volkov

so it's drill weekend and everyone spent the day doing administrative paperwork and crap to get ready for our two week annual training next month. everyone, that is, except my little group of about eight guys. Us, plus a few others added in...headed down to Lockhart, Texas at their invitation to be a part in some small annual parade that they have. It's one of those small texas towns; you know the kind. The one where most everyone knows everyone else, where the local highschool football team members are major celebrities, where there are more churches than bars, and such. So there we were in their local annual parade, sandwiched between a neighboring county's country fair queen and a local custom chevy car group...or maybe it was thier local class of '57...in any case...we rolled along in four Humvees at 5mph for a few miles. I don't often find myself in situations where I'm getting tired of smiling and waving at people....just haven't been in many parades I guess. It was interesting...and somewhat humbling to see the kind of support we got from the people in a small town like that. it was a little weird....surreal. there were defeinitely moments when we weren't really sure how to respond to all the cheers and shouted "thank yous". I mean....what do you yell back, "you're welcome!"? the really old people are always the best. they mostly just stand up as you go by and maybe wave, but mostly they just watch and you can tell they are remembering and thinking about something else.
but it was a fun way to spend the morning. certainly funner (yes. I said "funner") than filling out endless pieces of paperwork that basically just ask for your Social Security Number and Blood type in triplicate.
after the parade we set up in a donated empty parking lot to hold a car wash as a fund raiser for the Toys for Tots program and for our annual formal military ball fund. We washed cars nonstop for three hours and raised over a grand.
and I now look like the successful recipient of an arm/neck/head transplant.
I look a little like but where it's more of a grimace of sun burned pain than anger. my face and neck is about ten shades darker than my chest and stomach. hurrah farmer's tan.

so anyway, they cut us loose for the evening and I came home and promptly passed the hell out. I've woken for a jalepeno turkey and cheese sandwich with tomato and onion on a talero roll, some of the aforementioned ice cream, and a lot of water. then it's slathering on some aloe and right back to sleep. got PT early in the a.m.

anyway, y'all have a good weekend.