Just a Basic Day - Bits and Pieces

It has been many years ago and even though somethings stand out very clearly other things are a blur and most aren't remembered  in the sequence in which they occurred.

For instance, we were issued two pairs of boots.  We were supposed to ware a different pair every other day.  The "odd" day boots we were told to make a notch on the inside portion of the outside heal.  I did not want to do that because that meant that I would have to polish twice as many boots as we were supposed to and the army seemed to have a fetish about shinny boots.  So I just ignored the edict and kept one pair as display and wore the other so they would get broken in sooner. 
  
One day we were in formation when the Drill Sergeant told us he was going to check our boots.  It was the "odd" day so a notch was required.  The Sergeant walked behind each squad and had each man raise his right foot and the Sergeant would run his finger over the spot that the notch was supposed to be.  It became my turn and I wondered what punishment I would have to endure.  He slid his finger along the heal so it would touch the notch and then passed on by with out feeling or saying a thing.  That taught me that somethings in the army you could ignore if you knew who was going to do the inspections.

Speaking of breaking in boots.  No matter what we all got blisters.  We would sit in the middle of the floor in the barracks and prick the side of the blister and drain the puss then put band aids over the remaining skin.  I don't think that is what one is supposed to do to blisters but it was what we did then.

We would run in the morning.  I never was a distance runner and never seemed to keep up, but it was more mental than physical.  I seldom "fell out" but only on a few occasions did I run towards the front of the line when towards the end we were told to "move out," that was sort of a race to the end.  Sometimes I would anticipate the command and start running before everyone else. 

I use to like waking up in the middle of the night.  It was quiet, no one was yelling at me and I could go back to sleep easily.  I use to sleep on the top of my blankets so I would not have to make my bed in the morning.

My favorite thing to eat in the mess hall was eggs, bacon, and toast all made into a sandwich.  I stole a pie while on KP once and hid it under the mess hall and was going to retrieve it after my shift was over and bring in back to the guys in the barracks.  I had a 15 minute break and went and told the guys what I was bringing.  As I was returning to be mess hall I saw the only stray dog I have ever seen on an army post eating the apple pie.  After shift I returned to the barracks empty handed and my story about the dog was not believed. 

Like I said, just bits and pieces.