Boot camp memory
36 years ago I met a bunch of guys in a bar. They were celebrating/mourning 1 of their buddies heading off to join the Navy.
Just before closing the celebrant mentioned to me that he thinks he made a huge mistake. He can't swim. He hates water and getting wet. He said he got seasick watching Flipper on TV. In his moderately inebriated state he suggested that I could go in his place. I told him no way. But he was desperate. He urged me until he was almost in tears.
Then he said he'd give me the Rolex watch that was passed down to him by his deceased grandfather. In addition, he was gonna mail me $20 a week. I hesitatingly agreed. He told me where to go. Made me memorize his SSN. Since I have a photographic memory, that part was easy. As a backup, I wrote it on my forearm with a sharpie.
At the induction center, I raised my hand when his name was called. I was handed a folder with his info. I read it on the plane to San Diego. He was suppose to go to Corpsman school after BC. Since I'm not big on anything bloody, I knew I had to get out of that deal.
We got to NTC and nobody is the wiser. I've become someone else. When it's time for the shots I fake faint in the line. I tell anyone who will listen that I'm deathly afraid of anything medical. They mock me saying I'll have fun at HM school. I suggest I should change but they aren't very sympathetic.
At dental I get my choppers cleaned. The DTSN is a looker. She's this exotic, ebony beauty. We chat a bit. I don't remember anything she said. She was a knockout. When I leave, I say to her, that I hope to see her again. She says I'm sure we will. I doubt it since I don't need any more dental work.
Boot camp is a shock for me. I fail to adapt. My evenings are spent at marching parties. I go so often, they save me a spot in the front row. To compound things, the guy I'm impersonating sends me $20 the first week but only $8 the 2nd week. Then $7.49 the third week. Now I'm pissed. I write him a letter saying how his behavior is unsat. He promises to catch up as soon as he can
I get an appointment back to dental. It's slotted for 1115. I get there but the office is empty except for the bella signorina. I look around confused. She tells me not to worry since everyone is out to lunch until 1300. I'm still confused. She says we have to office to ourselves until 1pm. Now I get it.
She grabs me by the triceps. She pulls me close. I can smell her cologne mixed with the Listerine. I suddenly feel lightheaded. In a soft tone she says that she has been thinking about me since the time she cleaned my teeth. Says she scammed for a week on how we could be together.
It's like I've been transported to a dream. I mention how I should pinch myself. She leans in and grabs me by the pec with her thumb and forefinger. She squeezes as she simultaneously pulls my flesh towards her. "OUCH", I exclaim. I inquire why she did that. Her reply was never mind.
For the next hour and a half we talk and get to know each other. I whine about marching parties. She tells me of her future plans of travel and adventure. I get to the part about my HM school dilemma. She says that she is tight with the classifiers and she can change me to pretty much whatever I want. Provided I have the approved ASVAB score.
I wasn't sure if she was teasing me with this line. "Why not go to Dental Tech school?". She says that they have a lot of openings in her clinic. If I pass the class, I could get stationed there. She asks if I think I could tolerate having her as a room mate. Whoa. Things are moving fast. But I don't care. I'm captivated by her caramel skin, her pouty lips, those firms thighs and buttocks, her devilish eyes.
Sensing my discomfort, she jokes, "I want to have your babies". Damn. I'm so infatuated, I want to have her babies. Glancing at the clock, she says it's time to march recruit, emphasizing the word recruit. She said it like it was a bad word. We embrace and kiss. It was like the best birthday party you ever had, Christmas and your favorite desert all rolled into one.
Then I'm motioned over to 1 of the cabinets in the office. She puts a mask on my face then turns the knob on top of the tank of the nitrous oxide. I take 6 deep pulls of the gas. My face goes flush. I'm not sure if it's her or the gas. I float out and head back to my company.
Now i don't care what happens. She's all I can think about. After dinner, the company yeoman hands me a chit. It's to report back to dental the next day. Guess what time I'm suppose to show up? Yep, 1115. Off I go to marching party. I get there and mysteriously, my name isn't on the muster sheet. I'm told to scram or else they'll put me in formation,
That night I can't sleep. I toss and turn. 1115 the next day can't come fast enough. Then I wrestle with the idea of coming clean to her. I'm living a lie. Can I trust her? Would she betray me? I'm torn between protecting my secret and blunt honesty.
