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May we all pull together in prayer and condolences for all the thousands of people effected by the events on Tuesday, September 11th, in New York and Washington D.C. God keep all the souls lost, and remember them in His heart.
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Day Two
The second day of our stay in San Diego, we got up early so the whole family (sans Michael) could go out for breakfast. We walked to the nearby Denny's and for the next hour tolerated sub-standard service and food. Calvin's mom owns her own restaurant, so she was measuring things up to her own standards and finding everything lacking. She was absolutely right.
We knew our way back to the Depot by this time (thankfully!), so there was none of the previous night's stress in getting there. We assembled in the courtyard of the Marine Museum to await instructions for the day's events - Family Day. The troops were to participate in a four mile "Motivation Run" with some senior officers before assembling for the Eagle, Globe and Anchor ceremony. This is the ceremony that makes all the recruits official "Marines" after their stint in boot camp. They will be called Marines for the first time, and receive the Eagle, Globe and Anchor pin as an emblem of their achievement into the ranks. After that the young men would be released from about 11:30 a.m. until 4:45 p.m. to visit with their families and show them around the base. They weren't allowed to leave the base, had to stay in uniform throughout, and were not allowed to drive any vehicles, drink alcohol, or demonstrate any of the obstacle courses.
Everyone lined up along the road that is the perimeter of the parade deck and waited for the troops to be lined up for the run. Our vantage point put us right in front of Michael, and every now and then we'd see his eyebrow raise or lips twitch as he acknowledged our hoots and waives. Calvin even climbed up on a car so he could get a good shot with the 35mm camera, which made Michael break out into an almost-smile. Then the drill instructors started their running cadence, and the platoons moved out. Over 580 kids trooped past us in unison, chanting. It was a goosebump moment.There was some confusion as to when we were allowed to proceed across the parade deck (usually prohibited for any non-uniformed people out of respect for all Marines who have passed, but it was allowed on that occasion because of the sheer number of people there for the graduation). Half of our family went across the deck before the drill instructors started calling everyone to order. I stayed behind with Calvin's mom and sister, and we saw the troops run back past us again. Michael gave me a big grin when he spotted me.
After they went by we all went across the parade deck and found seats in the bleachers. Indicators showed us where the individual platoons would be lined up, so we situated ourselves in front of #2077. We only had to wait a short time before the troops arrived back at the parade deck after their run. They formed up and greeted the overseeing officers, and then were marched back to their barracks to get dressed for the Eagle, Globe and Anchor ceremony. Barely fifteen minutes passed before they were being marched back again, this time in uniform (these uniforms have a special name - "Charlies", I think their called - but I'm not sure). Once again, we had a perfect view of Michael, who was in the front row of his platoon.
The ceremony began, and one by one each recruit was presented with an Eagle, Globe and Anchor pin, and called "Marine" for the first time by their drill instructor. We could tell Michael was getting emotional - this was the culminating moment of everything he'd worked so hard for, for the past three months. I was bawling my eyes out, of course, and when I looked around, Calvin, Marie, and the rest of Calvin's family were crying, too. We positioned ourselves to get the best possible view when he received his emblem and pinned it on his hat. Calvin snapped pictures like a mad thing, and I took a video with the digital camera.
After a long while, all the recruits had received their emblems and were once again standing at attention. The senior drill instructor dismissed them, and with an "Aye sir! Hoo-ah!", they pivoted and broke formation, to find their family members and receive tearful hugs and congratulations. It was a repeat of the chaos of finding one another the evening before. More pictures, more hugs, more exclamations of pride and happiness for Michael.Our whole group consisted of Michael, Marie, Marie's friend, Calvin, myself, Calvin's mom, sister, nephew, grandmother, grandfather, X(f), and one of Michael's friends whom X(f) brought with her. It was quite a group to try to keep together. We headed over to the food and shopping area to get Michael the first bacon double cheeseburger he's tasted in three months.
We spent the rest of the day picking out souvenirs from the various tourist and supply stores, watching other platoons of recruits in formation, getting explanations from Michael of what everyone was doing, hearing stories from him of his own experiences, and touring the barracks where he's stayed while at the Depot. We viewed the banner artwork that each platoon created to symbolize their experiences. We talked to Michael's drill instructors. We walked what felt like a hundred miles, and struggled to keep up with the pace that Michael was setting. He's so used to using his feet to get anywhere that he was usually ahead of us and gone before we even got ourselves moving. The grandparents pooped out by mid-afternoon and spent the final hour and a half waiting for the rest of us back at the trucks.
Every single time Michael passed a Marine of higher rank, he boomed "Good Afternoon, Sir!" just to revel in the responding "Good Afternoon, Marine."
We finally said our goodbyes at 4:45 outside his barracks, as the drill instructors called the new Marines to order once again. It was a hugely enjoyable, and hugely satisfying, visit. There were smiles and excitement all around as we walked back to the trucks. We parted company with X(f) and Michael's friend, who went off to do their own thing for the evening.
We headed back to the hotel to freshen up and decide what we were doing for dinner. The grandparents opted to stay behind and grab a quick milkshake at the nearby Jack in the Box, while the rest of us piled into the Suburban and took off to find Seaport Village. Marie was enthusiastic about it, as she'd visited it before with her mother and absolutely loved it. Miracle of miracles, we managed to drive directly there and not get lost.
We strolled the length of the village, trying to choose the restaurant that would fit all of our moods. We settled on one right on (and over) the water. Marie and her friend had a table to themselves while Calvin, myself, Calvin's mom, sister, and nephew took another table. I proceeded to get a bit tipsy on the mammoth-sized vodka shot I was supplied, plus the excellent locally brewed beer. I even had an "I love you guys!" moment as I tried to express (a tad slurringly, I admit, but no less sincere for it) how much I enjoyed getting to better know Calvin's family. Thankfully, they felt the same way. I do admit it's very important to me that Calvin's family like me, and I'm glad that they expressed the same feelings of family and friendship toward me.
The meal was quite good, marred only by Calvin's need to send his steak back after finding a particularly gruesome vein in it (which he called a "sperm tube", which his nephew continued to repeat throughout the meal. Ugh.). I played tourist and took pictures and digital video. After we wrapped dinner up, we wandered among the shops and stores of the village. We saw the most amazingly beautiful artwork at the Wyland Gallery, by a James Coleman. I'm sure we'll never in our lifetime be able to afford any of the pieces (one of them goes for $195,000), but one can dream. The setting was beautiful, the weather was gorgeous, and we all felt we really live in the wrong state. The kids took a ride on the carousel while Calvin and I indulged in some Ben and Jerry's ice cream.
We headed back to the hotel at about 9:00, after the stores closed and we were being shoo'ed out. I crashed as soon as my head hit the pillow, but it was a wonderful, happy day.