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Other than Yazzie, life was pretty uneventful, and I struggled for material to include in my correspondence I couldn’t tell hi of hoas going to be gathering their stupid brown eggs for the next five years at least, while they clucked and pecked ungratefully aroundbattles around the world, being ain love with WOMEN I hated that I was al for hi about hi next toto classical music frohthow truly juvenile I was I missed him horribly, and I had a terrible, terrible fear that I would never see his, only to rip the letter up into tiny pieces and send the appropriatehi facts and stories Sonja always seeether

I spent my free time with Sonja and Doc - asout my welcome My lessons were eclectic and covered more subjects thanin his two-bits, sharing his vast knowledge and opinions He wasn’tto me play, and more often then not would be asleep in his chair when I left I don’t knohat ever became of his desire to write a book As far as I know he never finished one, but for whatever reason, he and Sonja loved Levan and stayed Doc’s son was grown and lived in Connecticut or somewhere else on the other side of the Earth – so they didn’t see hireat that they felt stifled by our little town People seemed to like thean each week at church Doc fell asleep every week in church too, but he alent, even though he kept his pipe stuck in his uess the congregation just decided to let hiht if it hadn’t been for Sonja and Doc,to occupy it but chicken feed and recipes and unchallenging school work They were a bal heart, and a stimulant to my intellect

That summer, I checked the mail every day but only received letters from Samuel sporadically Twohome, I threw the rest of the mail in the bill basket for later perusal, and ran up tothe letter open I sine hiirls who cried whenever they saw Elvis I shook es The letter was long, and his precise handwriting slanted forward aggressively I read it hungrily

July 31, 1997

Dear Josie,

I hear the drill instructors in ht, cover, don’t close up, and don’t rush it!" We drill for hours on end it see in my sleep Antwon Carlton actually did ht before last and Carlton ca by in his sleep Tyler called out "Pivot, back to the rack recruit!" It worked, and big bad Carltonabout it-you know he didn’t keep it to hily, but a couple of the other black guys told hiht it was pretty funny too

Everybody seeether, we all suffer One day our squad leader, a tough red head from Utah named Travis Fitz, had to do punishment exercises every time one of us swatted at a fly or missed a drill order He paid for our screw ups It was a pretty big lesson About half way through, I ended up requesting permission to speak and volunteered to take his place It bothered eant Blood said that’s what a real leader does - he takes one for the team He did let me step in for Fitz, but the point wasthe last feeeks on the rifle range I learned how to shoot frorandma When ere out with the sheep she would send me off away from the sheep, and I would practice She called this ti, and they were full and drowsy, and we stayed in one place for a while to watch therandma was little she actually used a bow and arrow to run the coyotes off I kno primitive that sounds - randht years old If she lost a sheep she would be whipped, because it meant loss of food and livelihood She wasn’t as hard onof her sheep was the rand frorandood Marine, too I’ll have to tell her that when I see her again She’ll get a kick out of that

I haven’t had any difficulty on the rifle range, and it’s all due to her Again, soun before It blows uns and 22’s don’t they? What is Aeneration is unbelievably soft Man, I’ to sound like my DI’s Anyway, on qualification day I scored a 280 on the course, which puts eant Meadows said I should setand infantry training I’m not sure yet, what coo into the Reserves, but I’o Active