When I was at the Academy, we'd have to
march to football games. In the parking lot, you'd have a lot of
tailgates set up by different classes. The Class of '88, the Class of
'72...you get the point. The most surprising one was The Class of NoClass, academy drop-outs who still showed up for Navy games and
proudly tailgated under the banner of having left a school years or
even decades ago.
I mean, at least Al Bundy made four touchdowns in a single game. That at least puts the "glory" in "glory days."
What I'm trying to say is that I don't look
back on my time in the Navy with any particular fondness. Technically
I am a veteran, but I've never felt like one.
So when I sat down with Mr. McCoy and
his first question was to tell him what the Academy was like, I
considered it more of a challenge to my authenticity than a genuine
icebreaker.
I launched into a series of stories
which both showed my familiarity with the academy's organizational
structure and underlined my somewhat awkward fit into its social
structure.
He seemed amused and we talked a bit
more. He'd been in the Navy as well and had retired to a nice place
in southern California before—say it with me now—moving out here
and loving it.
Seriously, this place has more SoCal
transplants than a Utah weed farm.
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