To Whom It May Concern

Day Two - 31Mar05

1 a.m. - huge crack of thunder shakes my sister's house, rattling the windows, the lightning making the outdoors look like one big camera flashbulb. I was jolted awake by this, and there was no way I was going back to sleep as the storm continued its noisy onslaught. So I decided that 2 hours of sleep was going to have to be enough for the time being, and I got back out on the road again.

The rain was relatively light as I got back on I-24, then after a couple of miles onto I-75 South towards Atlanta. It was black dark, and once again, mostly just me and semi trucks out on the road that early, although as I got closer to Atlanta there were more POV's. I have heard horror stories about Atlanta traffic, but thankfully, at around 3 in the morning, it's not all that bad at all heh heh. As I got to the outskirts of Atlanta on the south though, the rain picked up, at first just a little, then suddenly, the deluge was on!!

Even with the windshield wipers on full blast I was having trouble seeing the road. Thankfully there wasn't much traffic, so that was one less concern. I kept the cruise set at about 77 mph (7 over), but there were times even I had to slow down because I could feel the truck starting to lose grip on the road and hydroplane some. That was blowing my mind, I don't ever think I've had that happen before. It rained like this for a good portion of the trip towards Macon, Georgia. I was happy to see it let up as I got onto I-16 East towards Savannah.

I was so excited at this point. It was probably about 4:30 in the morning and it was really feeling like I was on the final stretch to Parris Island. They certainly have a strange way of doing road work in Georgia though. Certainly nothing compares to the idiotic ignorance of Nebraska road work, but I have to wonder why you would do work on interstate exits, like 5 or 6 in a row, and do it in such a way that, if a person exits, they can't get back onto the interstate because the 'on ramp' is under construction. I was down to about 20 miles left in the tank when I finally came across an exit I would be able to get back on from if I left the interstate.

After fueling up, I was once again back out on the road. It was a little before 6 at this point. Scent is the strongest link to memory. This is true, because as I drove along, I had the windows cracked, and the smell of damp Georgia pine, something I had not smelled in 15 years, took me back to my days at Ft. Benning, summer of 1990. I kept thinking about things that I had not thought about in so long, road marches, field training exercises, etc. As the sun slowly began to rise in the east, the red dirt, thick wooded areas, the pine needle covered forest floors, etc, all served as a reminder of my three months of basic training. It's amazing the memories that you haven't thought of in years and years that suddenly rush back when triggered by smell.

I started to see a few more military tagged POV's on my way down I-16 at this point, a few waved, I waved back, I guess the tag on the truck and also my 'rear security' probably caught their attention. I got on I-95 North and crossed over into South Carolina. At this point I had been on the road for more than 26 hours, with a 2 hour break at my sister's place, but oddly enough I was not tired at all. I was really excited and couldn't wait to get to Parris Island.

Now, the route Yahoo maps gave me to take to Parris Island was a complete disaster, because South Carolina doesn't seem to see a reason for labeling 'connecting roads', and Yahoo gave a weird route that traveled along a couple paved and windy roads through the backwoods, till I got to Highway 170, then finally I was able to orientate myself to my maps both from Yahoo and my U.S. atlas, and get back on track.

The map showed a bridge, but the word 'bridge' doesn't exactly do it justice. I crossed a small bridge to start with, over the Chechessee River. I then started over a larger bridge, I wasn't exactly paying attention to where I was because I was trying to look at the map and the road at the same time. Okay, to set this up a bit, understand that I have only seen the ocean one time in my life, at age 2, when my mother dipped me into the Pacific during a family trip out west. So when I looked up and off to my right, down the Broad River into Port Royal Sound, I was like "HOLY @*(*@#$!!" You see a lot of pictures of the ocean but it just doesn't compare to the three dimensional reality of the magnificence when you see it in person. I'm sure people around me were wondering why I was staring, mouth open, but hey, I'm a Midwestern boy, so the ocean isn't something I'm used to seeing.

Then, there it was, the gate to Parris Island. I was able to get on using my ID card of course, so there was no problem there. It's interesting how you know when you are on a military installation. Immediately you notice meticulous care of all landscaping, no trash anywhere, people out jogging in PT uniforms, etc. It was about 7:15 or so at this point, there was light fog in the marshy areas of the post. The connecting roads between the high ground at Parris Island are built up on berms. I thought it was interesting that, even on an island damn near in the ocean itself, there are still Deer Crossing signs to warn you of those incessant pests that tend to get suicidal around cars.

