School Story:
Senior year, Parent's Day. My brother, Murray, myself & our father went out for some late-nite shenanigans around town celebrating. They had not reserved a hotel room for the weekend, but we decided our celebration was more important at the time. As the night wound down, we realized there were zero rooms available within 50 miles of Charleston & us in no shape to drive anyway. Brazenly (and due in no shortage to 'liquid courage,' I decided I could sneak them into the Zoo (4th battalion.) I went 1st and secured the route to my room. My brother came through unscathed as he had previously been enrolled at El Cid (Kilo Co.) & would graduate in '94...so he knew the routine. My dad would require additional coaching. I gave dad my winter PT's & instructed dad, upon entering the barracks, to simply salute every cadet he saw & say "Good evening son." The cadets would presume he was an officer..."A General, of course" my father replied with confidence and a wink. I watched the event unfold from 4th division, between Tango & Romeo. Dad ventured through the front sally-port confidently greeting the guard, firing off salutes left & right...like John Wayne weaving his way through the Japanese lines in "The Sands at Iwo Jima." Cadets snapped to & loudly shouted back "Good evening, sir!" Dad worked his way up to my room, where the 3 of us (my roommate was out) rejoiced briefly, and settled in for the night...I on the top bunk, my dad on the bottom bunk & my brother on the floor. We soon fell fast asleep, but in an hour or so there was a rattling at the door and the O.G. came in & turned on the lights. Pointing at my brother he asks, "Who's that?" Keenly aware of the honor code all I said was, "That's my brother, he's from Kilo." Somehow seemingly satisfied with my answer he then sees my dad on the bottom bunk, and with the most quizzical look I'd ever seen he says, "Who's that?!?!" "Well, that's my dad," was all I could muster. Motioning at dad, the O.G. simply says, "Sir, you're going to have to leave." Without arguing & "mildly hungover" dad got up, gathered his meager belongings & began the "walk-of-shame." Dad trekked out of 4th Battalion a defeated man...looking much like a man who had been been bucked down from 4 Star General to Knob's assistant dishwasher. My brother was somehow allowed to stay in the 'crib' that illustrious night & Dad slept in the car...a prisoner in his own mind.
