Day 63

27 June 2009  (Day 63)

Again, I slept all night, and didn't wake up until 0445.  Even with half of the platoon going downstairs to eat their junk, when they came back up (sometime in the 2145 range), I didn't wake up!  So I got out of bed when the lights came on, brushed my teeth and shaved, and then folded my laundry from last night.  It was then time for first formation (where all the drill sergeant did was ask the PGs if everyone was accounted for), and were there for about two minutes before we came back upstairs to finish cleaning before we had to be back downstairs at 0600.  PT was different today, because it was led by one of the company's new drill sergeants.  It was more like what I was used to at Ball State, doing pushups, jumping jacks (side straddle hops), and running around the track.  We then climbed the ropes, ran a little more, and then went back across the street to out barrack to get ready for breakfast.  After breakfast, we relaxed and hung out in the bay.  We took showers, and changed into the cleanest ACUs we had (since the 'soil' here is orange, our ACUs are turning a little orange), because we were going to the Fr. Benning Independence Day celebration.  There are supposed to be a lot of people here, and being an Army base, those people will be higher ranked officers and NCOs (non-commissioned officers).  We have to look good and be on our best behavior, and if there is a problem, we will probably lose our family day pass.  So yeah, finally it was lunch time, so we went downstairs at 1150 and ate MREs.  We had a long lunch and took our time, cleaned up the area, and then went back to the bay until it was time to go to the Independence Day celebration.  We formed up downstairs at 1415, and left at 1430 to main post, where the fireworks and festivities were being held.  Our outfit for the day was ACUs with out camelback, which was really hot considering everyone else was in shorts and t-shirts and sweating!  The celebration was being held in a large field, and had a stage with live bands performing and food booths in a "U" shape.  There were also large inflatables for all ages to enjoy.  I was in charge of a group of three guys and myself...which meant I was responsible for the behavior of all group members.  Salado, Spence, and I got split up, each being placed in groups to take charge of.  With our family day passes on the line, our platoon made sure those who needed to be watched were in groups to keep them in line.  I had a good group!  I had Mason, Hackler and and Golart, who are all pretty quiet and laid back.  Mason went crazy with the junk food, drinking about 7 cans of Mountain Dew, half of pizza, two tacos, two cheese hot dogs, a fruit smoothie, two sweet teas...Yeah!  Me, on the other hand, drank about two gallons of water, which was free (two camelbacks full)!  I'm proud of myself for controlling myself and not eating that junk (but I'm sure when I get home and go to the State Fair I will enjoy a few treats).  So anyway, the best thing at the celebration was a Verizon Wireless tent, where they had a little over 100 cell phones on chairs for people (soldiers in Basic) to call home!  At first, we were the only company to arrive, so there wasn't a line and I got to talk to Brittney for a little while, which was awesome!  She then went to a cookout of some sort at Pastor Kurt's house, so I called home for a while.  Other companies started to arrive, so they had to limit phone calls to 10 minutes.  I waited in line later that evening to call my Grandpap and Grandma Sease (it's my Grandpap's birthday tomorrow) to say hi, and then called Brittney with my remaining time to say hi again and wish her a great night's sleep.  The Verizon booth also had a couple people walking around with picture phones, so I had two pictures taken of me and sent to Brittney's phone, which hopefully she can post with this entry.  The first picture is of me alone, and the second picture a different person took, just as there was a parachute demonstration behind us, so it was me, Mason (middle), and Hackler (right) with two paratroopers in the background!  As you can see in the picture, I've lost a little weight (around 20 lbs. now), so I'm currently 215 lbs. (used a scale in fourth platoon's bay).  I'm now lighter than when I came back from Philmont, and only a couple of pounds heavier than when I played soccer in high school (and when I first met Brittney...Dang)!  So anyway, after the sun went down, we formed up and watched the fireworks at 2200.  We didn't leave until 2300, because of all the traffic.  We had a shakedown to make sure we weren't bringing back any contraband, then went upstairs, took showers, and went to bed.  It had been a fun day, and the free phone calls really made the day for me!  I'm so excited and ready for family day in two weeks!