I drove around for about 20 minutes, I guess deep inside you hope you might have some lucky chance to get a glimpse of the person you are there to see, but I didn't even know where her battalion was at, so that would have been tough, I just hoped maybe she would see me driving around : ) I went to the fitness center, took my bag up to the men's locker room, and showered and changed. That was nice, I felt quite nasty after such a long trip. Then I drove over to the parade grounds where the graduation would be held, and walked around for a little bit, visited with some of the other parents/family of those Marine recruits who would become actual Marines in a mere 24 hours.

I met a retired navy veteran whose daughter was in the same platoon as Belly, Plt. 4009. He and I decided to head over to the visitor's center and looked at a lot of the Marine historical items they had there. The unofficial mascot of the Corps is the English bulldog, and they had him at the visitor's center, I got to pet him for a little bit. Interestingly enough, he didn't bite me even though I'm an Army soldier heh heh.

Then the navy guy and I took an hour long bus tour around the base. It was really interesting, the guide was a Marine Drill Instructor, and he was really informative. It was nice to get a look at a lot of the different areas of Parris Island, to see where Belly had trained, and think about how it may have been for her. Near the end of the tour the DI asked if anyone was in the Army, of course I raised my hand. This was a mistake. He went into a story about how the Marines had to build a special obstacle course for Army soldiers who would visit Parris Island because the Army couldn't seem to do the Marine obstacle course. At this point we rounded a corner and he pointed out a play pen outside of a day care center. Yes, hah hah, it was quite funny, I had to admit that.

At the end of the tour I got off the bus, said goodbye to the Navy vet, and headed over to the Base Exchange. I bought a couple of Marine car decals for Belly to put on the truck, and then scooted back to the parade grounds to try and get decent seats and meet up with Belly's parents and brother for the ceremony. After finding them, we tried to figure out just where Belly would be sitting. On the Parris Island website, someone had told me that if I was shrewed enough, I might be able to sit nearly right beside her. I found a Drill Instructor and asked him where the 'broke marines' would be seated at, and he pointed out a roped off area. I was glad I asked because of the two roped off areas, I had picked the wrong one. I waved her family down and they came and sat down and we waited.

The stands filled up fairly quickly, we visited with quite a few people. It's amazing how many family members of these new Marines are also either current or former members of the military, be it Air Force, Army, Navy, and Marines. We visited with a lot of them while we waited for the ceremony to begin. Way off in the distance you could see the seven platoons that would be graduating, lining up to prepare for the family day ceremony. They had to stand out there in the sun for about an hour before it began. About a half hour after we sat down, around the corner came our Marine recruit, hobbling along. When she looked up and saw me sitting there, I could tell she was thinking "how the..." and I smiled and gave a little wave. Even though she couldn't acknowledge me, she did anyway, a very slight grin, yep, I saw it. Then she and the other injured recruits sat on the bench to my left, sitting up very straight, hands on their knees, looking straight ahead.

I was so excited, she looked so polished and proper in her dress uniform. I was so incredibly proud. I had driven 1300 miles, and I think this very moment, to see her in her uniform, so close to fulfilling this incredibly arduous goal she set for herself, was the best, certainly the most proud, moment that I had during the entire time. It was so hard to be apart from her for those 3 months, but when everything comes together, you feel your heart leap in your chest and you catch your breath, and it's everything within your power just to hold your bearing and not break down, the emotions are just overwhelming.

By this time her father and brother were taking pictures and video of everything, which was really great, because we'll always have something to remember it by. As I looked at her dad, and how proud he was, it reminded me of when I came home from basic training and how my dad reacted, that look in his eyes, that dignified smile. I know that meant a lot to Belly too. The ceremony was sort of a blur, a long blur, I tried to pay attention but I really wanted it to be over with so I could finally talk to my baby again.

Finally they released the recruits to their families. I opened up the black rope because I didn't want to wait, and gave Belly a long hug... I was so happy, and proud, I can't say enough how proud I was. Then hugs from the family, and we all walked and talked and mingled our way back to our vehicles.

