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Vaughn McMillan
07-20-2006, 5:12 AM
I've seen a lot of the jokes that tend to circulate, but thought you folks might enjoy this:


LETTER FROM A FARM KID,
NOW A SAN DIEGO MARINE CORPS RECRUIT

Dear Ma and Pa,
I am well. Hope you are. Tell Brother Walt and Brother Elmer the Marine Corps beats working for old man Minch by a mile. Tell them to join up quick before all of the places are filled. I was restless at first because you got to stay in bed till nearly 6 a.m. but I am getting so I like to sleep late. Tell Walt and Elmer all you do before breakfast is smooth your cot, and shine some things. No hogs to slop, feed to pitch, mash to mix, wood to split, fire to lay. Practically nothing. Men got to shave but it is not so bad, there's warm water. Breakfast is strong on trimmings like fruit juice, cereal, eggs, bacon, etc. but kind of weak on chops, potatoes, ham, steak, fried eggplant, pie and other regular food, but tell Walt and Elmer you can always sit by the two city boys that live on coffee. Their food plus yours holds you til noon when you get fed again. It's no wonder these city boys can't walk much. We go on "route marches", which the platoon sergeant says are long walks to harden us. If he thinks so, it's not my place to tell him different. A "route march" is about as far as to our mailbox at home. Then the city guys get sore feet and we all ride back in trucks.The country is nice but awful flat. The sergeant is like a school teacher. He nags a lot. The Captain is like the school board. Majors and colonels just ride around and frown. They don't bother you none. This next will kill Walt and Elmer with laughing. I keep getting medals for shooting. I don't know why. The bulls-eye is near as big as a chipmunk head and don't move, and it ain't shooting at you like the Higgett boys at home. All you got to do is lie ther all comfortable and hit it. You don't even load your own cartridges. They come in boxes.

Then we have what they call hand-to-hand combat training. You get to wrestle with them city boys. I have to be real careful though, they break awful easy. It ain't like fighting with that old bull at home. I'm about the best they got in this unit except for that Tug Jordan from over in Silver Lake. I only beat him once. He joined up the same time as me, but I'm only 5'6" and 130 pounds and he's 6'8" and near 300 pounds dry.

Be sure to tell Walt and Elmer to hurry and join before other fellers get onto this setup and come stampeding in.

Your loving daughter,

Gail
:)

- Vaughn

Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan
07-20-2006, 5:28 AM
A country boy can survive!! :D

Ray Bersch
07-20-2006, 9:26 AM
Yea, funny, but this must be an early letter, it gets harder and when she finishes she will have the title of Marine - not something she had before and not something many other folks have and it is one thing no one can take from you - its for life.

tod evans
07-20-2006, 9:50 AM
vaughn, when i joined i went straight off the farm......there`s more truth than fallacy to this.....02 tod

Andy Hoyt
07-20-2006, 11:02 AM
Vaughn - Tod's telling the truth. He and I went to boot camp together and I'm here to tell you -------------- The look on his face when he got his first pair of shoes was priceless - but not as amazing as the look on his face when he encountered his first fork.

Dennis Peacock
07-20-2006, 1:07 PM
Vaughn - Tod's telling the truth. He and I went to boot camp together and I'm here to tell you -------------- The look on his face when he got his first pair of shoes was priceless - but not as amazing as the look on his face when he encountered his first fork.

Shoes I know. But what is a "fork"?:confused:

Lee DeRaud
07-20-2006, 1:26 PM
Shoes I know. But what is a "fork"?:confused:You know that thing with the prongs you use for moving loose hay?
Same thing, just way smaller. :cool:

Dave Richards
07-20-2006, 2:10 PM
Aw, shoot! Andy! I jes blew my coke all over the monitor and keyboard!

:D :D

Vaughn McMillan
07-20-2006, 4:09 PM
Aw, shoot! Andy! I jes blew my coke all over the monitor and keyboard!

:D :D
Yeah, Andy owes me a new keyboard too. The iced tea just isn't compatible. Tod is SO gonna kick Andy's butt should he ever get the chance to meet him. :D :p

Hmmm...we could sell tickets and bankroll SMC for the next five years, too. And Andy looks like a scrappy little feller. He'd probably hold up pretty well.

And Ray, you're spot on. :)

- Vaughn

Ben Abate
07-21-2006, 10:34 AM
Yeah, Andy owes me a new keyboard too. The iced tea just isn't compatible. Tod is SO gonna kick Andy's butt should he ever get the chance to meet him. :D :p

Hmmm...we could sell tickets and bankroll SMC for the next five years, too. And Andy looks like a scrappy little feller. He'd probably hold up pretty well.

And Ray, you're spot on. :)

- Vaughn


I just had to reply to this one, you guys have me laughing. I have to tell you that comment on Andy being a scrappy little fellow got me thinking. Isn't Andy short for Andrea. Maybe that story hits home more than you think. Sorry Andy it just cam to me.

Ben

Andy Hoyt
07-21-2006, 10:46 AM
Ben - My response is contingent upon what the collective brainpower here thinks Tod would do if given a choice.

Does he pick a fight with a him or a her?


By the way, Vaughn - Has it ever occured to you that internet forums were the brainchild of keyboard manufacturers?

John Miliunas
07-21-2006, 10:49 AM
By the way, Vaughn - Has it ever occured to you that internet forums were the brainchild of keyboard manufacturers?

Actually Andy, it was a combined effort of keyboard manufacturers, Windex and a small group of turners!!! :D :D :D :cool:

tod evans
07-21-2006, 11:04 AM
Ben - My response is contingent upon what the collective brainpower here thinks Tod would do if given a choice.

Does he pick a fight with a him or a her?


By the way, Vaughn - Has it ever occured to you that internet forums were the brainchild of keyboard manufacturers?

fightin` i`m up for but not with a splittail, gotta sleep sometime.
brainpower-n-tod don`t belong in the same sentence.
andy, it wasn`t the fork that threw me so much as the indoor plumbin` and why in the h#ll does it take 25 recruits to clean a fancy outhouse?

John Miliunas
07-21-2006, 11:16 AM
and why in the h#ll does it take 25 recruits to clean a fancy outhouse?

'Cuz the first 24 couldn't figure out what that chrome handle was for???:confused: :D :cool:

Andy Hoyt
07-21-2006, 11:40 AM
fightin` i`m up for but not with a splittail, gotta sleep sometime.
brainpower-n-tod don`t belong in the same sentence.
andy, it wasn`t the fork that threw me so much as the indoor plumbin` and why in the h#ll does it take 25 recruits to clean a fancy outhouse?

1 ---- Phew! Crisis averted

2 ---- But the reference was to the lack thereof

3 ---- Ummm. 'cause you used it.

Lars Thomas
07-21-2006, 12:16 PM
'Cuz the first 24 couldn't figure out what that chrome handle was for???:confused: :D :cool:


That's the funniest thing I have ever read on SMC!! John, you are too much. Lars

John Miliunas
07-21-2006, 12:24 PM
That's the funniest thing I have ever read on SMC!! John, you are too much. Lars

Thanks! I'm here all week with shows at 8:00 & 10:00 and please, be sure to tip the waitress! :D :cool:

Andy Fox
07-21-2006, 12:31 PM
This is hilarious!

My dad grew up during the Great Depression, joined the Marines, and then went off to Korea. From the stories he'd tell, I'm sure he'd identify with the fictional writer of this letter too! :D He always said that he ate better in the Corps than he did the first 10 years of his life.