Today is my birthday; Now with pictures!

Did a steak dinner at The Dubliner to celebrate my birthday, complimented with a bottle of 2005 Tommassi Valpolicella Ripasso. As the food arrived, the owner, Niall, came by to say hello, wish me a happy birthday and informed us that the meal was on the house. Here's a family picture from after dinner:


All in all, a very good birthday.

Quote of the Day

By OJ Mayo, who was drafted by the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves:

"Minnesota is a great city."

Naked Chicks

Even more pictures of Luca...

One of the cutest things I've ever seen

Introducing the Kung-Fu baby!

THE BOSTON CELTICS ARE CHAMPIONS AGAIN!

Congratulations to the Boston Celtics, NBA Champions for a record 17th time! We've waited a long time for this one but it was worth it!

I love this team for so many reasons. They play the game the way it should be played. There are no prima donnas, gangstas or thugs. They play together as a team. All the attention goes to the Big Three but the role players have stepped up all year long. Guys like Rajon Rondo, James Posey, PJ Brown, Leon Powe, Eddie House, Kendrick Perkins, Big Baby...it seemed like it was a different guy every night. From the first game of the season right to the very last, they were the best team. They won with pride and they won with class. There were no scandals or off-court incidents to distract them. They never took their eyes off the proverbial prize and now they are NBA Champions. Red Auerbach is smoking a cigar in Heaven right now...

I can see you smiling all the way from here mom.

More pictures of Luca

Happy Father's Day Pop

A few hours late but Happy Father's Day dad, hope you had a good one!

This is too funny not to share...

In Spain, they eat Filipinos.

Bought these at a rest area in Spain a few years ago. Some sick people in Spain.

The Proud Parents Celebrate

A friend of ours came to visit the baby yesterday and brought us a bottle of Champagne so today we thought we'd sort of celebrate the birth of Luca Christiano Thibodeau, albeit a few weeks late...

Euro 2008 Preview, Part II

Thoughts on the tournament in general: It should be interesting as most of the top teams in Europe are represented. With the exception of Austria, there really are no patsies this year. I'm officially picking the big boys to go deep into the tourney but mark my words, there will be at least one cinderella team that will surprise people. Will it be Greece again? Possible but unlikely. Could the Turks summon the spirit of the Ottomans and shock Europe? You never know. Can Romania defy the experts and advance from the group of death? Would not surprise me; after all, they won their qualifying group - which also included the Netherlands - easily, scoring almost twice as many goals as the Dutch in the process.

Only one thing is for sure and that is that there will be some surprises when all is said and done. And I will most likely have egg on my face but...who cares! Euro 2008 is finally here!

Some more predictions:

MY TOP 3 FAVORITES TO WIN IT ALL:
Germany
Portugal
Italy

NEXT 2 FAVORITES:
Spain
France

TEAMS THAT HAVE NO CHANCE:
Austria
Russia
Poland

MY DARK HORSES:
Turkey
Romania

TEAMS I PREDICT WILL DISAPPOINT:
Holland
Czech Republic
Switzerland

TEAMS NOT PLAYING THAT I WILL MISS MOST:
England
Ireland
Denmark

TEAMS THAT SHOULD BE THE MOST FUN TO WATCH:
Portugal
Germany
Spain

BEST FIRST ROUND MATCHUPS:
Italy-France
Portugal-Czech Republic
Spain-Sweden
Germany-Croatia
France-Holland

TEAM THAT COULD BENEFIT FROM PLAYING AT HOME:
Switzerland

WHO WILL PROBABLY WIN THE GOLDEN BOOT:
Fernando Torres (Spain)

OTHER TOP CANDIDATES FOR GOLDEN BOOT:
Christiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
Luca Toni (Italy)
Miroslav Klose (Germany)
Adrian Mutu (Romania)
Zlatan Ibrahamovich (Sweden)
Thierry Henry (France)

