Army Wives quotes

Trevor

Mrs. Roxy LeBlanc, we got married at City Hall. We never had a chance to say our vows and you never got to wear a wedding dress. So here it goes. [hands her a rose] Roxy, sometimes I think I've spent most of my life asleep, not taking any chances or any risks...

Roxy

I think jumping out of an airplane is a risk.

Trevor

Shh! [smiles] You're not supposed to interrupt me!

Roxy

Sorry!

Trevor

It's one thing to jump out of an airplane. It's another to really love someone. And I met you and you made sense of me. You are who I'm fighting for. You are who I'm coming home to. [looks at Roxy] Roxy, I love you. You are the love of my life.

[standing beside TJ as Trevor says good bye to the boys] Please stay.

Trevor

[to TJ and Finn] Well, you know why I have to go. But I'm gonna come back as soon as I can, and when I get home, I'm gonna tell you guys stories about everything I've seen. So, be brave for me, okay? Take care of your Mom, she's gonna need it. Come here. [kneels to hug both boys, and picks up his rucksack to leave, as Roxy tries not to cry]

Trevor

What's the matter, buddy?

TJ

It's just that we've never had a Daddy before.

Trevor

[bending to look TJ straight in the eyes] I love you.

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.'

Amanda

Show me the mother, and I'll show you the child.

Roxy

[opening her front door] Weren't you just here awhile ago?

Pamela

I know. But this time I brought a medical professional.

Denise

[sliding a bottle of wine out of a paper bag as she walks through the door] This won't cure anything, but it just might make the waiting easier.

Roxy

I doubt it.

Pamela

Well, it couldn't hurt to try.

Roxy

[laughs as she walks toward the kitchen] Look at the two of you. It feels like I'm on the wrong end of an intervention.

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.

Claudia Joy

[voice-over] To rejoin life is to accept what's happened, but I can't accept it. I can't move forward. I can't turn back. So I hold my breath living in a suspended state of existence.

Trevor

[voice-over] What do you do when you're told no mail can go out for a week due to security concerns? You get out a pen and paper anyway. Dear Roxy, I'm here, and by the time you get this letter, I might be somewhere else. But right now, Iraq has got to be the driest place on earth. Baby, there's no preparing for this. No books, no pictures, no training. Just the reality. It makes me wonder if sometimes you'd be better off if I had never brought you into this crazy life.

Claudia Joy

Everything that was familiar is now unfamiliar. What's light is now dark. The world seems a vast and unfriendly place.

Trevor

Death is everywhere here, in what you smell, hear, see, feel, and somehow, you're just supposed to put it all away. Forget you saw it. Move on. Is this hell?

Claudia Joy

Where is hell? Never to love again.

Betty

[to TJ and Finn after they had set off an alarm] Hey! Watch it! Pull the wrong plug and I'll die.

Roland

Sorry I'm late. I got dinner.

Joan

I already had dinner. It's in the trash can!

Roland

I see.

Joan

[gags] Oh baby, whatever that is, it's –– it's not welcome here!

Roland

Ok, ok, I got it. [takes food outside] You ok now?

Joan

[drinks water] My body's being invaded. I'm no longer a person, I'm a host!

Roxy

They're not sending you to County. I got you another week!

Betty

[in amazement] Roxy LeBlanc. What did you do?!

Roxy

I took my shirt off. And as soon as the week is over, you're moving in with me.

Chase

[sees Katie wearing her armor costume] Wow! You know what this is?

No.

Chase

It's a breastplate.

But I don't have breasts yet.

Pamela

[laughs] You're on your own!

You'll read my lines, Daddy? Please! You can take all the other parts.

Chase

[embarrassed] No, no...your daddy is not much of an actor, sweetie.

You're a real soldier. You know how to say all the words right.

[looks at "Harry"] Shut up Harry! No, you're stupid!

Roxy

[comes to the bathroom door, amused] Are you and Harry at it again?

He told me to wear a tie but he can't tie one and neither can I!

Roxy

[smiles] Well, your dad can't tie a tie worth a darn either. I have to tie it for him all the time.

Hi!

Claudia Joy

Hi Finn.

[hands Claudia Joy some yellow flowers] I tried to find red ones.

Claudia Joy

[smiles] Oh, thank you! I love yellow!

Would you go on a date with me?

[sees Roxy] Mom! Shoo, shoo!