Why I Came...
I had a party over Christmas at my house with a bunch of friends from the Army, West Point and home, which I think I wrote about. Alex's cousin and her son from Florida came for a while before hand, and her the son reminded me a lot of me when I was his age...it was funny really. We all thought he was a cool kid and they left early (because his mom didn't want him going back to school saying he had "been to a college party")
Anyway, Alex wrote that, ever since, he's been talking about coming to West Point and that I was an "accidental recruiter"...which got me thinking about why I chose to go into the Army. If any of you knew me before (or, for those of you who did know me before) it was quite a suprise I guess, since none of you were in my head.
The first time I'd thought of it was when I went to my cousins graduation from Marine Corps boot camp in second or fourth grade...I don't remember which. What I do remember was being impressed by the attention he got and by the fact that they weren't allowed to drink anything but water, orange juice and milk durring boot camp. That year, I gave up soda for lent, just to see if I could do it...I think that might be the first time I thought about it.
Let's see...what else...obviously my dad was in the Army, but I think those of you who knew him and us know that his military life was very little a part of my growing up. I vaguely remember my mom or him pressing his uniform once a month so he could go to LA, or about how sometimes he'd take me with him and I'd stay at Aunt Irene's house on the internet all weekend since we didn't have the internet...but again, I only saw him before or after duty when I'd make fun of him for shaving.
My Uncle Z was a Marine, which is how he met my Aunt, and he and my dad were close. I remember (and this is probably when I made my decision) that after high school, when we were bombing Yugoslavia, there was a lot of talk about a draft. We had a family reunion from my pop's side of the family and my Auntie Janet and Uncle Z came out from Tenessee. Z's son, Blue, had been a Marine, and he visited us once when we lived in LA, but I don't remember it too vividly. Anyway, we were standing there, Me, Ruben (my cousin, who's like a brother and was in the AF), my dad, Uncle Z and my Uncle Richard (another Air Force) and it suddenly struck me that, while there was never really a whole lot of military talk, all of them had done it, and I hadn't. I started to feel a little...left out. My dad never said he wanted me in the military...in fact, he talked a lot of shit about the Marines and about the military life...but, at the same time...it seemed like something you just did.
Anyway, the next day I called the recruiter and the rest is history (or...more like...present, I guess). Yeah, so...I guess it's not all bad, being in the army (kind of). And as for Alex's cousin...he's still young, but hell, West Point sure isn't the worst goal the kid could have.
Anyway, Alex wrote that, ever since, he's been talking about coming to West Point and that I was an "accidental recruiter"...which got me thinking about why I chose to go into the Army. If any of you knew me before (or, for those of you who did know me before) it was quite a suprise I guess, since none of you were in my head.
The first time I'd thought of it was when I went to my cousins graduation from Marine Corps boot camp in second or fourth grade...I don't remember which. What I do remember was being impressed by the attention he got and by the fact that they weren't allowed to drink anything but water, orange juice and milk durring boot camp. That year, I gave up soda for lent, just to see if I could do it...I think that might be the first time I thought about it.
Let's see...what else...obviously my dad was in the Army, but I think those of you who knew him and us know that his military life was very little a part of my growing up. I vaguely remember my mom or him pressing his uniform once a month so he could go to LA, or about how sometimes he'd take me with him and I'd stay at Aunt Irene's house on the internet all weekend since we didn't have the internet...but again, I only saw him before or after duty when I'd make fun of him for shaving.
My Uncle Z was a Marine, which is how he met my Aunt, and he and my dad were close. I remember (and this is probably when I made my decision) that after high school, when we were bombing Yugoslavia, there was a lot of talk about a draft. We had a family reunion from my pop's side of the family and my Auntie Janet and Uncle Z came out from Tenessee. Z's son, Blue, had been a Marine, and he visited us once when we lived in LA, but I don't remember it too vividly. Anyway, we were standing there, Me, Ruben (my cousin, who's like a brother and was in the AF), my dad, Uncle Z and my Uncle Richard (another Air Force) and it suddenly struck me that, while there was never really a whole lot of military talk, all of them had done it, and I hadn't. I started to feel a little...left out. My dad never said he wanted me in the military...in fact, he talked a lot of shit about the Marines and about the military life...but, at the same time...it seemed like something you just did.
Anyway, the next day I called the recruiter and the rest is history (or...more like...present, I guess). Yeah, so...I guess it's not all bad, being in the army (kind of). And as for Alex's cousin...he's still young, but hell, West Point sure isn't the worst goal the kid could have.
Labels: Dad
posted by Adam at 7:30 AM
1 Comments:
That's interesting to hear. It's true, I had no idea what in all hell had compelled you to join the army. Until that one night when you were showing us your uniform or something, and I suddenly thought, "Hm. Okay, I sort of get it."
Lori's psyched about what Kyle's saying. She sees it the same way...goals=good.
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