It’s officially less than a week to launch! I am so ready, so excited! I was thinking about the first time I travelled somewhere completely alone. I went to go see a friend graduate from basic training at Ft. Benning in Columbus, GA. I was around 25-ish. I was working at an answering service that was terrible about leave so when they denied my request, which I knew they would, I just said too bad, I’ve already bought the plane ticket, I’m going. (Before you judge, this was also the company that didn’t want me to go to either of two funerals that happened that year. Of course I went. They just categorically denied everything. Oddly enough, they never fired me. Go figure)
So I got to the airport, very excited and a little nervous, got in the line and was asked to please step out of line and follow the agent because I had been flagged for a random security check. They took me into a room and asked me to dump my bag out onto the table. Once they had inspected all my stuff they informed me I could now repack my bag. Great. So I did, and graciously exited the room and got on the plane. I had a layover in Atlanta to get on a little puddle jumper to Columbus. Between flights, I was once again asked to step out of line and follow the agent. They did their thing (I can’t even remember what anymore, since I had checked my bag) and I got on the next flight. I thought, well, at least that’s over. I got to Columbus, retrieved my bag and found my hotel. I got to my room and settled in and it hit me: wow, I’ve never had a place all to myself before! (This was before I moved out a few years later, I was still living with my grandmother.) I just sat there and looked around the room. It felt so good! I loved the peace and the freedom to do whatever I wanted. I wrote some in my journal and settled in for bed.
The next morning, I got up nice and early because I still had to figure out how to get on post. I found a taxi driver and he took me. Those of you who know me really well will laugh at this part: I was an hour early! I don’t take chances in those situations, I wasn’t going to miss that graduation even if I had to wait an hour. It was really cool though, because in the distance I could hear the soldiers going through their drills and singing their cadences. They looked like a line of ants from so far away. It was quite surreal, like a frozen moment in time. Soon enough, the ceremony started. If you ever get a chance to see a military graduation, take it. They are very impressive! After what seemed like hours, they finally released the soldiers to their families and friends. We took photos with drill sergeants and friends and after awhile escaped. We took a taxi to downtown Columbus, which is gorgeous. My friend said the first thing he wanted to do was go to Applebee’s and eat a huge meal and get a blondie for dessert. He said he had been dreaming about that dessert all through his basic training. So we did. We walked around downtown Columbus and took pictures, chatted, and had a great time. He looked so good in his Class A uniform! All too soon it was time for him to return to training, so we said our goodbyes and I watched them line up. That was a pretty intense moment. There was one soldier kissing his girl in the parking lot a little too long; I bet he got in trouble for that later!
I went back to my hotel room, packed up and got ready to leave. I was one of the best trips I have ever taken, not because of the location, but because it was a game changer for our friendship, something we would always share, and proof that I could find my way around a new city all by myself. That was very empowering. I was looking forward to the flight home, so I went to the airport and got in the line. When it was my turn to get scanned, a nice agent asked me to please come with him. I thought, oh no. I’m flagged all the way back too? Yep, you guessed it. I got the privilege of dumping my bag, watching as they inspected my belongings, and the additional honor of repacking my bag after they had rifled through it. Sigh. I’m not mad, I know they were just doing their jobs, but it does make kind of a funny story! Aside from getting checked at every point, the ride home was uneventful and I returned to my answering service job.
In my short time travelling so far, I have found that some of the least expected journeys provide the most life changing experiences. This was certainly the case with my Ft. Benning visit.
