I am a proud father....

I have known many happy times in my life, but never have I dared to rank them. Each one is as special as the other depending on the situation. I had another of those moments tonight. As most of you know, hunting is a family heritage and I have tried to pass that along to my sons, Evan and McCoy. McCoy has had some success hunting but has never taken a buck. Tonight, that changed. He had asked to go still hunting one day this week but we could not go Monday so today I went by to get him from school on my way home. We hurried home, packed up and left for the woods. A friend of mine, Jody, had told us that we could hunt a spot that he had picked out and cleared. Now, that is a good friend. We got settled down and waited….and waited…and waited. We killed time thumb wrestling, of which I won all, but it is getting harder and harder. We watched squirrels and laughed about nothing at all.

About 6:05 or so, McCoy saw a deer in the shooting lane and said “Daddy, it’s a doe.” I looked at it and told him that it was not, that it was a buck and to get ready to shoot him. I told him to relax and put the cross hairs behind his shoulder, although I am not sure if I was trying to calm him down or me! He fired his shot and I saw the deer buckle and leave the lane. I knew he was hit, but did not know how bad. I usually would want to give a deer about 30 or 45 minutes before I go to look for him, but the sun was setting and I had to go find him. We found the blood trail and tracked him through the woods for a short while by flashlight. We stopped once and McCoy told me he smelled something and then told me to turn around and the deer was lying not 15 yards from us. What followed afterwards is unexplainable. We high fived, fist pumped and knuckle hit while I laughed with excitement…again I think more so than he. I got the four-wheeler and brought the deer home to show off to everyone I had not already sent a picture message to!

I can not thank my friend, Jody, enough for allowing us to take advantage of all his hard work. Only those fathers that have gone through this can identify with my feeling of pride tonight.

I AM JOINING THE MARINES: PART FOUR

The early days are starting to catch up to me, but every minute is worth it!
Today we were up in time to catch the recruits doing physical training (PT). We arrived before they did and could hear then marching in the dark to our location. That in itself was impressive as the darkness was broken by the uniform footsteps of about 200 or so recruits. As the sun came up, we could hear cheers and bells ringing in the background as tomorrow’s graduates ran their last before they became Marines. We quickly moved along the road to see them all run by. It was impressive to see these young men and women who had just endured 12 weeks of boot camp with the culminating event of “The Crucible” come by with all smiles as they knew that in just one day all the hard work would be rewarded with each of them being Marines!
Once we left the cadet run, we made our way to the recruit barracks where we were given a demonstration by the drill instructors (DIs) to what the recruits would see the first day assigned to their barracks. Again, out of respect and tradition, we were not allowed to take videos but I can tell you that I had chills all over me as they went through their routine. I am so impressed with the DIs dedication. They are up before the recruits (about 3 am) and up long after the recruits are in bed. To the drill instructors, their role is more than a job. They are preparing these young men and women and transforming them into what will become a warrior. Also, along the way, they transform them into great men and women. Evidence of their effectiveness is that, even after only two days, our DI has a group of teachers marching in formation and filling gaps and “covering” where there is an absence without being told! That is a great accomplishment…she should get a promotion!
After lunch we were able to see certain phases of “The Crucible”*, the last and I dare say the most intense of the entire recruit training. As these weary eyed recruits completed each task, you could see the weeks of training had paid off. No longer was the DI yelling at them, but they had become that “big brother” and “mentor” to the recruits. Teachers could do well to learn from these DIs. Even in “I gotcha” moments where the DI can blast a recruit, they also take the time to explain to them what was done wrong, why it was wrong and the correct way to do the task.
The day was completed with a little time on the range firing the M16A4. That was really fun; however, I could have shot about 100 rounds. It is a wonderful weapon with little to no recoil. Everyone had a great time with it and the instructors were very patient with all of us during our briefing and shooting.
Tomorrow we leave, but even though I am ready to get home, I will miss the atmosphere and camaraderie I have experienced down here. It is a whole different life in Parris Island!
*You can look up The Crucible for the Marines on youtube.com to get an idea of what they go through

