Walking like a duck

John went with the recruiter Tuesday night to stay in a hotel. In the morning at 0-dark thirty (5:30 a.m.) he and the other 30 folks down there for their physicals, were awakened and herded off to the military base where they were given their physicals.

John returned yesterday evening to report that he will have to go back for a follow-up EKG but they believe he will be acceptable to endure bootcamp and Army life for a few years. He is talking about signing in for four years. Part of me would prefer a shorter period as one has a tendency to become a target while out doing one's job and less time in would mean less time at that. On the other hand, John needs to have that time to grow up, learn responsibility and earn enough money to get himself started.

He said the worst thing about the physical is when the doctor had him drop his drawers, and cough while at the same time grabbed his testicles. "His hands were COLD!" John reports. The funniest thing was when they had the whole gang of men and women come together and walk across the room "like ducks". He said everyone made it -- even they fellow who was shot in the knee in Iraq and was trying to re-enlist now that he was healed up. "He fell over when we were duck walking, but they said he passed," reports John.

Makes me wonder a bit. How desperate are they?

I cast on 72 stitches in Baby Ull with the intention of making him a pair of handmade socks (in black) on #1 needles. I did this yesterday morning before work. Then I had to attend orientation at the high school for my youngest son, Matthew, and took this project with me. I got the stitches divided onto the four needles and started a round. But they kept us on the move and I had the wrong number on odd needles and I couldn't concentrate to get the ribbing going and the lighting was terrible....

In the end I just ripped the whole thing off the needles and decided to work on them tonight when I can sit quietly under a good lamp with a glass of wine and hope the yarn hasn't been split so badly I can't knit with it. I would like very much to have the socks finished before he leaves for boot camp (so the EKG delay may be a good thing) but I may have to order a different yarn as I don't have any other black sock yarn.

BTW, John has heart surgery at age 7 to repair an Atrial Septal Defect. The surgeon assured me that he fixed it. But the Army wants to make sure he won't drop dead on them while they are running him around at the base.