Mercy! Mercy! That Dang Nabed PERCY!

Undergraduate Experience

My Undergraduate Experience

When I applied to College I was accepted “Provisionally.“ I had to attend Summer School in order to “Prove” myself. It happened that my SAT scores were high but my High School Transcripts were a disaster.

Well, I applied myself for perhaps the first time in my life and was accepted. Then I figured out how hard I was going to have to work to maintain a “C” average and what the easiest Major was… You see what I wanted to major in was “Bridge” and that wasn’t offered anywhere.

I know how all this sounds but it's true and I'm past the point of caring what others really think or trying to make an impression by selectively presenting facts that would cast me in a better light. Now the College I attended was a military College and all the males were required to be a part of the Corps of Cadets. This is no longer the requirement but it was then. The amazing part was that it was also coeducational and it was there that I met Linda.

We soon developed a liking for one another and I taught her how to skate-board and play bridge. The skate boarding was easy because she had been a speed skater in Atlanta. As for the bridge, she was as good a defensive player as I had ever met. No instinct for the jugular mind you, or taste for blood, but when we played together I provided enough of that for both of us. After 4 years I commissioned in the Infantry and was shipped off to Vietnam.

When I came home she had an interesting observation. That I had changed. She confided that our marriage had not been anything to crow about but I had become a better person while away. Now stop a moment and think about that….I suppose most everything you have ever heard about war is how it screws everybody up. Well, it didn’t screw me up… not to say that I found the experience pleasant. I saw some bad stuff and was rewarded with some prestigious medals. No, Linda was right… I was screwed up before I went and when I returned… I was still a jerk, but a more decent, mellow and compassionate sort of jerk. I had learned that one of the keys to being successful in life was bringing out the best in those around me. I went on to have a successful career in the army and a marriage that produced two awesome daughters.

Last night I had a dream….My roommate when I was a Freshman was a friend from California…Believe it or not a guy from CALIFORNIA came from the West Coast to attend the same college I did. I came from Wisconsin and he came from California. Then when Linda and I got married the start of my Junior year, so did he and they lived right up the street in run down apartment just like ours.

Anyway I dreamed about him last night…. He did very well academically and in the Corps of Cadets however, as a “Foreigner” never was invited into the inner circle. At this college I discovered why the South almost won the Civil War….Southern males are the most awesome junior leaders that have ever walked the Planet. As soldiers they have no peer at the tactical level. If you ever wondered why Southerners are so polite it’s because simmering below the surface is a violence that is always on the edge of expression.