3:16 AM Forum Check

Spring Chicken

Reveille Reveille Reveille

It was the winter of 1962 and I was among a 105 Army vehicle convoy driving north through New Jersey in route to Fort Devens, Massachusetts for Cold Weather Training. I was driving a Jeep. Rear Echelon, I think they referred to me because my job was to make sure all vehicles stayed in convoy formation. We had been under ‘tactical’ conditions since leaving Fort Bragg, North Carolina a couple of days before which meant we had our canvas off and wrapped around the folded over windshield, supposedly to give us some kind of advantage from being seen from enemy aircraft. It was snowing and had been since leaving North Carolina. It was very cold and highways were iced over in many places. Some roads were closed but we kept going, and going, and going. The snow was so heavy at times that I was constantly brushing it off my goggles so I could see the road or at least see the delineators poking up through the snow on the side of the road. It accumulated inside the open Jeep and in every crevice of my cold-weather clothing. My breathing was difficult because I had to breathe through two layers of a scarf which was supposed to protect me from the sub-freezing cold. It didn’t. My toes no longer existed but I could feel the pain they left behind. Just to be able to stop moving had become a welcome relief, even for a brief road-side pit stop to relieve ourselves, which in itself was made extremely difficult by having to remove many layers of unfamiliar clothing in order to get to the more familiar ‘equipment’ required to take advantage of the opportunity. That was when I learned that the human urinary bladder does not always function according to the wishes of the owner. Nor does the attached equipment extend sufficiently (especially in freezing weather conditions) for the grasper to function with relative ease. But the excessive volume was under sufficient pressure to create a relatively high trajectory with sufficient distance that audible smiles could be heard in the distance.

It was at this very moment that my sensors decided to alert me to a similar problem and I extracted my body from the Jeep (I mean charging station) and placed my forward movement devices in the snow (I mean carpet) in order to traverse the terrain (I mean hallway) to the side of the road (I mean ….........). I’m suddenly confused because everything is white and I cannot make out the path or the porcelain furniture fixtures. Oh wait! It’s there (or here)… Snap out of it!!! Yes… Aaaaaaaaaa… It still feels good even after almost fifty years. Mission complete.

Some things just always feel good.

While I’m ‘at ease’ I may as well check in to see if my fellow troops (I mean Eggheads) are up and about preparing their status reports or familiarizing themselves with the reports of their comrades in lump. As cold as it is, there are 20 Members and 208 Guests who are serious about their mission. I think I will leave it to them to carry on.

Say goodnight Leroy.

Spring “Rear Echelon” Chicken
Spring Texas USA

irishrog

Mornin' Leroy, from a beautiful Ireland, where the snow is on the ground, the roads are frozen, the schools are closed, the country is at a standstill because of a little cold weather, and I am at work with not a shopper on any mall but most of the stores are open and waiting for trade. It looks like being a long day in retail land.
Greetings from Ireland, Roger

Car Wash Mike

I get to push more snow. :(

Mike

irishrog

Call Leroy, he will wash it away for you LOL

Luvs to shoot clay

TsSaHow Leroy!
Still cold here as well. Just watched some old BaaBaa Blacksheep while putting some miles on the treadmill. 6 getups to go on this side of the rock then back to your neighborhood!

As usualy, I enjoyed your post.

Village Idiot

Whatever you're smoking, I want some of it !!! I'll even try to make it through the snow in my jeep, all the way up to Spring to get some. :silly:

Firetruck

I'm glad you woke up and realized where you were. When I was young a friend of mind use to walk in his sleep. He got up in the middle of the night, walked to what he thought was the toilet, raised the covers and peed on his parents. :laugh:

Not a great day for them.

Cpt'n Cook

Hee, Hee.

Reminds me of the time when The First Mate and I were heading north on RT 495 in MA. We passed a very long Army convoy heading to maneuvers somewhere. A few miles ahead we spied a lot of items of apparel on the highway. We discovered that they were ladies panties and must have been blown out of a suitcase on someones roof rack ahead of us. We then postulated that it was probably a communist ruse, it was during the Cold War, by the devious Ruskies to distract our stalwart troops in convoy to the rear. How fiendish can you get.

It was summertime and we were heading to the beach so it was not you pulling up the rear.

Ripnem

Sounds like a close one Leroy.

Ever been snowmobiling? :P