25 April, Dad

Hey Dad,
I got your letters today.  They always seem to come in 2's.  That's fine with me too as long as I get to read them. :)  The reason you get longer letters Dad is because you get what I'm going through and you know what I'm writing about and probably more importantly what I'm not.  Yes Dad, you are the writing king!  I've gotten more letters from you than I think everyone else combined.  Don't think that means stop writing me though.  Those letters are helping me a lot, I'm pretty sure you know how much too.  I found out today there's no Papa John's on the island that was depressing, oh well though only 42 more training days, that's less than last week.  My friend Hyman, or Klah is her first name, has informed me she wrote to her parents about driving me down to Savannah on Grad Day just so we can eat at papa John's.  I told her you would be joining us.  I'm going to try to book an evening flight too, just to be safe, but we'll just wait and see come training day 55.  We got our uniforms yesterday.  God it took 9 hours at least.  We were there at 0730 and didn't leave until 1600 that afternoon.  Then the Drill Instructors redecorated because this platoon doesn't know the meaning of the term shut up.  I guess I'm stupid but to me this is how boot camp works.  You do what the DI says  quickly and immediately, she leaves you alone, you don't and either you get IT or the entire platoon pays for it.  People just aren't taking the DI's seriously down here and you can guess how much they like that.  Dad why do we get so attached to our guidon?  Cuz yesterday during the redecorating, Drill Instructor Sgt Dunn took the Guidon and next thing I know twenty of us are up on her, tearing it out of her hands, myself included in that group.  Weird I've done at least 3 things this week that should have put me on the quarterdeck, and I haven't been put up there.  I guess I don't get it.  You gotta be stupid and follow all the orders down here, not to get in trouble, and even that't not a guarantee.  Oh well, you get what you get.  I just hate the mind games and that's the game the DI's love the most.  Girls are more mental, guys more physical.  Why is that?  is that just how we're programmed, or what?  This past week's most exciting thing, I think was the gas chamber.  The guys went first, so when we walked in it took a second cuz the c-s gas was just fuming off them, so eyes started watering, wanted to cough so I stopped breathing.  Another reason to thank you:  swimmers lungs.  Gotta Love it.  Any who, went into the gas chamber, looked up, down, right, left did jumping jacks, then we got told to remove the mask.  Listening to the screaming was "oh my God"  but I was to stand there without breathing or opening my eyes, no problem.  We didn't do the repel wall because of the rain and the rest of the week has been pretty lazy compared to the last few weeks.  We got our green cami's back this morning.  It was something holding cami's that have my name on them, along with  U.S. MARINES and the Eagle, Globe, & Anchor.  Those things are what we are going to be doing the Crucible in and receiving my very own Eagle, Globe, and Anchor once I've earned it.  I'm almost halfway there and I'm getting stronger everyday.  Thanks for the advice on the push-ups, that's really helping though I don't think it's going to do much on the 8 mile hike/run tomorrow to the rifle range.  We'll see.  Hopefully we get a halfway break like last weeks 5 mile, otherwise this might stink.  I know, I know, suck it up and live with it.  Hey when you come down here you should bring like 5 boxes of Nature Valley Oats & Honey Chewy Granola Bars.  Those things are like the best and we only get those in box chow.  So PLEASE, please, please bring me some on family and Grad Day for the plane ride home.  Make sure to grad the right ones.  Dad I know how you can be.  But at the chow hall I am now eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, just for you.  It helps me remember how you sound like, how you did your routine, and just helps keep me calm.  Who knew you could do that with a PB&J sandwich?  We lost 2 others in our group, one because of her failing test score of 55% and attitude problem.  There's 67 of us left but "Who's next" keeps popping in my head.  I pop sticks really well because everytime we learn something new, Sgt Gaddis has to only correct me once if at all.  Learning how to march & go right shoulder to left shoulder and port arms.  We'll see how that goes.  I so don't want to go on that 8 mile hike.  Oh well, again, suck it up and live with it.  There's another recruit here and she's had like 3 panic attacks in the last 24 hours.  This is going to be an interesting week away from the squad bay.  Anyway, I gotta go.  I love you,
Love
Bizzy