DARK HORSE CANDIDATES FOR GOLDEN BOOT:
David Villa (Spain)
Antonio DiNatale (Italy)
Antonio Cassano (Italy)
Mladen Petric (Croatia)
Nihat (Turkey)

NOTABLE ABSENTEES DUE TO INJURY:
Tomas Rosicky (Czech Republic)
Ryan Babel (Holland)
Fabio Cannavaro (Italy)
Eduardo (Croatia)
Patrick Viera (France)
Dorian Goian (Romania)

NOTABLE ABSENTEES DUE TO NON-SELECTION:
Raul (Spain)
David Trezeguet (France)
Filippo Inzaghi (Italy)

Semi Finals: Germany-Portugal, Italy-France

Finals: Germany-Italy

Champion: Italy

[NOTE: Right up until the moment I posted my picks I was tabbing Germany to win the tournament. However, as I am an unabashedly tremendous homer for the Azzurri, I will freely admit that I'm picking with my heart rather than my head.]

Euro 2008 Preview, Part I

It's pretty well known that I am a huge "tifoso di calcio" (soccer/football fan). My life pretty much peaks every four years when the World Cup comes around. In between World Cups I have the European Championships to look forward to. Though not as grand as the World Cup, the European Championships are sometimes more fun to watch. Back in 2004, some friends and I were extremely fortunate to get tickets to all of Italy's matches. The tournament was in Portugal so we made the road trip and although Italy crashed out of the tourney early, we had a fantastic time. [I recounted the trip here: Euro 2004]

Well, here it is, 4 years on and it's now time for Euro 2008. This year's tournament is being co-hosted by Austria and Switzerland and promises to be a good one. Here in Germany the people are getting ready and there is a buzz in the air as the German team is looking very strong and playing close to home. As for me personally, I can hardly contain my enthusiasm. I've followed the qualifying rounds closely and am ready for the matches to begin. The first match is this Saturday, a mere two days away. For the next 3 weeks I will be eating and breathing calcio and to get it started, here is my official "Rik's Blog Euro 2008 Preview", broken into two parts...

GROUP A:

My picks: Portugal, Turkey
Players to watch: Ronaldo, Deco, Senturk, Jankulovski, Senderos
Initial Thoughts: The only certain thing in group A is that Portugal will advance. They have a stacked lineup led by FIFA Player of the Year Christiano Ronaldo, although Deco might be the motor that makes the machine run. They will have no problem scoring goals, many of the spectacular variety. Most prognosticators are tabbing either the Czechs or the Swiss to accompany them but I'm not so sure. The Czechs are historically a strong team in the Euros and have a lot of talent but there a few factors to consider - Pavel Nedved is retired and won't play and injuries, namely Tomas Rosicky, could hurt them. Without Nedved and Rosicky, it remains to be seen who will step up in midfield to provide service to Koller and Baros. The Swiss were seen as a favorite going in because they are co-hosts and have basically been building this team for the past several years specifically for this tournament but they have not been in good form the past few times I've seen them. Also, one of the players who is supposed to carry them, Phillipe Senderos, was on terrible form for Arsenal this season. They will rely on a couple of vets - Yakin and Frei - for goals but keep your eye on youngster Eren Derdiyok who could surprise off the bench. Frei recently became Switzerland's alltime leading scorer by the way. I admit to not knowing much about the current Turkish side but what I have seen, I've liked and they are one of my dark horses to go through.

GROUP B:

My picks: Germany, Croatia
Players to watch: Ballack, Schweinsteiger, Frings, Petric, Smolarek
Initial Thoughts: There should be no shortage of goals in this group.
Germany are practically playing at home and are one of my favorites to win the tournament. They will easily win this group and then some. Klose and Podolski will get their goals but it's their midfield that is their real strength. Keep your eye on Kevin Kuranyi, a very underrater player for the Mannshaft. Nobody should overlook Croatia - they are a very strong team whose sum is greater than its parts. Eduardo netted 10 goals in qualifying but will miss the tourney (broken leg) so the Croats need another scorer (Petric? Srna?) to step up if they are to go far, otherwise they could easily crash out of the first round to an upstart Polish team or a proud Austrian side playing at home. It is tempting to pick Poland as a dark horse but historically they always do well in qualifying only to play sheepishly come tournament time. They will need Smolarek to play well if they are to beat out Croatia for the second spot. Austria is a team with little to no talent who qualified only because they are co-hosts (Austria have never played in a European Championship before) and will basically go as far as the home field advantage will take them. They are lead by inspirational but ancient striker Ivica Vastic (38 yrs old).

