Date: 2014-01-20
To: What am I getting into?
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

I¢d been reading the 2013 AT Trail Journals. Thank you to LadyGrey, PrayerWalker, HoBo, Journey and others, with whom I checked in on occasion. You were all inspiring, helpful, blunt and honest about your hike. But, I think you all know that, until you take the plunge yourself, you really can¢t know what jumping off the high dive is like, just by reading someone elses account.My son and I have had many chats on this subject. I admit, I¢m more than a little scared about hiking 2200 miles, which involve rocky ups, rocky downs, rocky river crossings, rocky rocks and wondering how the heck I¢m going to go where I need to go. But Michael, bless his heart of a good son, tells me, ¢Mom, you can do this!¢OK, so I¢m thinking, six months, that¢s like Basic Training and my Advanced Individual Training (AIT) for the Army. You see, I have a history of doing things that made me (and others) wonder, ¢What the heck did I get myself into this time?¢Two months of Basic Training in Ft. McClellan, Alabama, was, well, not too bad, looking back. I left my home in New York State in early November 1977, and was looking at a Basic Training completion date somewhere in mid-January, 1978. Joining the Army was one of those things that I did without the consultation of family or friends. I didn¢t want to get talked out of it, like I did when I brought up the subject of joining the Peace Corps. I needed to do SOMETHING, and I¢d take responsibility for my actions. I signed up in February 1977 under the Delayed Entry Program and missing the original GI Bill by about one month! I was finishing up an A.A.S. degree at the local community college, and figured I¢d better start ¢learning¢ how to run a half mile! (I¢m NOT a runner.) Fortunately, it was still the WAC, so I¢d just have to run half a mile, although while in Basic Training, we marched in a parade commemorating the disbanding of the WAC.Two life skills that I learned while in Basic Training was the importance of camaraderie (preferable positive camaraderie) and perseverance. Camaraderie is a major factor in the military. It helps to know that someone else is experiencing the hardships that you are experiencing and, therefore, understands what you are going through. It also helps to pick a good, honest, but positive comrade. A good, honest, but negative sounding board can drag you down faster than you can go by yourself! Pick positive!Perseverance surely can be learned in a myriad of situations: college, jobs, relationships. But Basic Training provides a means for 24/7 perseverance. The Drill Sergeants could honk out an order at any time, change it on a dime, then dole out punishment (usually running, remember, I like running, or push-ups, even BETTER) when the platoon didn¢t follow orders (whichever set of orders they chose to use).But I also learned a little bit about my own perseverance, and how I¢d come to garner a smidgeon of respect from my Drill Sergeant. We had been out on a weekend bivouac, and were marching in formation back to the barracks, I think about a 6-8 mile hike. This was early January in Alabama¢ rain and red clay mud roads. It was raining and we were marching. The Drill Sergeant ordered, ¢Don your ponchos!¢ Everyone unhooked their rolled khaki green poncho from the back of their utility belt and put them on; everyone, except me. I was not issued one, for some reason. We kept marching, and I was getting wet. My cotton canvas jacket and fatigues were soaked. My only saving grace for warmth was my Army-issue wool long-johns and top, and the fact that we were marching. The Drill Sergeant turned to call cadence and noticed that I was a soaked recruit. In her all-powerful voice, she called, ¢Private Kostick, where¢s your poncho?¢ Fearing the worst, push-ups in this red clay mud, I just told the truth, ¢I wasn¢t issued one, Drill Sergeant.¢ Oh no, here it comes, I thought. Then she asked rather respectfully, ¢Do you want mine?¢ ¢No thank you, Drill Sergeant, I¢m already wet,¢ and I kept on marching, eyes front.¢See Mom, you have what it takes. You can get through it, and I¢ll help you!¢ I have perseverance and a good, honest, POSITIVE comrade as my hiking partner! What am I getting into? A crazy journey of a lifetime! (Oh, and maybe sometime, I¢ll tell the story of climbing a utility pole just to jump off! Or the time I had to rock climb and rappel in the Army!)~ Marilyn, Mother of: