The Wait in AT Land Part 2

Ex C077/K051  Feb 21- Apr 25 1990

Now that my infamous kiss is out of the way let's cover the other fun aspects of Division 10 Life. Before I met Susan, I did hang around with some of the guys. Lucky for me, they helped to fuel my car so we could use our money more strategically.

The first weekend there, we hit several of the girly bars that were not off-limits. It was fun taking in the "farm fresh" guys to the girly bar. They would stare at the dancers like they had never seen a woman without clothes on before. They spent a good deal of money too. I sat back and enjoyed my Cuba Libre, minus the rum. (I was driving)

Working at NTC, I covered that quickly before. But it was really dull. We sat in the reclaimed uniform store and really did not do much. We sat in the store with the SK1 and SK2 who ran it. They were both on shore duty and really did not seem too thrilled about it. Once a week, a truck from RTC brought over sea bags from those recruits who were being sent home. Since their clothing was hot "paid" for, it was turned over to the Navy.
On the truck day, that was really the only day we worked. And even that was a quick task with 4 people. Unload the seabags and stack them in one of the many rooms. The building the store was in was a leftover from World War II when the base was run by the Army Air Corps. My grandfather actually trained there during the war before heading over to Europe.

Typically for lunch, we hit the exchange and were knocked off around 1500 each day.

The main activity in AT Land after class was heading out to either the Mall or the other local stores. I think there was a bus that took most of them to the various places, but having my sleek 1985 Mercury Cougar, I could take 4 others pretty much anyplace we wanted. Which was typically any place off base.

And, the guys and girls were busy expending their frustrations, if you get my meaning. Kind of on that subject. If you have been reading along, you might remember that my wife met a girl she went to high school with on parents night. Well, that girl was still at Dvi 10 when I got back there. She recognized me right away and introduced herself to me. Then she told me flat out, "I'm watching you and will not hesitate to let your wife know anything you do." Well, OK, then I thought. She left a week or so later. And that was before Susan, and I began our friendship.

When I got to Div 10, I was assigned a duty section and told about the watches. But, I never stood watch on any duty day, except for the last night there. The section leader told me he had forgotten all about me and assigned me a roving watch, 4 hours circling the building. That was about as boring as watch as I ever had.

Time there was a little boring in reality. It did get a bit old walking around the Mall. IT was expensive to eat off base too much. We had to save our money for beers on weekends. Some weekends we would find a group that had a hotel room and head there for some relaxation. It figures I was the designated beer buyer for everyone. The gatherings were typically a mixture fo A-school people and those in Div 10.
We also spent a good deal of time at the old railroad station that was converted into shopping and food. One weekend, BB King was there, so it was a rather good time listening to him and enjoying a few cold beers.

We never did go to Disney or any places like that. Mostly because it was a little pricey.

Now, let's talk about Mariner's Culb. I think it was Orlando's version of Las Vegas. One of my first visits, I saw some seriously dirty dancing happening with a good size group of people. I am not much of a dancer, but I was invited to join. I did politely decline. That night there was a group of us, and I was the drink buyer. I did find that strange about Orlando, the enlisted club did not look for people doing that. I was buying 6 drinks at a time, and nobody questioned me. At Great Lakes, if I bought two beers at once, some off duty instructor was on me like instantly asking me who the other beer was for. But, Orlando, they did not care.

We always had a good time there, drinking, playing pool, and yes, I did get into dome dancing later on. Remember I did mention taking my pal Susan there?

During the week, we had to be back in Div 10, by 9:00. I think we could overnight on weekends if we did not have duty. On Sunday, back by 10:00.

The other notable activity during my time there was watching the Chicago Bulls making their run toward the NBA Eastern Conference Finals. They lost Game 7 to the Pistons that year. The last time they would lose an Eastern final during the Jordan years. I was off the coast of Columbia for the first Championship but caught the other 5.

A few strange things about being in Div 10 were we got to eat at the South Galley. But, we had to go there in small groups. You could not go alone that I recall. Pretty much every morning from the second week until I let I had my friend with me. She and I would walk down to the Galley and enjoy a nice breakfast. Then head back. The nights we ate on base, we also shared dinner. Luch, I typically ate at the exchange on NTC.

We were totally forbidden to go to the C Center on RTC. I did stop in on my first few hours back on RTC since I had not checked into Div 10. The Lady working there asked me if I was a recruit, I told her I was on hold in Div 10. She told me the rule and said, get out quick. So, I did.

When I checked in, I asked about parking my car. The Chief did not know my full story, so he started asking, "How the F did a recruit get a car?" I ran down the quick story of how I got there, and he was OK with it then. He told me to park by the Navets parking. So, I did for 3 ½ weeks before some Navet decided he wanted to be a badass and tell me not to park there. Mind you, the lot was the size of a grinder and had maybe 20 cars parked there. But, my car was in the way.

That is the lot the infamous kissing incident happened in.

One morning around June 6, 1990, the Chief was telling us our daily assignments. By this time, I was the "senior" on hold person. That morning I was sent to PSD for my orders to Great Lakes and my A-School. I would get to leave on June 8, Friday. After that was straightened out, I told all my friends I was going Friday. Most of us were pretty used to people leaving by then, so it wasn't a shock. Like I had mentioned above, my last night, I had a roving watch.

My last morning at Orlando was pretty bittersweet again. One last breakfast with my pal Susan. We walked back to Div 10, not really talking much. When we got inside, she gave me a big tight hug. She was a petite lady, so the strength of her embrace shocked me.

She told me, "See you in the fleet."

I said, "Of course, we will."

She smiled and walked away.
I took my packet to check out, then walked out to my car. At about 1100, I left Orlando for the final time. This time watching the Door Knob to Hell in my rearview mirror.

                                      

Figures I leave Orlando on a Friday. Traffic was horrible there as it was in Atlanta. But, I did make it to where my wife was in Illinois to spend time with her. I stopped at my parents for a few hours while traveling to Great Lakes.

I check in at Great Lakes and find a new level of hell, Galley Company! Don't worry, more to come.