Here is the next Chapter of my Memoir/Novel, Lost and Found.
Be well — Be in peace,
Ron Rink
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“Alright, sailors, get your lazy butts up, grab your gear and head out the door!”
My eyes snapped open because the sailor who was in charge was standing right next to me yelling as loud as he could. He repeated the same sentence a couple more times as he headed down the aisle of the train. I saw the other guys slowly getting to their feet and moving towards the door. I grabbed my bag of clothes and began to stumble along.
As I stepped out of the train door I could see the light of dawn just beginning to show in the sky. I saw two more sailors standing near a bus-like vehicle parked at the far end of the platform. The sailor who rode with us from Detroit was barking orders to head over to the bus and get on board. The other two sailors were signaling to us to move faster.
After we were all aboard the bus, the sailor in charge stood up near the front of the bus as we pulled away from the station and announced, “Okay, sailors, our next stop will be our boot camp where you will be trained to be real sailors. There’s a war going on so your training will be on the fast track. I’ll be right there with you to guide you along the way. Just do what I say and we’ll get along fine. Don’t do what I say and you’ll soon learn what it feels like to be standing in the rain doing rifle presses at two o’clock in the morning. Plus, if I have to be up to watch you do those rifle drills I’ll be one pissed off sailor. You won’t like me when I’m pissed off. There’s an easy, smart way to get through boot camp, and there’s a difficult, dumb way to do it. Your choice, sailors!”
I was beginning to wonder how long it would be before this guy and I tangled. He was quite a bit older than the rest of the guys on the bus so he had probably been in the Navy for a while. Just by looking at him I knew I could take him easily – he just wasn’t in good shape at all. His pot belly showed he liked his beer. He was pushing all my buttons. I felt myself getting more and more defiant as he spoke. It had been some time since I had a good fight so maybe the time was coming. Deep down I knew better than to give in to these feelings, but the urge to exert some independence was stronger than it had been in several months. All the thoughts I had when I was at Sally’s and in Juvenile about getting my life in order had gone out of my thinking at the moment. I had an urge to feel my fist hitting a face. I didn’t care whose face it was, but this loud-mouthed sailor would be a darn good choice.
When the bus pulled into the gates of the Training Center I was fascinated to see how clean and organized everything looked. The buildings were all painted either white or gray – the grass was mowed to perfection – the sidewalks were so clean it looked like they had been scrubbed. Over in a field to my right I could see a bunch of sailors marching in formation. The sun was coming up so I realized we would probably be doing the same thing in the early morning hours soon.
“Listen up, sailors! When the bus pulls up, you need to step out where I tell you and form a straight line. One of the Commanders of the Training Center will want to have a few words with you. After he’s finished, we’ll be marching over to the building where you will receive your uniforms. After that, we’ll go to your barracks where you will find your bunk and get prepared to go to chow.”
After we received our uniforms and sea bags we were marched over to the building where we would be living. The sailor who was in charge tried to get us to march in some sort of order and kept barking, “Left – Right – Left – Right!” but we definitely weren’t getting it. The guys were stumbling onto each other and I could hear some giggling along with whispered curses around me.
“I will be back in about an hour to take you recruits to the dining hall for your morning chow. Your first step here is to find a bunk where you want to sleep. Make sure it’s one you like because it will be yours for the weeks you’re in this camp. Open your sea bags and find your work uniform. The work uniform is the dungarees, white socks, black shoes and the white cap. Get out of your civvies and into your work uniform by the time I get back. Put your sea bags on top of your bunk for now. I’ll be teaching you how to fold and store your gear later. Be ready in about one hour.”
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If there is a hell, this sure sounds like the place! Hope it’s going to improve. I’m confident that Roland will learn many valuable lessons here, & I can’t wait to hear what they are!