My little bro, Joel, spent the last 15 weeks in basic training in Fort Knox, KY where his drill sergeants "gently" molded him into a US Army Soldier. To honor his achievement, and that of the other fine young men who have graciously volunteered to serve our country, the Army organized a dinner banquet and commencement ceremony that I was lucky enough to attend with the rest of my immediate family.
I took a Wednesday night red eye to Louisville and was greeted at the airport by a chatty mullet clad hotel shuttle driver who shared some tips on shopping in the area and showered my sister and me with semi-decipherable well wishes for our visit. She also liked my cowboots, which to me was a weighty compliment coming from someone in KY. Things were off to a good start.
Traveling with my family is always an adventure, so after some minor travel mishaps, most of us arrived as planned, and we made our way out to the Base for dinner. It was my first time on an army base and I was slightly intimidated by the security check point and also impressed by the size of the base. We had to ask directions twice and change navigators once before we found the correct building.
We were able to spend 2 and a half precious hours with Joel at the banquet. He and the others were marched in at 1830 and out at 2100. Our time was limited but it was great to see how excited Joel was to be done with basic on his way out of KY. He told us later that after dinner they spent the entire night cleaning their barracks and were only allowed 20 minutes of sleep before the graduation ceremony in the morning. Upon hearing that I appreciated their sharp response to orders even more.
After the ceremony the soldiers were lined up outside to get their orders. They all knew where they were going to be stationed but they had only been given vague information about when they would be leaving, Joel only knew he would fly out sometime on Friday. Thankfully, his flight was at 6:30 pm so we were able to spend the afternoon with him before he left for Fort Hood, TX.
It was an emotional weekend. More than anything I'm really proud, but it's not easy to see your baby brother off without knowing the next time you will see him.
Since Joel's flight was on Friday afternoon we had Friday evening and all of Saturday free to do as we pleased. We explored "4th Street Live," which we had heard was a evening hot spot, and it was, you had to be 21 to even just to set foot on the street. Somehow we ended up in an Irish Pub for dinner and then checked out, "Howl at the Moon," which was a lively dueling piano bar. I was pretty entertained, by both the piano duelers and the other people in the bar. Kentucky has some interesting characters.
My parents and sister had visited Louisville a few months earlier for "family weekend" and had explored the city a bit then. They visited the Louisville Slugger Museum and a glass blowing museum, which seemed to be the main points of interest, so in leu of sticking around Kentucky on Saturday we decided to visit my cousins in Indianapolis. (My older brother and sister in law did a bit more in Kentucky. Check it out:
http://blog.ryelj.com/2010/02/tanks-coca-cola-bats-and-horses/)
I didn't take any pics in Indiana, I wish I had, but we had a fabulous day with family, heard a lot about the Colts, and I got to meet some of my little second cousins who are adorable.
What a weekend.