I AM JOINING THE MARINES: PART THREE

My new saying on my bad days teaching will be, “Smile, I could have been a Marine!” Today has shed a new light on any “bad day” teaching I may have. I have always respected people in uniform; however, I have found a new respect for anyone who decides to become a Marine. I will give you a run down of our day:
It began at O 600 when a pretty young lady stepped onto our bus and began yelling out orders to the top of her lungs. Of course we did not get it correct, no matter what she told us. We stood on the famous “yellow footsteps” while we were told everything we needed to know which we quickly forgot. I can tell you I felt physically sick as I stood there thinking what a new recruit must be thinking at this point in their enlistment. I know I am leaving Friday, but THEY know they are there for 12 weeks. We then marched “quickly” into the receiving room where we were “briefed” as to what a new recruit would expect within the first week after arriving at Parris Island. Afterwards we marched “quickly” (that was the new phrase for the day…everything “quickly”, which means faster than you are doing it!) to another building where we were briefed and received once again. Of course, we were yelled at the whole way because we could not follow the orders given to us or even stay in a line.
We were allowed later to shoot the M16 A4 at the simulator. I think I am hooked now, because I want one!! I scored 115 out of 120 and was pretty proud of myself until one lady in our group shot a perfect score. Tomorrow we shoot the real thing!
Leaving there, we went to eat lunch with some of the recruits. The recruit I was able to eat with was from Rocky Mount and had graduated from South West Edgecombe in 2009. He explained to us that he had attended college but could not really find his niche or what he wanted to do. He and his mom didn’t really get along after she remarried so he moved in with his grandma and eventually joined the Marine Corps because there were no other opportunities. I was touched as I saw this young man speak with words way beyond his years. By his own admission, the Marine boot camp program had made him a better man and person. He told us, as many of us around him were in tears, how he had made contact again with his mom, even though he did not think their separation was “his fault”, but because it was the right thing to do because SHE was HIS mom and he should do it. WOW…talk about making sound decisions and having respect! We bid him farewell and good luck in his months before his November graduation. I think the biggest thing I have taken from today is that the Marine Corps doesn’t just make great warriors, they make great men and women first!
Next in our day was a trip to the “Leatherneck Station” and the “Confidence Course”. While there we were given a Marine martial arts and a Pugile stick fighting demonstration. Afterwards, we were able to get in there and fight with the instructors. I was so happy and proud when I was the first to score a point against one of them. However, I think the only thing I accomplished was to make him mad! The next point was earned by him after he blocked my “bayonet jab” and proceeded to hit me HARD on the left side of my head! Even with the helmet and padding, it still rocked me a little. The master instructor ended it there with all three of us laughing and a friendly pat on the back. I was later impressed as the instructors gave us demonstrations on how to navigate the various obstacles on the Confidence Course.
We finished the night with dinner at the Officer’s Club. It was very nice but the most interesting part was the bar attached to it. It is called the “Santini Bar” because scenes from the movie, The Great Santini were filmed in the bar while the movie was made at Parris Island. The bar is full of memorabilia from different companies that have their own plagues around the bar. In the back is a brick wall where you can throw bottles against to break them…a Marine tradition. There was no filming or pictures allowed in the bar out of respect for them.
Today has been a great day and my respect for these men and women has grown tremendously!

I AM JOINING THE MARINES: PART TWO

Today was a day full of driving…and driving…and driving.
We left this morning a little after “0 700” because true to form, teachers have a really hard time going by a schedule…much to the dismay of Captain Prather. We drove to Charleston, SC to eat lunch, stopping only once at a rest stop. It really wasn’t that bad. I have never been this far south in South Carolina and it is beautiful here…except for the rain. Once we arrived at our hotel in Beaufort, we had a little down time until 500pm. (1700) We then loaded the bus and made our way to Parris Island to eat dinner. I had the privilege to sit with Captain Prather and learned a lot about him. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. Captain Prather was a pilot in Iraq before he was given the job he has now in the recruiting office in Raleigh. He is now medically unable to fly because of hearing loss. He is a very interesting Marine.

Once at Traditions, one of the dining halls on Parris Island, we were briefed by the base PR man and he also told us that the Marine Drill Instructors had a “special” surprise for us tomorrow morning. He also told us that the bus is leaving at o 550 tomorrow morning. After a wonderful dinner I walked through the hallways of the dining hall looking at pictures from Parris Island’s past. It was neat to look at the history of the base. Before I left, my dad told me that my grandfather was at Parris Island in the mid 40s. I found a picture from that time period and thought about how it may have looked when he was there. It was kind of neat. I then went through the hall taking pictures of the memorabilia hung around. As we left, we were given some great gifts…a leather attaché bag, a USB drive, Marine Corps DVD and a draw bag to carry our things around tomorrow. We all came back to the hotel to get ready for our early morning.

Going to hit the sack now….O 430 will come early!

