2014-6-23 Doug is thumbing! (Note to self: Placement ok'd by Doug until he does "a major rewrite".)

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6/23/14 Doug says:

Yep, on my way to boot camp, standing on the road in PA, trying to git to San Diego…

Some facts:
(1) The Marines flew me there on a commercial plane out of Philly International. They were mad at me in Philly because the unwritten rule was if you lived East of Mississippi River you went to Paris Island; west to San Diego. But I wanted to see the sun, girls, life in California so bad (It never rains in California, remember that song?) and I couldn’t wait. So an old Marine Master Sergeant told me what to say and do, and it worked. They were mad because they had to process me airline tickets after I refused to get on the bus with others lining up for P.I. [Parris Island] At first they laughed and said it was the recruiter, then things got serious when they read my contract. Besides, sand fleas in NC didn’t sound appealing. I hate mosquitoes too.
(2) I had approx .70 cents in my pocket. That was all the money I had.
(3) I kept wondering, why at the airport, why I was doing this…those second thoughts occupied my mind all the way there…
(4) Came down an escalator at SD Airport and there was a DI [Drill Instructor] standing there…never said a word…just glared and pointed to a green USMC bus waiting outside…
(5) Ended up talking quietly to another scared rabbit on the seat next to me…we all had a feeling of impending doom…
(6) DI came on, never said a word. Door Closed. Driver took off. Uh-oh—No, Major Uh-oh
(7) When we went through the gate and got on base I said to myself “Oh Sh…”
(8) When the bus came to a stop I saw yellow footprints outside…the DI stood up, said “You’ve got two minutes to all be standing on those yellow footprints. MOVE IT!”
(9) I stood on those yellow footprints.
(10) Got a buzz.
(11) The rest is history

6/24/14 Doug:

I went to Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego, California. About an hour north is Camp Pendleton, where as part of Boot Camp we learned how to fire rifles on a marksmanship course and served a week of mess hall duty. Also did much infantry training while we we there, to include a forced march up a mountain and then a race to see how fast the platoon could run down the same mountain. I'll never forget it.

On the way back from Pendleton to the Depot our bus had a flat tire. We had to leave the vehicle with our weapon, stand at the edge of the tree line with rifles always pointed up while the tire was changed. If you've ever driven Interstate 5, you'll appreciate just how much traffic slowed down when drivers going Southbound - and- Northbound as well - saw a platoon of wannabe Marines with rifles on the side of the road…

No sand fleas in San Diego. But the Depot was located right next to San Diego International Airport…and the physical fitness training runs often consisted of running alongside the fence the separated the commercial airfield and Marine Base. Yep, Uncle Sam thinks of everything. Never in my life did I think I would learn how to run 3 miles in 28 minutes or less with large commercial jets (747's, etc.) taking off and landing in one's unprotected ear…

I went back to the Depot in 1999. Drove around. The only thing that changed, I think, was me :)