(no subject)
There is a sea of black jackets and wool covers surrounding me. I am one of them-- rats. We stand in front of a band, playing in Barracks. A band named "Jimmy's Chicken Shack." They were on TRL a few years ago I am told. We are separated from the upperclassmen: the majority of them stand in civilian clothes, many with a date or other acquaintances. Suddenly the two groups intermix, and there is a period of mashing and crowd surfing.
Suddenly, muscle-bound figures in tight blue shirts that have SECURITY in bold print across the back and wearing the same style of tight white slacks I myself am in break up the mob. Suddenly I remember where I am, and that in a few short hours I will be marching several miles in boots with a rifle. Familiar pangs return to my neck, a result of straining (mandatory rat-posture improving technique).
Its hard to believe the blur that this day has been, let alone the past week and all the weeks before it. Early morning routine, classes filled with tests until lunch (a busy academic day), then laying around my dykes room until later afternoon where I run up to shine brass and prepare for parade. Back to my dyke's room to help him dress for parade. Parade seems long as always... One of the things I dread the most here. A surprise knowledge quiz by our Rat Disciplinary Committee follows. Supper (a bit more ass-chewing than usual-- had to make a good impression for a group from a Guard-sponsored-life-straightening-high school-alternative) then a mandatory pep rally follows, then we're shepherded over to Jimmy's Chicken Shack.
So it goes.
Suddenly, muscle-bound figures in tight blue shirts that have SECURITY in bold print across the back and wearing the same style of tight white slacks I myself am in break up the mob. Suddenly I remember where I am, and that in a few short hours I will be marching several miles in boots with a rifle. Familiar pangs return to my neck, a result of straining (mandatory rat-posture improving technique).
Its hard to believe the blur that this day has been, let alone the past week and all the weeks before it. Early morning routine, classes filled with tests until lunch (a busy academic day), then laying around my dykes room until later afternoon where I run up to shine brass and prepare for parade. Back to my dyke's room to help him dress for parade. Parade seems long as always... One of the things I dread the most here. A surprise knowledge quiz by our Rat Disciplinary Committee follows. Supper (a bit more ass-chewing than usual-- had to make a good impression for a group from a Guard-sponsored-life-straightening-high school-alternative) then a mandatory pep rally follows, then we're shepherded over to Jimmy's Chicken Shack.
So it goes.