Pamela Moran quotes from Army Wives

Pamela

[In labor] Vodka and a hammer! I need vodka and a hammer!!!

Pamela

Hey -- It's me, Pamela Moran. I just want to let you all know, I made fifty grand carrying those kids. That's right, I was a paid surrogate. So, they're not my babies, they're not in the hospital, they're not dead and I lied to everyone. So -- Have at it!

Pamela

[to Roxy] I read this quote once. Once you become a mother, you stop being the picture and you start being the frame.

Pamela

[on the air describing her new call-in show] Ok, uh, so much for announcements. Now for a little call-in segment that I'm calling 'Have At It With Pamela Moran.' Where we talk about us – the Army Wives – and what we go through. Like how it feels to be a single mom even when you're married. Or, better yet, what it's like to be the mistress 'cause the Army is the wife and sometimes that bitch gets all the attention! You know, they say, 'Mission First. People Always.' But that's crap. And what the hell does that mean, anyway? Because the Army comes first - period. And we deal with it or we move on. And it doesn't matter if your spouse wears sergeant's stripes, or, or colonel's eagle. Because worrying about your soldier at wartime feels exactly the same. So, forget rank, 'cause people are just people. And uh, speaking of which - I know we all like to gossip, but come on folks, can we just stop all the lies and innuendos about a certain colonel's wife. I mean, what the hell folks! Did we all lose direction to the high road, or what?

Pamela

My man just came back and got a heroes welcome, lemme tell ya he knows how to shoot off the fireworks, we're talking 21-gun salute, so stay hydrated.

Pamela

[over the air on her show, 'Have At It'] Ok, so in case you were wondering why it's been so busy on Fort Marshall today, it's because we've gone to FPCON Alpha Plus, and we know 'Alpha' relates to the global threat of terrorism. But...hell, we've been to Alpha Plus here before. We've bought the gas masks, we've stocked up on bottled water. But, there's one thing we can never be prepared for, and that's the fear. How do we handle the fear? My son Lucas once asked me if the 'bad guys' were going to blow us up. How do you answer that? How do you explain terrorism to your kid? How do you explain that at any time, any place, someone could just decide to take us all out? And that's why terrorism works, because we can't explain it, we can't predict it, it can happen any time, anywhere, by anyone. So, all we can do is trust that the military has our backs, and then we let it go. Because the only way to stop the fear is by living. Just living, being with your family, your friends, your community. Look, there is nothing we can do about it - except to seize the day. We live while we can, laugh while we can, love while we can. And that, my friends, is how we beat terrorism. So, 'Have At It.'

Pamela

[Intro radio voiceover] This is Pamela Moran. I realize that this isn't my normal radio slot, but normal isn't a word that applies much anymore. Not around here. I don't know how to gently lead up to something like this, so I'm just going to say it. I just found out that someone very near to me died. As you all know, four days ago there was a bombing at the Hump Bar, and the city is still not back to normal. People are trying to understand how something so terrible could have happened here. The destruction, debris, both physical and emotional have taken a heavy toll, though the Army was quick to respond. I too was one of those who was glued to my television. It was as if I only listened to the news reports long enough, and watched the images enough times, that somehow it would all change. On that first day that we were hungering for information, my son came up to me and asked me if I could take him to the beach. Our adult world is falling apart, but in my child's world, he just wanted to go to the beach he said he'd found this secret place where the gold starfish are, and he wanted to show it to me. But no I couldn't pull myself away. I just sat there in front of the television hypnotized by it all. People who aren't in the military don't understand the unique bonds that are forged so quickly on an army post. Maybe it's because we move so much. You know when you rarely spend two or three years in one place, it forces you to get to the heart of things. That's why when one of these people who we've come to care about like they're our own family slips away, leaves us forever, the loss is almost unbearable.

Pamela

[Continued radio voiceover] The mind plays tricks on us at times like this. It has to. We need it to. It's how we're able to power on and do what needs to be done. Even something as mundane as doing the dishes that are piling up in the sink, or going out, getting up and doing what needs to be done for your loved ones. The future doesn't stop. We all search for strength on that first day or two. I did. But whether what I found was true strength or some part of our DNA that makes us want to reach out and help, I don't know. Times like this we question our own strength, our ability to hang on and not crumble. It's one of the things I admire most about the army wives I've met. Must be a military thing- this capacity to press on despite the obstacles, to see a mission through to its completion. No matter what happens that makes us question the world we live in, life goes on, as cliché as that sounds. One generation passes the baton to the next generation and the cycle of life continues. Regeneration- life renewed. What is it that the poets keep trying to hammer into our heads? Winter becomes spring, night becomes day, as one wave crashes onto the shore and disappears, another one appears behind it, and another and another. I guess we humans just plain want to stick around. The ride must be worth the price of admission. And it's not in us to give up hope, even when any reason for hope has dwindled to almost nothing. This communal spirit, this crazy insistence that we all are connected in each other's caretaker, it keeps us from sinking into despair, or sliding into the abyss. What is it about the human touch- holding a loved one close and feeling their warmth, their heartbeat. I mean this is the Army and frequently our loved ones are far away. But their warmth doesn't have to be. At times it feels totally random. It's roll of the dice on who lives and who dies. At some point words fail us and we're left with silence. Silence and time. I read something once, to live in hears you leave behind, is not to die. I don't know what each of you is going to do today, but now is the time to tell those you love, that you love them. Like we loved Amanda and she lives in our hearts still, and will never be forgotten. Me, I think I'm going to pick up my kids up and take that ride down to the ocean like they wanted. The water's beautiful this time of the year. Besides, they know where the gold starfish are.

Pamela

[to Denise, standing by the comatose Betty] I'm gonna stay. Maybe I'll tell Betty how Roxy dyed her 'netherlands' in a pink heart before Trevor left.

Pamela

[voice-over, speaking on her radio show] My daughter has faith. That her father will come home in one piece, that tomorrow will be better than today, that she can be brave, that she can be Saint Joan. I guess what I'm saying is, let's not forget to believe, let your imagination roll again. Or something like that.

Pamela

There are a million ways to save money, like the shampoo your family uses. When you're halfway through, fill the bottle with water and stretch it out. Like I used to do with my dad's whiskey.

Pamela

[after finding her wallet] Ah! My wallet! Yes! I'm alive!

Pamela

Sit next to the Anti-Christ, going to Hell by association.

Roxy

Oh, I reckon I got you beat on the Hell front.

Pamela

Last week I was a drug dealer. This week I'm carrying the chaplain's kids. You think you can top that?

Roxy

I can try. My kids aren't my husband's. I was married to the first one's daddy till he sucker-punched me. The second one was just a friend who came over to "comfort" me one night. I've known Trevor, my husband, for all of 17 days now. How'd I do.

Pamela

[smiles] I'm impressed.

Pamela

[Seeing the look on Roland's face as she gives birth] You having a good time?

Roland

Let's just say childbirth is disgusting as it is miraculous.

Roland

[looks up to see everyone looking at him] It wasn't me.

Pamela

I know it's a lot, Roxy, but you gotta harden yourself. You gotta keep it together for your husband.

Roxy

I'm trying. I guess I just thought marrying a soldier would be romantic. But instead, it's about worrying whether he's coming back.

Pamela

Well, he can't go to war worrying about you. He could die from that kind of distraction.