Group C:

My picks: France, Italy
Players to watch: Mutu, Ribery, Robben, Toni
Initial Thoughts: Perhaps the deadiest "Group of Death" ever, this is an extremely tough one to predict. Literally any one of the 4 teams in this group could win it all...or just as easily crash out of the first round.
Italy are defending world champions but suffered a huge blow when captain Cannavaro was injured in training, leaving him out for the entire tournament. His absence means that Zambrotta will probably end up in a more defensive role as will Materazzi. Unfortunately it also means that Andrea Barzagli will see significant time at inside back which could be a weak spot for the Azzurri. Despite losing Cannavaro, they should still be strong in defense and they still have the world's best goalkeeper in Gigi Buffon. Up front, Toni is always a threat but there will also be one Italian striker who makes his mark on this tournament - either DiNatale, Cassano, Quagliarella or Boriello. My guess is that DiNatale will see the bulk of time up front with Toni but let's not forget that Antonio Cassano was easily their best player 4 years ago in Portugal. The Netherlands are always tough but they have injury issues (Babel, Van Persie). Arjen Robben has to play strong and they must beat Italy in the first match if they are to go through. Once one of the top strikers in the world, Ruud Van Nistelroy seems to be on the downside of his imressive career. France will go as far as Franck Ribery will take them. He's one of the most underrated players in the game today and is usually the best player on the field when Les Bleus play. He's a joy to watch. Keep your eye on Samir Nasri, it'll be interesting to see how he does on the world stage. He is the heir apparent to Thierry Henry who had a down year after his move to Barcelona. Their match against Italy will be a grudge match as there are still a lot of ill feelings remaining from the World Cup final 2 years ago. If they were in any other group, I would give Romania a much better chance; they are a team capable of beating any team on any given day. Adrian Mutu is a fantastic goal scorer. They would seem to be the weakest in the group but don't be surprised if they advance. They are certainly capable of it.

Group D:

My picks: Spain, Sweden
Players to watch: Torres, Villa, Alonso, Ibrahamovich
Initial Thoughts: Spain should dominate this group and are quite capable of winning the entire tournament. Fernando Torres has been playing on another level all season for Liverpool and can score anywhere, anytime however David Villa does most of their scoring at the international level. Don't be surprised if one of those two finish as top scorer. They've also got an improved midfield led by Xabi Alonso and Cesc Fabregas. Russia looked tired in qualifying and the one player who could have carried them - Zenit-St Petersburg striker Pogrebnyak - looks to miss most or all of the tournament after getting injured in the warm up against Serbia. Sweden are another traditionally strong side but are not playing up to their promise lately. They should go as far as Zlatan Ibrahamovich takes them and unluckily for them, he has been in terrible form for both club and country lately. The ageless Henrik Larsson was a surprise addition to the squad but it remains to be seen how much gas he's got left in the tank. Greece could benefit from a weakened Sweden but after stunning the football world 4 years ago, they won't be taking anybody by surprise this time around. They do still have coach Otto Rehagel though, and looked strong in qualifying. They could advance but don't expect another miracle.

TOMORROW: PART II...

The Thibodeau Men, Part II; The Proud Papa

"The Thibodeau Men"

Why I love The Onion...

(For those of you who have never heard of it, The Onion is a satirical news website and is quite possibly the funniest site on the net...)