For family day, the recruits are locked down, they have 'liberty' to go wherever they want on Parris Island, but they can't leave the base. So her dad went to get us some food while we all headed over to the BX and did some more shopping. Then when her dad got back, we all ate and hung out and talked for about 2 hours. By this time I was really starting to feel it, I was so tired from the trip and everything was beginning to overwhelm me. I started to feel bad because I know I get grumpy when I'm like that. I knew though that I would be able to sleep later so I was going to stick it out for another couple of hours!!

We headed back over to the platoon barracks, where Belly had lived the last 3 months. I walked around, looking at everything, trying to imagine what it was like. I do have to say, that having 60 some girls all in one room would have to be tough sometimes, having 4 sisters in one room for a half hour at dinner was bad enough for me, I can't imagine 3 months with 60!! Belly slept on the top bunk, her bed was all made up perfectly, I didn't bounce a quarter on it, but I'm sure it would have passed the test.

All during this time I just kept looking at her, as she talked to me, her family, her fellow recruits, and thinking about how proud I was, and how I just wanted to take her in my arms and squeeze her, and hold her forever, like some crazy abominable snowman on the Bugs Bunny show heh. "Hold her and squeeze her and keep her for my very own!!" It was nearly 19:00 at this point so we had to say our goodbyes and head out, it was hard but I knew that in just over 12 hours we would get to be together again!

Things got sort of anti climatic as I headed into Beaufort to my hotel room. All that build up, and although everything lived up to what I figured it would be like, as I sat alone again in the truck heading off the base, I had to let out a deeeeeep breath and keep my composure. The traffic headed off base, obviously, was terrible. To make things even worse, there was an accident just outside of the base, so traffic was backed up for about 30 minutes before we could get going again. At this point, I put on a Pink Floyd cd, turned it up, and settled in. Pink Floyd is so wonderfully soothing, it's amazing I didn't fall asleep while creeping ahead in the traffic.

Finally thing started moving again and I got to the Days Inn where I was staying. Now, I want to let EVERYONE know, do not EVER EVER stay at the Days Inn in Beaufort near Parris Island. I had read the warnings on the Parris Island web site, but I was not prepared for what I found. Let me also give you a little background about my accommodations experience while on trips. Our family rarely ever left Nebraska, we would visit other family members and stay with them when we would go on vacation, so I never knew that you really have to book up hotel rooms 2 weeks AT LEAST in advance if you expect to get a decent room. So me, being dumb, I waited till about a week before and all that was left was the Days Inn.

Now, if knew then what I know now, I would have gone even an hour away to stay in a decent hotel. When I walked into my room, the first thing that hit me was this odor that smelled like dog urine. Then I put my bags down on the bed and in every corner was dirty cobwebs and along the bottom of the floorboard on the north wall next to the door there was actually MOLD! I paid 100 bucks for this room mind you, so I tried to call the front desk and ask them what the deal was, no answer. So I walked up front, and there were 2 people there, and I asked why they did not answer the phone, and they said 'oh we were much too busy'. Uh, you always answer the phone regardless of how busy you are. I inquired about another room and I was told they were booked solid. It appeared I wasn't the only person irritated with the condition of their 'shanty' because there were others also complaining.

It looked like it would do no good to bitch so I just headed back to my crap room and turned on the air conditioner. Now, the air conditioner sounded like a jet engine at takeoff while someone throws wrenches into it. I just started laughing at this point, because what else do you do?? I kicked off my shoes and used the bathroom, then when I walked out and was washing my hands, I realized my socks were soaked. Under the sink, the carpeting was wet clear thu with what smelled like, yep, dog piss. Again, I laughed, I've stayed in worse conditions in a tent in the Army, but certainly I wasn't paying 100 bucks a night for it.

I called and talked to Belly's family for a bit, they were staying at a nice place by the airport (her father is amazing when it comes to planning and details, if I can be merely half as adept at those things as he is, I'll be successful in the future when getting ready for trips). Belly's mother told me it might rain, so I sent out to a local store and purchased an umbrella. Then I saw a Chinese restaurant and picked up some sweet and sour chicken and crab rangoon also.

Then I went back to my stinky, loud, wet room, turned on some sports, and ate my Chinese food. Certainly the living conditions weren't the best, but I was looking forward to the following day, and at least the bed appeared to be safe to sleep in. I drifted off to sleep at about 2300 or so, to the Clint Eastwood pale rider movie.