Besides, I think I can quit with the silly lyrics now, since the "let's name our posts after songs" strangeness seems to have passed. Which is good, because I was running out of silly lyrics anyway. (I had a good title, too, but I forgot it.)
Cool thing first. I have a something or two to ramble on on the next page, so if you don't want to hear another session of what irritates Allamorph this week, just read down to the bottom here. Or wherever you usually stop. Or if you read at all. I dunno, I just write this stuff.
I was working with a lady (OH LADY) today, friend of my mother's through government census work, cleaning out her backyard storage hut, and I ran across a couple of aged, faded books that looked like compilations of newspaper clippings or something. The spines read "Naval Hospital, San Diego California", so I was immediately intrigued.
Turns out they were two of a set of four scrapbooks from World War II, with memorabilia including letters from Bing Crosby to the troops, which my employer rescued from the hospital's basement during a spring cleaning event. The scrapbooks were almost thrown away; she (a Navy nurse at the time) and another nurse took two each and now I run across them just this morning. If I hadn't been working, I would have dropped everything and started looking through them. I mean, my gosh. That is just the freaking coolest thing I've ever run into.
Only thing is they've been outside in that wooden shed for two years, and who knows where before that. Those things need to be preserved, man. I mean, Great Glorioski, to borrow my mother's expression.
So I talked with the lady a bit about her service. Turns out she started Navy, served a while, then transferred to Army. (Almost got sent back to Basic by an overzealous captain, but told him redoing Basic was a breach of her contract, sir, and she was unpacking, sir, or he could get her a plane ticket home. Sir.) Talked about the entrance exams for the armed services, which back when she first went in were separate for all, but when she transferred (and currently) are unified. Turns out to get into the services, out of 320 some points you have to score 270 or so to get into the Air Force, 175 to get Navy, 125 to get Army, and 50 to get Marines. She also said that the best service to apply for officer from enlisted was Marine Corp, since such a low percentage make it.
I remarked then that most laypeople see a Marine as more prestigious than an Airman. Whereupon she replied that anyone who knew anything about the service knew that a Marine had probably been too stupid to get any other branch. I chuckled.
Anyway, she also said she believed that a brief stint in a branch of the armed forces, at least two years, should be required for all those graduating college. And even though I didn't go that path, and I know there are a multitude of people who rigorously object to the concept of a Military, I agree with her. I did actively consider enlisting out of high school (probably would have been Navy, since they're still the upper level tech people with a bit more physical focus, no offense to Air Force), but I went with college because of the same misconceptions that led me to choose Music Ed as my first major. BUT ANYWAY.
And that got me thinking about the concept of mandatory service. Because, again, I understand that many people object to armed service. But the armed forces are not entirely about combat any longer, so there are avenues to serve one's country without going overseas and toting guns and shooting people and "promoting violence" and such. I mean, I think France has a mandatory two-year service thing, whether it be military or foreign ambassador or what have you, so long as the individual serves their country. And I wouldn't mind that at all.
