Mike Skidmore:  

Finding My Roots: All of my life, I never knew what to say when people asked, Where are you from? I usually smiled and gave a simple answer that I figured would not be further pursued, but I also knew that wasn't where I was from. The truth is, I didn't know the answer to that question, because I am part of an American subculture that seems to have no roots and we call ourselves "military brats. For us, the need to belong to community, friends, and family can go unanswered until we find our roots. My experience as a military brat all started in Hutchinson Kansas where i was born. My father was an Air Force recruiter assigned to Hutchinson but within 6 months was reassigned to Topeka Kansas. Over the next 18 years I would live in 8 different places and attend 6 different schools. The department of defense ran most of the schools I attended. I started first grade elementary school at Tachikawa Air Base Japan and graduated from High School at Yamato High School located at Yamato Air Station Japan. In contrast, most people in civilian life fulfill their need to belong through their communities. They often live all their lives in or near the same communities where they grew up and went to school with the same people. Another thing that gives someone a sense of belonging is having friends. Generally, active duty military families are rotated to new locations every two to four years. This meant that friend- ships had to be formed very fast, because we all knew we didn't have time to waste. I couldn't afford to hesitate if someone was going to be leaving again within a couple of years, but I knew that, when they moved on, I would never hear from them again. One of the most difficult things for a military brat is dealing with moving yet again, always leaving behind not only close relationships but also treasured possessions and even pets. To make it easier to cope, most military brats simply cut all ties and remade themselves in their new locations, starting the whole process over again. One of the strongest things that make people know they belong somewhere is family. As a military brat, I didn’t have many relatives around me while I was growing up. Usually I saw my grandparents, or aunt and uncle during the summer or short visits. The only real family I knew was my father, mother, brother and sisters. As I met new people, I was finding that the most awkward question that I was being asked was, Where are you from?” I was never sure what they were asking. Were they asking where I was born? I was born in Hutchinson, Kansas, but I had not lived there within my memory. Were they asking where I grew up? I grew up in a lot of places, mainly military bases. Were they asking where I live now? I live in Tulsa Oklahoma, but I live here due to happenstance; I moved to Oklahoma just to be near 2 brothers that I had attended high school with in Japan. As years passed and I would hear people talk about their school and class reunions, I always listened to them with the sadness of knowing it was something I would never experie...Expand for more