Postmarked 05/30/2009

CARRY ON MY WAYWARD SON.
THERE'LL BE PEACE WHEN YOU ARE DONE.

A lot has been going on in the past week. That's why I haven't written anyone. I hope everyone understands. I dodged getting dropped to Mike Company (two weeks back). It was almost a certainty I was going to get dropped because I was not allowed to swim until I got cleared of bronchitis by Medical; and we only had four swim days, three of which I'd missed already. Miraculously, on the fourth day, my illness disappeared. I was cleared and swam 2nd Qualification (1st is best, 4th is basic qual). I wanted to try for 1st but there was not enough time since I'd missed 3 days already. The next day I did my first PFT (Physical Fitness Test). I got 12 pull ups, 100 crunches, and ran 3 miles in 24 min 50 sec. I've thanked God every day since for allowing me to pass everything and not get dropped. Not only was it looking like I was going to get dropped because of not participating in the swim, but I also was worried about the 3 mile run. I never ran 3 miles in my life. Going from not thinking I'd make the run in 30 min to kicking it out in 24:50 is truly a helping hand from God.

I had the most regrettable experience yet the other day. We had pugil stick matches again. I was a lot more confident and aggressive this time and charged the kid. I must have twisted his hand an abnormal way, because when I struck to his right he tried to block, but my blow bent his thumb back and broke it. He has been dropped to Mike Company and I've been taking it real hard since. I am the reason this kid will have to be miserable an extra two weeks. I am the reason his family won't get to see him for an extra two weeks.

In other news, I'm done with Phase I now. It went out with a bang. We got first out of the 6 platoons on the PFT and are still Honor Platoon. There was cheating going on from Plt 2167, so they got disqualified for an integrity violation. We got cake, cookies, cashews from Mom, and other great food the rest of the day. It's the first day here I haven't gone to sleep hungry. I'm at Camp Pendleton now. It started out rough as expected- alot of getting punished in the sand pit and people getting IT'd (Intense Training). We had to carry our 70 lb packs over our head from inside our showers to down the stairs and outside back and forth for about half an hour. It was brutal, but I felt like Superman when we were done. The platoon is it's own family now. About everyone gets along like they would with their brothers and sisters. My good friends call me Joseph, and I call them by their first names. A lot of us have been having family issues back home. For some it's money, others it's breakups, and others it's pregnancy. The amount of recruits married or with a kid is crazy. Over half have a child or are married. Three recruits, including our guide, have found out they have a baby on the way. It just blows my mind to think I'm at that age now. I still want to wait until late 20s, early 30s. Building a good foundation just seems like a better idea to me. That's about it for now. We eat better at Camp Pendleton, but also a lot less, so I'm still always hungry. Thanks again for the letters everyone. Love you all.