A sampling of some of their recent "headlines":

* 'Wheel of Fortune' Contestants Suffer As Vowel Prices Skyrocket

* Desperate Hillary To Obama: "Next Vote Wins"

* San Diego Zoo, Prison Merge

* Nike Signs Big Brown To $90 Million Horseshoe Contract

* Pacman Jones: "Who Do I Have To Kill To Get Reinstated To The NFL?"

* Mathematics To Retire Favre's Number

* Shroud Of Turin Accidentally Washed With Red Shirt



The Onion never disappoints.

New layout.

Yeah, yeah, I'm trying out a new layout that hopefully is easier to read since a few people have complained about the old layout. Problem is, I'm having a hell of a time trying to figure out how to get my old customized sidebar stuff. I'll stick with this one for a while and see how it goes.

The X Man è un calciatore

A letter to my newborn son.

Dear Luca,

I know it must seem strange of me to write you a letter when you’re only 10 days old but I hope you’ll indulge me. I really wanted to write a similar letter to your brother when he was born but he was our first child and we got so wrapped up in trying to figure out how to be parents that I just never did it. I hope that when he is old enough to read this, he will realize that my words apply to him as well. And although we still haven’t gotten this parenting thing figured out 100% yet, one thing I have learned is that you’re never truly ready to be a parent and so you just get by the best you can and let the rest happen as it happens.

First off, I’m your father. As such, I bear a tremendous responsibility and I hope I don’t let you down. When your brother was born I knew something big had happened but I don’t think I really understood the scope of my responsibilities. I do now.

I love to hold you in my arms and I find myself watching you as you’re sleeping and I feel myself welling up with such love for you that it’s like my heart is going to burst. I can be a hard man sometimes – just ask your brother – but when I look at your little face, so innocent, pure and unspoiled, I just melt. It’s just unbelievable to me that I could produce something so beautiful.

The world that you have born into is a hard one. You have been born into a world at war, where people kill each other because of something as trivial as what religion they practice or don’t practice or what part of the world they are from. When I look at your little face, I sometimes think about how lucky you are that you have not yet been tainted by this world and how I wish you could forever remain so innocent. I pray that you will not become involved in such terrible things as are occurring right now; that the world and its inhabitants will have evolved beyond such madness by the time you are old enough to understand. I pray that you will never learn such hatred as to judge a fellow human being by the color of his skin, by his station in life, where he was born, or by his ethnicity. Please son, choose the path of understanding rather than violence whenever possible. Understand that while violence is sometimes necessary and inevitable, it is not the desired path and should be used only as a last result.

Let me tell you about your mother. She is the most amazing person I’ve ever had the privilege to know and as you grow I hope you will realize how lucky you are to have her for your mother. I’ll be honest with you – she was really hoping for a girl when we found out you were coming…but when I see the love in her eyes when she’s holding you I can assure you that she could not possibly love you any more if you had been a girl.

Earlier tonight I was holding you and you were sleeping so quietly in my arms and I just got lost looking at you, all your little movements and sounds. A thought occurred to me as I was watching you. I starting thinking about all the babies born in the world, about how they’re brand new to this world. Each one is born into different circumstances. And then I started thinking about how the circumstances that you’ve been born into are controlled by me. And it made me realize that the role I will play in your life is paramount in how you will develop and grow as a person in this world. As I said earlier, I am your father. I am perhaps the most influential person you will know in your life. I don’t take this responsibility lightly.

I promise that I will do everything I can to prepare you for what you will face in your life. I promise that I will never desert you, that I will always be here for you, no matter what hardships you face. I may not always give you what you want but I will always do my best to give you what you need. I may not always be the best father but it won’t be for lack of trying. Above all else son, I promise that I will love you and do my best to make sure that you have everything you need. A few months ago, before you were born, I was in the hospital where the doctor told me that I was lucky to be alive. I took her words to heart and could not stop thinking about how I almost didn’t get the chance to meet you in person. It made me break down and cry and I have cherished every moment I have been blessed to have with you because of that day. I finally realized that my life is no longer my own; it belongs to you and your brother now. If, by some tragedy, I should ever have a relapse and not be as fortunate as I was that day, I hope you will always know how much I love you and your brother. You are both my treasures. Never forget that.

