July 10, 2008

T.J.’s big day.

I awoke at 4:45AM to get ready to leave to take T.J. to his first day at the USMMA. His life is going to change dramatically today and this one will go down in his memory for sure. We plan on leaving about 5:30AM to get ahead of traffic and still have time to sit down and relax over breakfast before he goes in. We made it to Great Neck just fine and tried to find a restaurant to have breakfast. We have a GPS right? We checked in with the Karen to see what restaurants were available and found an IHOP listed. We punched it in and away we went. I believe I may have found proof of “string theory” as when we “arrived at destination” there was nothing there. There must be an IHOP in another dimension in a parallel universe because it sure wasn‘t where Karen said it was. We turned around and went to the Scobee restaurant which had a very good breakfast. Seems some others, like us, tried to visit the trans-dimensional IHOP as well. I had a Beef Gyro three egg omelet with fetta cheese. Awesome is an understatement. If you are ever in Great Neck, this is the place to go. After breakfast, T.J. wanted to call Lori. He went to a pay phone and told us he would meet us at the car. He wanted to do this on his own and was his way of saying “I can handle it dad”. He really is becoming his own man and I am so proud of him. God has great things in store for him. Allie and I went back to the car and waited for him.

We arrived at the USMMA along with a bunch of other parents which looked a lot like a tourist convention with all the cameras and baggage. The young men were all excited to be getting on with what they had been wondering about for several months now. There was much less tears than I expected as I suspect the grieving had all been dealt with at home prior to today. There was more of a feeling of expectant change in the air than separation anxiety. Life and destiny were all tied together today in a very tangible way that could be seen and felt. I, of course, was proud to see T.J. relating within a peer group of exceptional young men. These fellows are much more what he can relate to and his maturity level seems normal in this group. He always carried himself well for his age and it is good to see such a group of men that do the same. We waited around and joked lightly about things we really did not know about that were to change. As the line got to moving the excitement increased. We took a lot of pictures and I video taped the entire thing for Lori when I get back home. I watched as my son went through the door never to return the same. It is a great moment for a father to see his son do so well.

When he came out the back door a little later he was without the duffle he brought in and going to get things issued to him. We found out where they reported to in the square and went there to await his arrival. When he did come out he was carrying his newly issued duffle with the only belongings he will have in Indoc. I watched as he was harassed a bit from his DI and thought to myself “he is eating this up”. He was.

 I then went in with the rest of the parents to be addressed by the superintendent of the school. After coming out we went back to the same square we saw them in before. They all had on their school issued clothes and fresh buzz cuts and it was simply not possible to tell one from the other. They were in formation and the superintendent allowed them to turn around and wave good-by to us parents. We all waved back and watched as the class of 2012 marched in formation into the dining hall for their first meal at the USMMA. Wish I could be a fly on the wall there for the next two weeks.

Allie and I left there and grabbed some lunch and proceeded to visit the Statue of Liberty. We stayed on the boat because of time but “The Lady” is impressive any way you get to see her. A lot of history there and Ellis Island. Allie really enjoyed seeing the sights and taking in NYC. It was great to spend that experience with her. She too is growing into a fine young woman and I was even told that by one of the parents at the Bar-B-Que they were impressed with the way she carries herself. Very mature for her age. I had a hard time staying awake. I found out later Allie could not resist the temptation to video me nodding off, what a cheap shot (I would have done the same, too funny). I’ll be glad when we get in tonight to get some much needed rest. We left NYC just in time for rush hour. Wall to wall traffic with impatient people who obviously don’t know what the lines on the road means. We also realized that a tune-up here has nothing to do with the engine but getting the horn properly tuned for the going home symphony. Allie is no longer enamored with the city. Made it back to Aunt Linda’s fine. We went out to eat with them. They dropped us off at the house and they went to a birthday party of their son-in-laws. I answered some emails, got some files moved, put the batteries on to charge and went to bed. What a day. Tomorrow we leave for Kenya and that will be a good one to talk about I am sure.