I don’t have the medical records regarding tuberculosis disease in me, so I’m waiting now to be shipped to get x-ray, again. The MEPS stations in LA messed up. We’re waiting now for our deployment, so are 1,500 of the rest of us, including females. It’s official now, more females are here than males. Some of them, though, are so freakin hot none of us have any idea what they’re doing here. It might be money, adventure, discipline, training, to shoot guns, and because of parents like so many of us. We have all our equipment lined up in roster order now, writing letters, waiting, lumped together and sweating. The active people won’t be going for a while. The MRD people (Mandatory Return Date) like me that gotta go to school in September are going first. There’s so many of us here, sgts and corporals are going crazy, trying to set us up. Got my glasses today, feels weird. They call them birth control glasses, they’re so damn ugly. Oh, and I got caught sleeping today, while we were waiting. Someone tried to wake me up, kicked by butt real hard but they say I kept sleeping. Even the drill sgt. couldn’t wake me up till I naturally did next hour. Did pushups for 10 minutes, or tried to anyway.
Last night, some stupid people keep me up all night, wrestling and screaming all night long, till 11 PM anyway. Some things happen here that I’m sure you don’t wanna know but I’ll tell you anyway. Stupid guy pissed in the bathroom sink so only 7 of them can be used now. Some other black dude was telling stories about his sexual experiences last night and kept me up till 11PM. A white guy got kicked cuz he touched this girl in the ass. Another guy got caught masturbating and he was ok till he got caught again. At least half the guys here lost their virginity. Seems this world is different from the Whitney world I’m accustomed to, but it’s not shocking or anything. People from all over the country come here, yet we share a lot of similarities and interests. One guy cried because his girlfriend is pissed at him, but we’re all in high spirits here. We haven’t seen anything yet, though, waiting for deployment. Now I’m here at Medical Center, taking my TB x-ray. I’m hoping I won’t be late for shipment today, we’re already 30 minutes late. Lots of people around here are starting to act like jackasses, or smort-alek if you will, as if they knew everything and no one else does. If you’re late to one thing, 4 or more people start pushing you around. One time I told this person that I’m no better than him and he’s no better than me, we’re all new recruits. Then he gave me this lecture about how he’s better than the rest of us because he’s been in the army for almost a year. Anyway, there’s some people starting to piss me off, acting hyper or immature or giving the rest of us attitudes, making the rest of us suffer with them. This one white boy talked back to the drill sergeant, he was going upstairs without permission, drill sergeant caught him. He was like saying “dude, what’s wrong with me going upstairs huh?” That boy had no respect. He got smoked though. It’s so freaking humid here, add at least 10 degrees to the thermometer to calculate total temperature, plus we got long pants and jacket camouflage uniforms on all the time. It’s June now, but come August, the 80s we see now will go up to 110s. It rains here, too, but you can predict it. Every day starts out sunny, then it gets rainy, then sunset, rain around 2PM or 3. Thunderstorms. A guy says the thunder is gods playing bowling. TB test came out negative, I’m TB infected, but don’t have TB disease, so I’m good to go.
1520 hours. We’re not in the bus, heading to basic training. If you can, picture me writing on top of 2 huge bags, in a bus, only 1 of 5, slowly moving raining outside and water leaks in the roof, I’m sitting right under one. Gotta go now, ink is messing up. 1523 hours. It’s not pouring too bad anymore. Remember the bus in Forrest Gump? I’m in that right now, except all the seats are taken, no white guys saying you can’t sit here, cuz you can’t sit anywhere else , and no Bubba. Silent in the bus now, I’m the only crazy SOB writing. I’m nervous. Hell, scared. I’m sure the rest of us are, too. Pouring again. Covered my paper with my camp. On the way loading ourselves on the bus, I saw a major general (2 stars), 3 captains, and a lieutenant colonel touring the fort, wearing black berets, out with Ranger patches on the side. Getting dizzy from writing, we’ve just started the bus ride. 28 Jun 01 about 1500 hours.