Living in the Present

I joined the US Navy shortly after high school and did my basic training in Great Lakes, Illinois from October through December.? It was a long eight weeks and most of it was very cold.?

Every company has someone from within designated as the Recruit Petty Officer in Charge or RPOC.? Our RPOC was a former Marine named John Mendonca. Mendonca was well disciplined, as you’d expect, and we all knew he had been where we were going.? At the five-week mark, our company was split up and sent around the base to perform different duties. This happens to every company and most of us ended up in the mess hall.? I was put in charge of the four mess lines keeping count of everyone who passed through.? I want to say there was more to that but it was a long week and I honestly don’t remember much more than I fell asleep walking on the 6th day.?

We woke up at 3:30 and did not get back to the barracks until around midnight. We then had to clean the barracks (we hadn’t been in them all day) and put away the laundry before hitting the rack.? Even at 19, those days were long.

On the fourth day, I received a call that I was to find Seaman Recruit Roth and the two of us were to report immediately to some Admiral’s office.? I was told we’d both failed the drug screening from our initial intake five weeks earlier.?

I found Roth and we both started walking to the Admiral’s office. It was about 20 degrees and windy and the walk was quite long.? I was in a panic.? I’ve never done drugs of any type and I was rambling.? “I don’t understand how I could pop positive. I’ve never done drugs. How am I going to tell my father I was kicked out of the Navy for drugs? He’s never going to believe.”

When I finished rambling Roth said “I knew it. I knew they’d catch me.”

My jaw dropped. “Dude! What are you doing to me?”

We arrived at the Admiral’s office and sitting at the front desk was one of the guys from our company.? McKay was often referred to as “UA McKay” because he was always doing something unauthorized that could get us all in trouble.?

McKay quickly put out his cigarette and said, “Stay here.”? He walked into one of the offices and closed the door returning a moment later with a red folder, then knocked on the other door.? From inside we heard “Enter”.? McKay closed the door behind him and returned shortly. He told us to stand at attention in front of the door, knock when told and say, “Seaman Recruits Poalinelli and Roth reporting as ordered, Sir.” We knocked and said our bit and heard “Enter”.? We entered and closed the door again returning to attention.? The office was full of wood paneling, floor-to-ceiling bookcases, a giant desk, big chairs, and a couch… and no one in the room.

Roth and I looked at each other not knowing what to do.? 15 seconds is not a long time in today’s world but standing at attention in an Admiral’s office waiting to get kicked out of the Navy was an eternity.

Then, out of a side door walks Mendonca with a smile from ear to ear.? It was another 10-15 seconds before Roth and I figured out we’d been played.? Mendonca had taken pity on us and got us out of the mess hall in the middle of our long week.?

The four of us sat in the Admiral’s office smoking his cigars and sipping his brandy for a couple of hours before Roth and I headed back to the mess hall.?

I don’t remember what we talked about, and I haven’t thought about it but once or twice since. I recalled it a few days ago and realized I did not appreciate that couple of hours as much as I should have. I didn’t savor the moment of rest in a two-month period of high stress.? I enjoyed it, but I didn’t understand it for what it was until now.?

There’s a 2013 Bill Nighy movie called “About Time” where his character and his son have the ability to go back in time to any place in their past and relive the moment.? In the end, his son shares that, rather than going back in time, he learned to appreciate each moment in the present. That is something I want to do.

I haven't seen Mendonca, Roth, or McKay since we left basic training 37 years ago.? But looking back, I’m thankful for that memory and will make a conscious effort to live more in the present by looking for and appreciating what’s in front of me.?

Wherever you guys are today, thanks.? I hope you’re doing well.? If you read this, drop me a note.?

?