Cally...I've been away from it for almost a year now but the 18 months I spent there are like a memory beating against my brain, hammering inside as if to remind me that one of the best and worst times of my life are at a close. So much seen, done, learned and missed transpired over that time. But, as all journeys have a silver lining, so does this one. Of course, I must begin with how and why I came to be in California.
When I was given the choice of getting out of the NC National Guard or going to a different AIT, I could not for the life of me consider option A. I had suffered through Benning enough, and wasn't about to let it go to waste. There were few options for reclassification, and fewer still that I considered. When I learned of an opening for a cryptolinguist, I lunged for it. Little did I know what I would be getting myself into.
Of course, I had to process through MEPS, so another lonely night at that horrid hotel, then a bus ride to Fort Jackson with soon-to-be initiates into the US Army. I almost felt pity. As I was just a transfer or hold-over for orders to go to DLI, I was put in the headquarters platoon with other people just waiting. These few weeks, I hardly remember the beginning of, but am damned sure of never forgetting the latter. It seems that there are few moments in life that one can recall as vividly as one would wish, but that these damn few are all the worthwhile to make up for the others that are lost to us. As that black Lincoln pulled up and I, along with my desk-mate, noticed the arrival of a new recruit, everything else, up to that point and since, seemed unremarkable.
I cannot bore you with details, nor could any words of mine do it the justice, but suffice it to say that such a bond was struck that even I am amazed at how quickly and fiercely it was forged. Needless to say, my leaving for California was a painful one.
As sad as it is to say, I am now lost in a haze and cannot continue my recounting of California, so I will have to put it off for another day. Perhaps then I can regain the strength which has just been snatched away by all of the memories of this match flooding my mind.
When I was given the choice of getting out of the NC National Guard or going to a different AIT, I could not for the life of me consider option A. I had suffered through Benning enough, and wasn't about to let it go to waste. There were few options for reclassification, and fewer still that I considered. When I learned of an opening for a cryptolinguist, I lunged for it. Little did I know what I would be getting myself into.
Of course, I had to process through MEPS, so another lonely night at that horrid hotel, then a bus ride to Fort Jackson with soon-to-be initiates into the US Army. I almost felt pity. As I was just a transfer or hold-over for orders to go to DLI, I was put in the headquarters platoon with other people just waiting. These few weeks, I hardly remember the beginning of, but am damned sure of never forgetting the latter. It seems that there are few moments in life that one can recall as vividly as one would wish, but that these damn few are all the worthwhile to make up for the others that are lost to us. As that black Lincoln pulled up and I, along with my desk-mate, noticed the arrival of a new recruit, everything else, up to that point and since, seemed unremarkable.
I cannot bore you with details, nor could any words of mine do it the justice, but suffice it to say that such a bond was struck that even I am amazed at how quickly and fiercely it was forged. Needless to say, my leaving for California was a painful one.
As sad as it is to say, I am now lost in a haze and cannot continue my recounting of California, so I will have to put it off for another day. Perhaps then I can regain the strength which has just been snatched away by all of the memories of this match flooding my mind.
