Common Ground

The Navy put me up at an undisclosed location last night in preparation for my physical this morning. At dinner, none of the kids wanted to sit with me. I think they were afraid I was an officer based on my age and that I did not want to have a newbie come up and bug me. This was confirmed in speaking with a Marine later in the evening who addressed me as sir and asked if I was re-enlisting.

As I sat there, a kid who was eating with his parents came over to compliment me on my Joy Division t-shirt that I was wearing. We then went into talking about music (Radiohead, The Smiths, Morrissey) and his dream of opening up a studio after he completed his stint in the Navy. This all from an 18 year-old who was shipping out for boot camp in Great Lakes, IL. I was impressed.

4 a.m. came too early this morning. Not that I went to bed too late; just the fact that it was 4 a.m. We boarded the bus and headed over to the processing center. I passed all aspects of the physical with flying colors. All except for the vision (20/400) and weight (190.5 lbs. with the maximum at 191 lbs.) I go back early next week to complete paperwork and to sit down with a job counselor. All this has transpired in the course of 2 weeks. Sometimes the government acts quickly.

I go against the grain when it comes to Friday the 13th. I love it. I was in room 535 last night. I realized that this morning when I was checking out. The only thing that I am supertitious about in life is not stepping on the foul lines in baseball.

It is another chapter in my life. If I would have been told when I was 16 about where I have gone, I would have thought you were crazy. My recruiter even commented on the number of places I have been in the course of 37 years. This comes from a man who has been stationed in Japan and more recently San Diego.

I have been a wander. It is in my nature. I love trying new things. The funny thing is that over the past couple of years I have felt a sense of becoming a little more grounded. I have enjoyed that feeling and think this is a great opportunity for me to get some sense of further balance in my life and begin looking towards the future. Not necessarily for the benefit of society as a whole, more as a benefit to myself and those around me.