And we're off! Err, sort of

[Thanks again to Mo for letting me squat on her blog for a while. This will be a convenient central place for me to post updates in the coming days, without spamming Facebook and email associates.]

Early this morning I said a poignant goodbye to my love and partner, Maureen, and flew from Boise via Denver to Indianapolis. I'll be staying at a military base near here for a few days, undergoing the last of my mandatory training (called Combat Readiness Training... "Oh, I hope not!" ). While my visits to Indianapolis go back to Christmas of 1978, when I came here with my brother-in-law for a couple of days (and I saw the Ralph Bakshi version of Lord of the Rings at a theater downtown), I was a little sad coming here today--apart from the obvious reasons--knowing that my man Peyton Manning is no longer the leader of the Colts. That team is dead to me now.

As part of my paperwork last week I got an info sheet from the base here, saying that I could get a bus from Indy airport to the base, and spend the night in on-base housing before starting training in the morning. That sheet said that the buses ran several times a day, every day except Saturday. My company's handler, though, promised that the buses did indeed run every day; I need only call the number on the flyer. So I booked my flight for a Saturday and by about 1 PM Indy time, here I was. Once I collected my luggage, including the bag with my armor and helmet, call I did... and got a recorded message saying no operator was on duty at that hour. No worries, I thought, it's about lunchtime, maybe they're just away getting a bite. So I called repeatedly over the next two hours and got the same result every time. Eventually I gave up and hailed a taxi for the 40-mile, $100 cab ride to a hotel at the gates of the camp.

I haven't unpacked much, expecting to be able to get transport into the base tomorrow morning about 0730 when the IRDO (Individual Replacement Deployment Office) opens. I hiked over to Montana Mike's, a steak house a block away, and enjoyed a nice steak and shrimp dinner, anticipating that it might be my last luxurious meal for a while (no offense to the Army's chow halls and other amenities... but you, know, a fellow hears things).

Off to bed now so I can be fresh for tomorrow, which should indeed be my "first step into a larger world." Stay tuned.