Unexpectations

Thursday's are usually quiet days around the campsite for me, but today it was interesting to say the least...

My days usually begin just like any other - wake-up, take a shower, shave, get dressed, go to chow and head-off to the BAS. Same thing - day in and day out; 6 days a week except on those days I am in the BAS for a 24 hour period on duty.

Today started out just like any other - same routine, just a little warmer than usual. Anyhow, I got to work, checked out my weapon, received report from the off-going sentry and settled into my chair for what I thought would be another in a long string of carbon-copylike days here in Africa.

I don't know if it was a mixture of the heat along with the change in wind direction or if this was the normal mayhem and looniness which precedes a full moon but somewhere, somehow, things just didn't seem "normal."

I ate my breakfast - normally...
I read my email - normally...
I took my Mefloquine - normally...
The "black flag" was on the pole by 0900 (almost normal)...

I called my wife "out of the blue" as an unexpected surprise - I had caught her on her way out of the Week's Home - she (my wife) told me of the recently devoured filet mignon and relayed her extreme displeasure at the voting results from that evenings "American Idol" program - she said words that were magic to my ears, "I am going to boycott that show!" (ahhhhh! Sweet music to my ears! LOL!)

We exchanged pleasantries and talked of our last few days - made a date for tomorrow evening to chat again, and thus ended the conversation.

My day proceeded on - I saw our First Sergeant and he asked me where all my Corpsmen were. Without hesitating, I told him the whereabouts of my staff and he informed me that there would be a formation at 1130.

Okay, so that was taken care of - I made my way to the local Smoke break area to retrieve a water and see what the temperature was at that time - 105 degrees (in the shade) at 1015! I sat and drank my water while mixing idle chit-chat with two Marines regarding classic cars! Something else unexpected, but also a pleasant surprise.

1130 rolls around and First Sergeant calls me over behind the formation

"HM2, I'm going to call the awardee to center, make a facing move and march to the front of the formation approximately 3 paces in front of the CO"

I got recognized for my work during the Fort McCoy Deployment and received my first Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal. To tell you the truth, I never expected to hear or receive anything regarding that deployment, but never the less, it was a welcomed honor that I have gratefully and most humbly accepted.

To tell you in all honesty, I was shocked - really! Even now I still cannot believe it!

The award ceremony complete - handshakes received and back over to the watering hole - 107 degrees (in the shade) at 1145!...

Lunch came and went. Saw a few patients for heat rash. Saw another post-wisdom tooth extraction. Kept praying that the order request for re-supply medications would find their way here to my doorstep and into my aid station...

At 1445, the power went out!

At 1447 the power came back on

At 1540 the generator made a very strange noise. I looked over at my colleagues as they enjoyed the end of "Mission Impossible II" and said, "Hmmm, that doesn't sound good"

All of a sudden my door opened up and in came 7 Marines through a gray blanket of smoke and darkness as the electricity went out again.

You guessed it - the generator went up in a puff of acrid gray smoke!

1552 the electricity came back on, but the smell of smoke had permeated everything in my BAS, so we had the door open for a small bit.

A 1645 I watched a group of parachutes dot the sky and float like raptors in the warm winds and wide blue skies - remembering my own parachuting experience and getting an extra burst of adrenaline hoping one day to again hear the sound of the wind in my hears and hear my heart race as I fall safely back toward Earth...

As I write at 1818 I can safely say that my adrenaline rush has subsided, the electricity has not gone out again, the smoke has safely cleared the building and things are back to normal - for the most part.

So, an ordinary day has turned into something completely extraordinary - the expected has become the unexpected. There are still 12 and a half hours and a patrol to complete before I can safely put this day back into the memory case for safekeeping. It's quiet for now, but anything can happen in this crazy place. I've grown accustomed to the "unexpectations" of the day because its the little bits of insanity, obscure moments and bizarre incidents which all get us laughing and reminiscing over that time when so-and-so did this or that. In retrospect, it's called life and memory - and the two have come together today making it all the more memorable!