August 12, 2004

how I ended in up in tacoma

Recondo 32 went to Tacoma for a Ranger reunion, which those old farts do every two years to get drunk together and tell war stories. I'm really sorry that I missed the festivities (although I have no qualifications for admission) because I'll bet the whole thing was a hoot. People from Merill's Mauraders and other WWII rangers attend, along with guys from BAT teams and LRRP teams from Vietnam, and Gulf War Rangers who saw combat in Somalia, plus all the newbies who worship those older guys.

Recondo eats that shit up like grits with gravy.

Well, he earned that privilege. The WWII Rangers weren't Airborne and one of the old Mauraders made his first parachute jump at the age of 81 this year. Some of the younger Rangers (they were only 50-something years old) took him up in a plane and did a "buddy-jump" with him. The old bastard enjoyed the hell out of it. Recondo said it took two days and a case of beer to get the grin off the guy's face.

Anyhow, that's what led Recondo to Tacoma and that's why I flew out there to ride back to the RIGHT COAST with him. Georgia had to go back to work, so she flew home on Wednesday and Recondo would have been driving home alone if not for me. I volunteered for hazardous duty. (Trust me... he NEEDS a navagator. He ain't real good at reading road signs on his own.)

Plus, I always wanted to take a cross-country road trip. This was a golden opportunity, so I grabbed it.

And I'll never regret that decision.