7 June 2008
Now the boredom has set in. If you aren’t on the 1st up/ 1st response crew, the days are really uneventful. The expression ‘Groundhogs Day’ has profound meaning here.
Oh, I still fill my time with productive activities. After checking in, I wait around to see if anything happens. When nothing does, I skip lunch and go to the gym, check emails and the bank account, then shower and freshen up before returning to work and resume waiting for something to happen.
Tonight was the memorial service for the two men killed in the OH-58 incident. Even though I didn’t know the men and could mentally remain detached, the ceremonial ‘last roll call’ followed by the gun salute and Taps draws the emotional strings in tight. Brought back memories of Thanksgiving 2004 in Washington when one of my medics was killed. I spoke at his service and escorted his remains back to his home in Coeur d’Alene Idaho, where we paid the same respects at his graveside service.
On a lighter note…when I arrived, I had a goal to shed 10 lbs. I thought I’d do it gradually over the next 8 months, in conjunction with the ‘reshaping’ of the remaining 215 lbs. Well, I’m down 10 lbs in only two weeks. Don’t know where it came off from, but it wasn’t from my midsection. Must have been ‘water weight’ since all we do is walk and sweat, and walk and sweat some more. I didn’t just want to lose a magic number of pounds. Most macho, vain, male-types want it to accompany looking better. I look the same, just weigh less. Not what I had in mind…