Two Taps to the Chest, One to the Head

Morning everyone.
I'm enjoying a nice cup of coffee and listening to the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Letting my iTouch shuffle through my 1100 songs at will, Spongebob is on the boobtube. It's a show I detest. If I knew someone as irritating as that character I would run away every time I saw him/her.

::shuffle:: now it's Sugarland's Already Gone I love her voice....

I know I promised pictures of my greatness to you from Parris Island, and indeed I had a great time. But since I couldn't participate ad take take pictures of myself at the same time, and the person I gave my camera to actually just took pictures of my FUCKING FEET there is very little evidence of my time there.

Which means I can lie like a damned fool and you will be none the wiser...

::shuffle:: Higher Ground, RHCP

But I'll tell you this, It was incredible.

For reference, you realize that most teachers love their job, and really want to be there? I can't speak for everyone, but I'm sure there are people who do a job, but don't really love it.

::shuffle::, Melissa Ethereridge, (no thanks) ::shuffle again:: Metallica, One

So imagine being around all these people who love their jobs and want to share that with us... it was nice.... There are a lot of similarities between a drill instructor and a teacher: we expect a lot from our charges, give them tools to reach a goal, and remediate when necessary.

I asked one of the guys if the DI's every hit or cussed at the recruits. Actually, what I said was, You have to know it happens. Is there a "Don't ask, Don't Tell" expectation? I think he got mad at me. I said we had coaches that cussed at the students and dipped and the students didn't say anything about it.

::shuffle:: Cold, Sick of Man

He said that that behavior was unacceptable and "would not happen on his watch" and that what Hollywood portrayed was mostly wrong. And I agree.
I still think there are DI's that cuss at the recruits and hit them, but maybe they are a rarity.

::shuffle:: Willie Nelson, Always On My Mind

Of course, being surrounded by that much testosterone had an effect on us too. The guys with us were prone to drinking and doing brave things

::G N R, Think About You (can I type any slower today?)


What was cool was the way they treated us, we walked into the Officer's Club, guys would start buying us drinks. General Laster (the Top Guy over there, I think) told us how much he admired us. Every where we went, there was a guy in uniform telling us how great we were.

::shuffle:: Eagles, Tequila Sunrise

I wish I had trusted in my self a little more and tried more of the confidence course. I loved the Martial Arts part, but didn't realize I was trying to beat up the instructor until it was over. We had lots of padding on and a football helmet, so I couldn't tell who it was. I just thought it was some old guy.

::shuffle:: Evanescence, Farther Away

We got to talk to recruits. I talked to a girl from Louisiana. Nice girl. She was in day 26 of her training and was learning to say "This Recruit" in place of "I" or "me".

We got to see part of the crucible. I tried the obstacle course. Parts of it anyway. One of the Majors (38 years old, me thinks) was showing us how to do each part.

::shuffle:: Puddle of Mudd, Control (kinda dirty)

The course starts with you jumping over a chest high (for me) log and then jumping up to a bar and climbing over it. In a big puddle of water. The Major did it like it was nothing, then flopped down in the puddle of water, swam back through it and then jumped and climbed the obstacles again.

::shuffle:: Rob Thomas, Ever the Same

I tried what I could, while others did more of it. One girl got help from several of the guys (she being young and cute) and finished the course but ended up hurting her ankle and at the emergency room with a bad sprain.

You've already seen the picture at the Range. That was the best part, I think. Two taps to the chest, one to the head.

::shuffle:; The Fray, How to Save a Life

There was a bald eagle nesting near there and she would fly in and we would have to stop, unload the magazine, and wait whilst a guy went out there and shooed her off. We had a blast. Second time in my life I've ever shot a gun. I should do that more.

I volunteered to stay and be their science teacher.