army after graduating.

Moving with children, especially five ranging in age from 10 to 1, is no picnic.  It takes a lot of organization, said Chris Read. “I try not to be too much of a pack rat,” she said.  Because of their frequent moves, the Reads have eliminated one difficulty.  Their kids are home schooled so they don’t have to move them in midyear.  The Reads also do it because they want to include religious study as part of their children’s education.

A little room off the kitchen serves as a one-room schoolhouse for the Read children.  It’s a tiny room, but their education has been broad because of their military life.  “There’s been something about each place we’ve lived that I’ve enjoyed,” said Chris Read, “that I’ve been glad the children have experienced.” 

It’s not that there haven’t been sacrifices.  The family has never had a pet, unless you count a hermit crab.  They want a dog, but that’s not a good idea because of the potential for moving overseas. They have had to leave friends.  And there’s always the possibility the country may go to war, and Bryan Read will have to go fight.  “I think that’s always something in the back of your mind,” said Chris Read. 

But Bryan Read accepts that as part of his obligation.  “It’s what the American people pay us to do.   They’ve invested a lot in us.”

The Reads expect to be in Huntsville through the summer, maybe a little longer.  They don’t know what’s next.  He is a foreign language officer.  He speaks fluent Russian and that may determine his next assignment.

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Oh, to think what has happened in the seven years since!   Yet the LORD planned it all along.

MAY GOD BLESS,

~Amanda~

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Comments

Thursday, December 20, 2007 – Untitled Comment

Posted by Bluejane
Wow and I thought I had moved a lot!

Bluejane
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Thursday, December 20, 2007 – Untitled Comment

Posted by ChristineDaae
Hello,

Thank you for the comment. I appreciate the tip on the links. I will have to try to fix that (although as usual I will probably need my sister to help!) I’m not very good with computers.

Wow, that article was neat. My family is also military so I understand about the moving and all that! We only have four kids though. We are actually moving in May or June. My dad went to the Naval Academy and was in the Navy until he met my Mom and they married. Than he went to seminary and was a pastor for five years. After that he got back into the Navy as a chaplain so we moved from PA to VA and now we live in NC and are about to move to Annapolis, MD. Ok, yes this is a really long comment, so I better go now! Thanks again and Merry Christmas!

-Christine
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Thursday, December 20, 2007 – Untitled Comment

Posted by pokadot
hey amanda,
thanks for coming to my blog! we just got a knew camera last year and I am so happy. our old one took the most awful pictures. you have a great blog!

-Naomi
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Thursday, December 20, 2007 – Untitled Comment

Posted by BlogBoy
That is so neat! Y’all got to be in the news! Neato…

RYC: I’m not sure if the HSB mailing is that good. It is ok, but I send out all my email alerts by hand.

Eric
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Thursday, December 20, 2007 – Hello

Posted by Jocelyndixon
Yes, it did post your comments.I don’t know if it edited them. lol

I don’t think the HSB mailing list works very well either, and you can only have 30 emails, which I have almost 100 so that won’t work. lol

Blessings!
Jocelyn
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Friday, December 21, 2007 – Wow!

Posted by BreezyTulip
That is a neat article!

We used to have a hermit crab. After I read a children’s book about one, I had to have my own. Named him Francois Louis, or something thing like that…Dad’s idea, who also became the eventual “owner” of the little guy. When I told a friend he (the crab) ate crab cakes, he wouldn’t believe me. So naive, I didn’t realize it sounded like canibolism, but that’s what the package said – “Crab Cakes”.

BTW I think that is so neat that your dad speaks Russian fluently. Has he ever had to use it much?

Merry Christmas
-BreezyTulip

P.S. I’m glad I’ve got you on my friends list – I really like your blog, too!

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Saturday, December 22, 2007 – congrats

Posted by SuperAngel
Wow that is really neat you got that interview. Something special.
RYC:
Sorry you are cameraless. lol..
Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Have a great day!!
Prayers and Blessings,
Amanda
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Wednesday, December 26, 2007 – Amanda…

Posted by SuperAngel
That is really great they surprised you with the camera. That sounds so nice.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Have a great day!!
Prayers and Blessings,
Amanda