Yi, Er, San, Si
I saw a soldier with flowery socks yesterday. The freshmen are all undergoing military training this week. As I was walking up a stairwell, I noticed a young lady a number of steps above me. She was dressed in camouflaged fatigues and flowered socks. It didn't quite fit in with my stereotype of a soldier. I think of soldiers wearing nothing but government issue clothing, right down to their skivvies. The freshmen drilling on campus, however are not so fully equipped. Besides the aforementioned socks, I've often seen kids "off duty" revealing commercial T-shirts under their uniform shirts.Anyway, seeing the mass of kids drilling on campus is, like many things, not so exotic this year. Last year I was slightly intimidated, wondering how exactly I should behave as I was passing a group having their drills. This year I don't give it a second thought. They are the newbies. I belong here. (Or so my thought processes run.) Of course, having gotten to know last year's recruits, I don't see soldiers so much as new students in uniform. That view was helped this past Saturday as I returned from our weekly hike. Usually we have to circle halfway around the campus to go through the main entrance. This week someone left a gate open so we could cut across campus. I said goodbye to my fellow hikers (my family was elsewhere) at their dorm and headed down a roadway. On both sides of me were a few hundred soldiers, resting in their squads. I got a number of stares, which I returned with a smile. Then a couple kids got brave enough to say, "Hello." I said hello back, and that emboldened a few others to call out. It started a ripple effect and I ended up waving and nodding to each group, like some shmoe in a parade. I wish I would have had some candy to throw. I'll be glad as the year progresses and I can fade back into the woodwork.
posted by John @ 2:07 AM
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