Map stuff. Very tired. No
sweat on maps. Gave class
on M18A1 set up. Terrain ID
useless plus I lost a pen for my
troubles. PT was Indian Death Run.
It was slow paced. First full PT
since going off code. No sweat.
We get dress uniforms tomorrow.
No mail from [fiance]. No phone
calls tonight though we were
supposed to get them. [Fiance]
sounds so sad when I talk to her.
I wish I could help. [Hollywood]
knows Cher. Blech. I've got some
sort of severe allergy.
Coughing a lot lately.
I'd had 8 months of unit training before I went to basic training. I'm good with maps anyway and I learned about military grid coordinates and all that before I even went to basic training.
I had the chance to give a class on the Claymore mine. I don't remember what the terrain features class was about and why it was useless. Unless I meant it was useless for me since I had the background.
The Indian Death Run was our new drill sergeants' idea of a harsh PT. We jogged in formation and the troops at the back would peel off and run to the front of the company formation to resume jogging. Obviously, you never had to really exert yourself much with over a hundred men in formation.
Plus, I devised a means of communication to pass the time in formation. As we sang cadence, I'd just sing along with my own words: "Hey there Alpha, how're you doing?" I had to do it twice before Private [Alpha] realized I was talking to him. He started laughing and then played along and replied in song. It was just the act of forbidden communication during training rather than the actual content, of course. We got away with it.
And our trainee friend from Brown University told me he knew Cher. I was never a fan of Cher.
Hey, I just Googled for "Hollywood" (I know his actual name) and discovered he is a producer now in LA. Ha! Good for him. He was a good guy back then. I certainly respected him for joining the Army when he had other options. I should check for his movies on Netflix.
And I had a new ailment to worry about. I didn't realize I had hay fever back then. It comes and goes over the years (currently mostly dormant) but I thought it developed in my forties. Who knew? I have to go with the primary document.
Oh, and I guess we'd made it far enough to get fitted for the bus driver uniform that passed for a dress uniform back then. All I'll say in its favor is that we didn't have to wear a beret.