1105 I'm off solo, marching solo to dental. I look around to see if anyone is watching me. I go in and see her. She nods her head to the left. Towards the staff lounge. We go in. We get comfy on the couch. After an embrace and a long kiss we stop and stare into each other's eyes.
She tells me that she had trouble sleeping that night. I don't say anything. Then I ask if she had anything to do with getting me out of the marching party. Now it's her turn to not say anything. She just curls her fingers under and looks at her fingernails. I instantly understand the message she is sending. I tell her I'm scheduled to go to marching party again tonight. Her next words surprise me. She tells me to go to the marching party and have a good time. I hear what she says but I'm not understanding why she said that. I say "Pardon?". She says tonight you will leave the barracks like you are heading to the marching party. She has duty that night. Then she says that she will meet me along the way and take me to the duty office for the 2 hours.
Before I head out again, I get the laughing gas treatment. In formation I'm giggling at nothing in particular. Everything is funny. I can do a whole year in boot camp in this condition. I get mail from the guy I'm replacing. He says he lost his job and no money is coming my way in the future. Now I'm fuming. I've kept up my part of the bargain.
I get a wild hair. If I go UA, they will look for him, not me. I could jump the fence and just blend in and become myself again. But that would mean no more afternoon dental encounters. Decision, decisions.
With the rest of the day to ponder, I weigh my options. Back in the barracks I get a ration of crap about being the marching party commando. They tell me to enjoy myself in prolonged pushup position. I smirk and tell them I'm sure I'll have the time of my life.
At the edge of the grinder we meet. She tells me to ditch my white duty belt. She gives me a duty arm band and tells me to put it on. Off we go to the duty area. We are alone. She says people are covering for her but we need to hurry. Then our passionate embrace turns into a full contact wrestling match. Boondockers and utilities go flying across the room. It didn't last long but it was memorable. I sweat more than I would have at any marching party.
Post coitus, I tell her I have something to tell her. I plan to come clean to her about my real identity. She also informs me that things are not what they appear. Then she begins to tell me a tale that is hard to fathom. She says she's not DTSN Hottie. Somehow she ended up going in the Navy in place of a friend. She thought the plan would fall apart quickly but once she got in, she thrived in that environment. So she kept up the ruse.
Then she asked me what it was I wanted to say. I told her never mind. It's not like I could top her story. But she pleaded with me. She said she felt vulnerable. I agreed and told my almost similar tale. When I finished talking, she began to cry. She stated I was making fun of her. I was as sincere as possible telling her that she had to believe me. But I had no way of proving it. It was a bittersweet evening. We parted on difficult terms. Neither of us sure of where we were headed or what the future held. I knew I didn't want to lose her.
The next afternoon I promptly headed over to dental for my uhm cleaning. She looked melancholy. I was unsure how things would play out. She says she has a plan. Since we are both not who they think we are, we can just disappear. She says I can sell the Rolex for money. She also has a stash of cash buried in a metal container in a field close by the base.
I was uncertain what to do. The she looked at me and said words that I can recall clearly after all these years. "Get busy living or get busy dying!". I was sold. We schemed our escape. She wanted to act quickly before either of us changed our minds.
That evening, instead of going to marching party, we walked out the main gate of RTC/NTC. We strolled 5,000 feet as dirty scammers and came out clean the other end. We were free. We dug up her cash stash. Got on a bus headed towards Fort Hancock, TX. From there we made our way south to a little fishing village. We found a couple of guys that were running fishing charters in the sleepy little Mexican hamlet Zihuantanejo.
Now I'm first mate on the boat. Missy sells tickets to the tourists. We are still together but don’t have any kids. My Spanish is getting really good. If anyone is interested, we are hiring as business has been good lately. It helps if you can tell an sea story or 3. It makes the work more interesting and helps the time pass.
Oh and the guy I was impersonating, he got arrested for desertion when he went to the courthouse to get his marriage license. That will teach the cheap SOB.
