Immediately the discipline started.
It contained the rules and regulations and the long, storied history of the school.
Then we got our military haircuts.
Every haircut looked the same, short with absolutely no style.
I joked that you could comb your hair with a handkerchief.
I was put in E Company, which had its dorm rooms on the second floor of Patterson Hall.
MP Company (Military Police) occupied the floor below.
He reminded me of my least favoriteThree Stooger,“Curly Joe”.
At first, we were getting along just fine, confiding in each other.
I tried to keep from laughing, but I couldn’t, and Billy clearly wasn’t amused.
He and I were up for having some fun almost immediately.
I was Mr. LeVine, and he was Mr. DeForest.
In the beginning, during rook week, we didn’t know anybody’s first names.
The first prank we pulled together was masquerading as Captains and then questioning freshmen and making them do pushups.
From a distance, and especially to a scared rook, we looked like Captains.
Mr. DeForest and I snuck out of Patterson Hall late afternoon-early evening and went looking for unsuspecting rooks…
When he answered incorrectly, we had him get down and give us 10 (pushups).
After we sent the first kid back to his company, we went looking for others.
He looked down at us, and we gave him a convincing nod we thought would be reassuring.
That rook was grinning from ear to ear while he barked out the count.
We knew we’d eventually get caught, but it was so much fun while it lasted.
The whole prank cost us $1.20, and we considered it money well spent.
It hadn’t even been a week since our arrival…
I immediately got in Billy’s face, and I wasn’t quiet about it either.
I was ready to kill him.
Master Sergeant O’Donnell lived in the room next door, and he heard it and rushed right in.
I told Mr. DeForest about it, and he said he wasn’t happy with his roommate either.
Later, when we became even better friends, I just called himDeef.
He had blonde hair and narrow blue eyes and a mischievous and highly contagious smile.
It could’ve been my bad influence or just that he loved to have fun.
A little bit of both, I think.
And I knew he’d always have my back just like I would always have his.
Then I’d jump onto his bed, and he’d jump onto the desks.
After two intense laps, singingI’m aSoul Manwhile we did it, we were ready for the day.
The first thing he’d say was,“Company, Atten Hut!
“And we’d all react quickly to his command.
Pretty soon, we were singing marching songs while the pace quickened.
Then we’d pick it up another notch, and we’d be running at a good clip.
We’d stop at a clearing and do calisthenics.
Not everyone loved PT early in the morning, but I did, and so did Deef.
Then we went to breakfast.
“I’d bark out the command"Company, Atten Hut!
“sounding a lot like Master Sergeant O’Donnell, and they’d all snap to attention.
Then I’d sneak around to the front and say,“Good morning, ladies!
One day I decided to have some fun.
After I wiped my ass, I yelled out,“Parachute War!
That kid was shocked, and I kept loading up, sending dirty parachutes over in rapid succession.
I went nuts, and O’Donnell heard it.
The uniform worked well, and we usually got rides quickly.
We squeezed into the back seat of the car with one of the old ladies.
Everything was going well.
We must’ve spun around three times before we came to a stop just inches from a guardrail.
I looked at Deef, and both of us wanted out of the car.
The driver apologized, and the old ladies pleaded with us to stay.
We thought about it.
Leaving the car could mean we’d freeze to death.
The driver was going slower and driving more carefully, and we settled in.
We got out and watched that sedan disappear into the night.
All we could hope for was a State Trooper or a plow.
I make this run in the winter all the time.
You’re safe with me.
“He ended up taking us right to my house.
We offered him some money, but he wouldn’t take it.
Getting back was a lot easier once the roads were clear.
After the first semester, I left Norwich for Boston University, thinking it would be a better fit.
Sadly, it wasn’t.
Leaving Norwich was the first big mistake of my life.
I started to shake, and my tear ducts broke loose.
I always pictured him just the way he was in 1974, forever young.
He passed in 2009 at the age of 53.
