The Friday before last, I went to Founder's Day in Tucson with Dan. On the drive over, I told Dan that he shouldn't be surprised if we run into several old grads who still can't get used to the fact that women go to West Point. I mean...it's only been 33 years...how are they supposed to get used to something that new? We arrived at the lobby area and I can see that most of these guys graduated in the late 40s and 50s. Yes...it was an old crowd. I check in at the registration and fill out our nametags. I put my name and '87 (denoting my class year) on my nametag and simply put Dan's name on his nametag. Well, I start to notice that a lot of older ladies in this crowd have nametags on with a class year on it...ok... I don't know if I mentioned this before but a lot of grads' wives (especially in the older generations) walk around and act like they also went to West Point and they usually know more about my school and its history than I do. I knew immediately that they would all assume that I was wearing my husband's class year on my name tag. I spot the bar and gesture for Dan to come over with me. We're definitely going to need drinks. On our way there these two older fellows (class of '48 and '56 I think) stop and introduce themselves to Dan. They ask him what class he was and he tells them that he didn't go to West Point and he points to me and tells them that I did. They both shake their heads and say "I just can't get used to that." REALLY?!? Dan just smiles because he can't really believe these guys just said that to me. Of course, Dan also likes to push my buttons so he responds with a quick "The Corps has..." and they all nod in agreement. I tell them all that we need to get a drink and yank Dan away....before I kill him. Dan couldn't stop laughing all the way to the bar. Sometimes he's a total ass.
I'm not sure whether I explained the expression "The Corps has...." to you guys but it is basically what everyone who graduates says about West Point once they've left. It loosely means that the Corps has gone to shit because things aren't nearly as tough as they used to be when the graduate was a cadet. The minute I drove out the gates after graduation, I leaned over and told my brother (sitting in the passenger seat beside me) that "The Corps has..." So...Dan knew this background and the fact that he said it at that time (and got the response he did) was pretty hilarious and ironic.
After I have my drink, Dan and I run into our "old friends" again and they want to know all about Dan and what he did in the Army, etc. I was just an ornament. I quickly found other people to talk to but Dan had a great time with those two wack jobs. So crazy. I guess that's why we go to Founder's Day though, to remember how nutty the school was....right?
When we sat down at our table, there was a potential new cadet sitting at our table with his family. I, of course, put the fear of God in him and told him that he would be lucky if he lived through his first summer...then I quoted Nietzsche. No...I told him that he needs to remember never to give up and that he's going to fail a lot at West Point but that he should "fail forward" and learn from his mistakes because they will only make him a better officer and better person. I told him that most people who go to West Point are big successes in life before they go there and a lot of the people who leave early can't handle the failures and challenges they encounter. I told him that failures prepare you the best for life and that he would never grow until he failed a couple of times. West Point is the place to do that and I said not to be too hard on himself and doubt his abilities because he faces challenges that he can't necessarily overcome on his first try. I told him that he would never regret his decision to go to West Point and that he'd cherish the friends he made there for the rest of his life. Then I told him to get in good shape -- because he looked a little skinny and weak. He told me that he was competing in some Shakespeare Festival in NYC the next week and I told him to keep that information to himself when he gets up there...
They had the usual toasts to the President, the Army, the Corps and then some grads told us stories about their WWII experiences. It was pretty cool. I guess that covered the oldest grad speech because there wasn't one officially. Some LTC from West Point next spoke with a power point presentation showing various facilities, sports achievements and the number of Rhodes Scholars, etc. (the usual hype). Then the legitimate youngest grad spoke (Class of 2008), still wet behind the ears and calling us all Ma'am and Sir. He had 5 reasons why "The Corps Has..." but he ended up saying something at the end of each one to the effect of "so I guess the Corps hasn't for that reason..." Whatever. His last one was that they only take the IOCT every other year now. WHAT?! I immediately yelled "And they still let you graduate?" (Dan found this highly amusing...he was also continually supplying us with alcohol from the bar at this point.)
The IOCT is the Indoor Obstacle Course Test and it is a grueling tradition at West Point. It is held in one of the old gyms and it's rumored that they use a special machine to suck out all the oxygen in the gym before the test. I believe those rumors. They also (used to) have bucket at the end of the course where you could throw up...because you inevitably wanted to....sometimes just looking at the bucket would do ti for me. There was also the distinctive hacking cough you would get once you finished the test. But first let me tell you what I can remember about the test. You start by stepping through a bunch of tires and then you jump over a pommel horse. You run over to "The Shelf" which is where a lot of people fail. It is basically a large wooden shelf about 8-9 feet off the ground that you need to jump up to and pull yourself onto. I was never able to do it the conventional way (which was to swing your feet to the side and get your knee over the edge and pull yourself over), I just pulled my feet up and directly through my hands and wormed my way up that way. More than a few instructors tried to get me to do it the "approved" way but my way worked and I was sticking with it (and there were no rules saying that I couldn't do it my way...I asked). After you got on the shelf, you had to jump over the railing for the elevated track and jump onto this suspended pole with railings which were just a little longer than arm's length away from each other (so you had to sort of leap between them while up in the air) and then get back down on the floor. You jumped through a tire held by a rope feet first and then ran along a balance beam (the olympic regulation kind) and jumped down (or dismounted), did a somersault and then had to make it over a wall. Now this wall required a running start because it was also about 7-8 feet high and you needed all the power you could get to push yourself up and over it. Once you made it over that, you had to go across a set of monkey bars (with sweaty hands...) and then climb up a rope to get back to the level of the elevated track. Once you got up and climbed over the railing, an instructor handed you a medicine ball and you had to run a lap, then you dropped the medicine ball and he handed you a baton and you ran another lap and then you dropped the baton and ran almost an entire other lap au natural (without anything to hold...your clothes were still on). Then you threw up and wheezed for hours and hours. How could they possibly eliminate that annual tradition and make it biannual? Well...the Corps definitely has Mr. 2008!
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