It’s your life son. Whatever you do with it, I pray that you will never settle for anything less than what you deserve; greatness. I love you and your brother more than you will ever know.


Love,

Dad

Even More Baby Pics...

The Face of Fear?

Quite the contrary actually.

While the wife and I laugh at this picture as appearing to show me scared to death of baby #2, the reality is actually the opposite; I'm thoroughly enjoying the second kid so far. I think it's because we've already gotten the "fear of the unknown" out of the way with the X Man but whatever it is, things seem a lot easier this time around.

Luca is eating well (a very healthy appetite to be sure) and sleeps a lot. The only problems we're having so far are actually with the X Man; he is acting out quite a bit in an effort to recoup some the attention that he lost when Luca arrived. I'm told this is normal but hopefully it won't last too long as I have little patience for it. I'm doing my best, taking him out for daddy-X Man excursions, trying to give him extra attention, etc, but nothing seems to be working.

All in all, we're having a ball with little Luca and wish like hell that we could share him with everyone...

More baby pics...

(As always, click image to enlarge...)

Luca Christiano Thibodeau

Meet Luca Christiano Thibodeau, born on May 12th, 2008 at 0730 AM, 6.5 lbs (2.87 kg), 18.5 inches (47 cm).







Mommy and baby are doing great. The wife did it totally natural with no drugs, pain killers, epidurals or anything. She's the Terminator.

It's Baby Day.

The wife started early labor last night around 11pm, the contractions are getting closer and more painful and all the signs say the baby is on the way.

So why, you might ask, am I home writing this instead of at the hospital? Well, we went to the hospital this morning around 0330, the nurse checked her out and after about a half hour said that she's dilated 3 cm which is borderline. So rather than keep her there she told us to go home, walk around, take a nap, etc and come back in about 2 hours by which time she should be at least 4 cm. We'll be heading back in about 30 minutes so hopefully I'll have a big announcement posted on here sometime later today...

Steve-O, the X Man and Me

From Steve-O's visit a couple weeks ago

Baby Update

Baby number two should be dropping any day now. The official due date is May 30 but we were at the doctor last week and found out that the wife was already dilated 1 cm, the baby is sitting very low and is pushing down hard. Virginia is also having trouble walking around or staying on her feet for an extended period of time. She's entering her 40th week now and I've been saying all along that the baby will be early so we'll see if I'm right.

We're pretty sure we've decided on a name but it's been so tenuous that it could change 10 times before the kid actually arrives.

Are you kidding me?

Ladies and gentlemen, my hometown:

Yankees fan charged with murder in death of Red Sox fan

Un-freaking-believable.

Dancing Lessons From God, Part 11

I didn’t wait until Friday, I called the recruiter the next morning and informed him of my decision. I remember him telling me that I wouldn’t regret it; he had no idea how right he was. He put me back on the bus to Boston where I signed my name on all the forms and they gave me a choice of several dates to ship out. The dates presented a minor problem because the latest one they had was April 25th and my sister Tracy was getting married on Memorial Day weekend at the end of May. Since my assignment was to Germany, there was no way I’d be able to go back home for the wedding after only a month. So I picked April 25th and hoped Tracy would understand. When I left the MEPS and got home I felt better than I could ever remember feeling. It was a feeling of liberation, like I was finally escaping the prison I’d been living in for so long. Where there was no hope, there suddenly was some. It was so strange, I had feared this decision for so long but now that I had actually made it and there was no going back, I actually felt better than ever and couldn’t fathom why it took me so long to make it. I had no earthly idea what awaited me on the other side of the ocean but I didn’t care. I was just incredibly excited to find out. It was to be an adventure and adventure was exactly what I needed in my life at that point. I could have been making the biggest mistake of my life but I didn’t care; at least I was getting out of Nashua. It may have been only for three years but I was finally going to be experiencing life.

