While sitting with my paired up roommate, I struck up a conversation with a couple of the guys that were headed off for the Marines. It was kind of neat. There were about twenty of us all at the same table all talking about where we were from, where we were headed, how long we had joined up for, and what fields we were going into while serving. After dinner, most of us from the dinner table had gathered our around on a large patio and continued our discussions. It was really fun, and to that day one of the biggest group of people I had ever opened up to. Not entirely of course, but enough to the point where I felt at ease with talking to them about our future and what our hopes were. It was a good start. Even into the evening, many people were shifting around from room to room, all talking up a storm. Everyone was laughing and having a good time. Right up until two in the morning I had at least 8 or nine people in my room just sitting around chatting. Many of us guys flirting with the few young women we met, most of whom were headed for the Air Force, looking for that one last night of heavenly sin before shipping off for the unknown that morning. I don't think anyone did get lucky that night. :-)

By the look of everyone that morning, not many of us go a lot of sleep those last few precious hours of freedom. We had all been waken, fed, handed plane tickets, and shuttled along in a large van, and going to the airport before sunrise. I can remember feeling as though I was on my first secret mission. I was with a small group of other guys, most of whom were sleeping again, being whisked through the outskirts of some small forgetful city in the dark, and not having the least bit of an idea of where I would be or what I would be doing by dusk that night. All I knew was I was going to a basic training facility some where in the state of Illinois called Great Lakes.