I AM JOINING THE MARINES: PART ONE

…..Don’t worry mom, it’s only for a week.
My trek began this morning at around 10 am as I made my way to Raleigh to meet up with the Marine Corps representatives. At check-in, I received my packet, my room mate assignment and was “ordered” to meet back down at 6 pm to be briefed about our agenda for the night and morning. Captain Prather let us know what the Marines could do for our students and told a few stories about some recruits that we would see. We were told that we would be able to see a graduation on Friday….that sounds exciting. One thing that the Captain told us is that when we reach Parris Island tomorrow, we will be assigned our guides and they are all drill instructors. He also kind of smiled when he said they had a little something special for us when we got off the bus. Now I have seen Full Metal Jacket and if we have a man like R. Lee Ermey yelling at us, I am going to freak out!
After our briefing, we headed down to the restaurant downstairs to eat dinner…on the Marine Corps of course. It was fun talking to other educators from all over the state while we had dinner. We leave tomorrow morning at 7 am (or as Captain Prather said, “O 700) to board the bus headed to Parris Island which will take about 6 hours. WOW! I better get to bed…it’s going be an early morning. I will post more tomorrow night!

The Dreaded Word!

If the word “cancer” is one of the most feared words in the English language or in any language, then “I have cancer” has to be the most dreaded phrase ever spoken. That dread and fear is intensified more when those words come from the mouth of a loved one. The night my mother said those words to us seems like ages ago. As she sat on our sofa and told us she had just gotten her test back and it was not good news…she had cancer. I sat there in disbelief! This happens to other people, but not my mom. I was in shock and much of the time after that is blank in my memory. I can’t tell you what was said or done. I just sat there. It is the first time that my mother’s mortality had ever crossed my mind. After my parents left, I went outside and lay in the glider out at the barn. The sky was clear and all the stars sparkled. I thought to myself, “What in the world are we going to do?” (Like I had a lot to do with any of it!) Then as I looked up, the answer hit me. We were going to do it just like everyone else who has ever had cancer did it…one day at a time. I knew my parent’s faith would give them strength and that God was with my mother, but there are always uncertainties and “what ifs”. But I would not let that cross my mind. My sister and I would talk and assure each other that “everything would be ok.” You see, I saw a T-shirt once that said:

THERE ARE TWO THINGS THAT I AM CERTAIN OF
1. THERE IS A GOD
2. I AM NOT HIM

I used these words to assure myself that God was in control.

In the following days, I witnessed very amazing events. I saw strength in my mom I had never seen. I saw my dad’s devotion to my mom grow in a way that I had never seen before; a devotion that had never been needed until now. And my sister…my sister went from being my “little” sis, to a “grown up”…a great support for us all, especially my mother. She went to all of mom’s appointments and explained everything that was going to happen; many that I did not want to hear. But what about me? What would I do? As a son, I really did not want to hear all the details. I could not go and sit through the appointments where they discussed doing surgery on my mom; but I wanted to be a support for her. Then came the answer. I am somewhat of an outdoorsman and I had heard of a gentleman that made paracord wilderness bracelets for a company named Paracord Joes*. So I went to his website and told him my story. I asked if he could make me a pink survival bracelet and Mr. Prevatte said he would be happy to and then helped me through the ordering process. It was obvious that it became important to him, because he started work on my custom bracelet immediately, even before he received payment. In less than a week, I received it and began to wear it. Of course, I received some funny looks. I mean, a man wearing a pink bracelet! Some asked why and I told them my mom had breast cancer and it was my way of supporting her.

The day of her surgery came and we all met at the hospital…EARLY! (Why doctors insist on getting folks up at the crack of dawn to cut on them, I will never know!) What I saw that day astounded me. People came in droves to support my mom. Her visitors filled and took over the whole waiting room. There were more than 25 people there and all stayed the whole four hours of her surgery. I was overwhelmed by their caring support. Those people took half of their day to sit in a hospital waiting room to show my family how greatly my mom was loved. My only regret is that I did not have them all sign a card and take a picture of all the people gathered.

I am happy to say that other than a few unexpected extra days of recovery in the hospital, my mom’s recovery has been fantastic. God has truly blessed our family. She got word from her doctors that she is cancer free; no chemotherapy, radiation or medicine needed! Christmas was a very special time this year. The greatest gift of all was being together and knowing that mom was ok. We opened gifts and did a lot of hugging and crying…except this time they were tears of joy. Mom and dad are going to Hawaii in March, which is amazing because they rarely go anywhere for that long or far away. And as for my pink survival bracelet, I still wear it but my story has changed. I no longer tell people “My mom HAS cancer”; I tell them “My mom HAD cancer.” It is no longer a “survival” bracelet. It has become a “SURVIVOR’S” bracelet; a wonderful reminder of the strength of a mother, the devotion of a family, the greatness of friends and wonderful grace of God.

*JT Prevatte can be contacted at paracordjoes.com. There is a full list of items for sale on that site.