But first I had to take care of things there. I handed in my two week notice which was a huge relief. Most of the people at work were a bit shocked to say the least but they understood. I think the management was probably as relieved as I was when I handed in my notice since Pressline was in a rut and I knew that they held me responsible. But I still had a good relationship with them and it was an amicable parting. I did everything I could to make sure they would be able to run Pressline in the interim while they looked for my replacement. Those two weeks were actually pretty enjoyable. I didn’t have to make any sales calls so I spent most of my time tying up loose ends and practicing my German. My best friends at the paper, Bob and Mary Gorman were really sad to see me go and threw me a going away party at their house. It was to be the first of four going away parties people had for me. Eric and I took one last trip up to Montreal and I enjoyed it so much more knowing that I didn’t have to go to work when I got back. I forget exactly why Eric was in town at the time but I was really glad he was. He was really my inspiration for this crazy decision and I think he, more than anybody, understood my wanderlust and need to see the world. On the way home we stopped in Claremont, New Hampshire. Claremont is a town on the border with Vermont and is where both of my parents are from. Most of my relatives live there and my mom’s side did a get together so they could all say goodbye. The one thing I remember most is that my Uncle Jerry, a Jehovah Witness, was not happy about me joining the army. I guess Jehovah Witnesses don’t believe in military service and he threw a bunch of bible verses at me that were supposed to explain why but I just kind of chuckled and said goodbye. I always liked Uncle Jerry and didn’t want to offend him. We headed back to Nashua where my dad had planned another going away party for me and had invited his side of the family and his friends who knew me and wanted to say goodbye. It was at that party that I received one of the greatest, most perfect gifts I’ve ever received in my life. As the party was winding down, Eric pulled me aside and handed it to me. I opened it and it was a travel guidebook: Lonely Planet’s Western Europe on a Shoestring. He mentioned that he had used it when he was backpacking around Europe and found it extremely useful and figured it would be perfect for me so he bought me my own copy. On the inside cover was written the following:

“Unexpected travel plans are dancing lessons from God”
-Kurt Vonnegut

18Apr98 Eric Thibodeau

Although I loved it right away, I had no idea how important that gift would be. In the following years that book went with me everywhere and I relied on it so much that I started referring to it as the “travel bible”. Even now, years later I still use it although some of the info is out of date, the corners are frayed, the cover is worn and the pages are marked all up, filled with my notes, highlights, and the occasional phone number or email address from women I’ve met in my European travels. Eric had given me the perfect gift and as I thumbed through it, I couldn’t help but feel that despite the freedom he had and all the places he had been, my brother was just a bit envious of me being able to start over and experience all this for the first time.

There was one last goodbye party to go to and that was one thrown by my friends. All my closest friends, the people I would miss the most, were there. It was a bit sad saying goodbye to everyone and I realized how much I would miss sitting around on Sundays with the guys watching Patriots games, not to mention the annual pilgrimages to Fenway Park for the Red Sox games. But the decision had been made and there was no going back. I went home and packed as much stuff into a duffle bag as I could and prepared to leave. I had seen the movie Braveheart a few months earlier and one line from the movie kept replaying over and over in my head: “Every man dies…not every man really lives.” I was twenty-six years old and I was finally about to start living.


**FIN**

Dancing Lessons From God, Part 10 (The real Part 10...)

