Friday, May 9, 2008

Physical Today and the Square Needle in the Left Nut



I just got four vaccinations, which is the maximum, not 8 or 9 as yesterday's rumor had it. Speaking of rumors, I asked a couple of the older guys here but no one remembers the mythical vaccination of Air Force basic training I heard in 1972. The rumor at Lackland Air Force Base back then was that after the shots from the air gun on the tenth day of basic training we would get one more vaccination for venereal disease. The rumor was we would all get the vaccination through a square needle in our left testicle on the 19th day of training. Most everybody knew after a couple of days that the square needle was just a rumor, but there were a couple of guys who didn't sleep well the night before the 19th training day.

There is a Viet Nam memoir by a Navy veteran titled Scars of the Square Needle that has a direct reference to the "square needle in the left nut." So if that rumor never made it to the Army, it was alive and well in the Navy and the Air Force.

More paperwork

Today was paperwork all morning--wake up at 0430--and into the afternoon followed by two-hour break, then a class on promotions, dinner and medical paperwork until just after 9pm (2100).
Tomorrow is medical processing--fast tonight then 8 or 9 vaccinations tomorrow and lots of other tests.

Exhibit of Contemporary Art from Ukraine and Talk by Vladislav Davidzon at Abington Arts

I went to "Affirmation of Life: Art in Today's Ukraine" at Abington Arts in Jenkintown, PA. The exhibit is on display through...