Common Sense

She’s fighting over there, so we don’t have to drive behind her slow ass here.

TUCSON, Ariz. – When Laurie-Ann Fuca said she was joining the Army, her friends “laughed their heads off.” After all, she is 41.

“They said, ‘No way – not you!’ ” Ms. Fuca said as she prepared to pack her duffel bag for basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. “My son was like: ‘You’re crazy. Moms don’t join the military.’ “

“I told him a lot of soldiers are somebody’s mom, and he said, ‘Yeah, but you’re MY mom!’ “

Her enlistment is making history. She is the first Arizona woman older than 40 to join the Army…

Ms. Fuca said her biggest challenge might be learning to handle a gun. Though she hates seeing gratuitous bloodshed onscreen, she knows she must be able to protect herself and others if the need arises.

“There’s a difference between paying $8 to see a violent movie and being a soldier who’s defending somebody,” she said.

I feel safer already.