Describe a “first day” in your life (first day
of marriage, of school, etc.).
To be completely honest, I don’t remember the
exact first day, but I remember being scared to death wondering what the hell I
was getting myself into. For the first
time in my life, I traveled clear across the country on a commercial airline. I got off the bus that traveled from
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Ft. Dix, New Jersey for BASIC Training. Yelling began as soon as the bus stopped. Chaos ensued. I wish I had kept a consistent journal during
those days. But then, I wouldn’t have
had time to write in it with all the activities that kept us so busy. I was twenty-one years old and feeling
ancient. The average age was about
eighteen and a half.
One day at the beginning of BASIC I forgot my
key inside my locker. My drill sergeant
had to use bolt cutters on the lock. I
had to buy a new one. He was growling at
me. I was frustrated. I said, “yes, Sir.” to whatever he was saying,
probably that I was a stupid private. Yep, true enough. It wasn’t my first time saying, “yes, Sir” to
this Brown Round.
“Private, I am not an officer. I won’t tell you again. Say, yes, Drill Sergeant.”
“Sorry, drill sergeant, my dad taught me to say
sir. I will work on that bad habit.”
For the first time, I saw humor in his eyes,
though he kept the stern look on his face. I was blessed to have an uncle who fought in
the Korean War, though funny enough, I didn’t know that at the time. That is another story for another day. But my
uncle was a gruff man. This drill
sergeant had nothing over him. I cracked
the code in how to respond to him. From
then on, I didn’t mind all the yelling.
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