I walked through the door and was met by a couple of soldiers in class B uniforms. They looked at my file and said “Oh, you’re prior service…you’ll be coming in with the same MOS.” Without even thinking, I replied “Well, the recruiter told me I’d be able to change my MOS…” and before I even finished the sentence I dropped my head and started laughing “Right, right, what was I thinking…”. As it turns out, you actually can change your MOS when you reenlist. The problem is, the only things you can change to are Infantry, cook, mechanic, stuff like that, jobs that most people don’t want and that the army has a hard time filling. Things like computers and such were impossible to get into because they were highly sought after. So I got snookered by the recruiter. “Well played”, I thought to myself. The chances of me actually signing up after that were very slim but they didn’t give up. I explained my situation, that I would be leaving a good job to do this because I wanted to see Europe and finish my Masters Degree and if I couldn’t change my MOS then I would always be in the field and I would never get to work on my degree so it wouldn’t be worth it. First they guaranteed me a slot in Europe. Then they tried to sell me on the idea that my MOS was not that bad, that there’s not that much field time and that I’d still be able to work on my degree. They mentioned the GI Bill but I told them I didn’t qualify because I had already had partial GI Bill with the reserves. They tried every trick in the book to convince me but I would not budge. I was convinced that there was something they could do to get me an MOS change and I was determined to call their bluff. They even called some General Officer in charge of something or other and tried to get a waiver but nothing doing. Then one guy said “What if we could get you money under the GI Bill?” to which I replied “I already told you, I’m pretty sure I don’t qualify.” But he said he found the regulation that says that because I was in the reserves and only received a partial amount, they could give me $16,000. I thought about it for a minute. That much money would certainly be enough for a Masters Degree. They also informed me that because I was prior service, I would only have to enlist for three years instead of four. They were making it very attractive but they still weren’t giving me the one thing I wanted, a change of MOS. I held firm on that point and after a couple of frustrating hours for everybody I told them no thanks. In a way I was bluffing to see if they wanted me bad enough to somehow get me an MOS change but mostly I really meant it. I was not interested in enlisting, quitting my job, leaving my friends and family and going to live in a tent for three years.

The recruiter picked me up at the bus station and asked what had happened. I guess he wasn’t used to people coming back from the MEPS without enlisting and just could not understand why I hadn’t after everything they offered me. For the first time I think he realized that I wasn’t like most of his other recruits and decided to take another approach with me.

“Look man, I’ve already passed my quota for this month so whether you come in or not doesn’t really affect me that much. So let’s be real. You came to me for a reason. You seem like you have a good job and everything but there’s obviously something missing and that’s why you came. I’m not going to give you any bullshit, if you sign up and go to Europe, you’re going to spend some time in the field. I spent a couple tours there so I’ve done it and I’m telling you first hand that it’s not as bad as you seem to think. You still spend most of your time in garrison and you still have plenty of time to do some traveling and even take some college courses if you want. It’s not paradise, it’s the army. You’ll have to put a lot into it but you can get a hell of a lot more out of it if you really want. Most guys never realize that but you’re smarter and have been around more than most guys that I put in. Just do me one favor, just take a few days and think it over. Today is Tuesday. Call me on Friday and if you haven’t changed your mind then you’ll never hear from me again.”

I was convinced that I wasn’t signing up but I agreed to think about it and call him back on Friday. I got home, opened a beer, watched some television, then went to bed and fell into a deep sleep. The next day I was back into my routine, making sales calls, having fruitless sales meetings, the usual. Except that now I began to believe that there was a way out. I didn’t have to do this anymore if I didn’t want to. The real question was, “how bad did I want to leave?” The answer: very bad. I finished up the day and went home. My mother was in the kitchen cooking dinner and I sat at the counter and said I needed to talk to her about something. I told her about the events of the day before at the MEPS in Boston and said I was having a very hard time making this decision. I didn’t ask for advice and she didn’t offer any. Instead, for the first time, I just started pouring out my frustrations with how my life was turning out, that I felt like I had accomplished nothing and had nothing promising on the horizon, about how miserable I was at my job and especially how embarrassing it was for me to be twenty-six years old, working two jobs, and living with my mother. All my friends were getting married, having kids, buying houses, and here I was no better off than I was in high school. What I realized was that I might be miserable in the army but I was already miserable so why not be miserable in Europe at least? So I decided to look at the worst case scenario and see if I could live with it. The worst case scenario was this: I join the army and go to Europe. I spend most of my time in the field and never get to do a lot of traveling or take any college courses. I still finish after three years having seen at least a little bit of Europe and with $16,000 to go back to college with. Could I live with that? Hell yes I could. I was joining the army. I was joining the army!


(Click HERE for Part XI)