Wednesday, August 14, 2013

My Army, My Military

Our group of 27 soldiers got divided into three classes on Monday.  I am in a group of eight: two airmen, a Marine and five soldiers.
[NOTE:  Marine is always capitalized.  You can look up the fact in the AP Style Guide.  You can look up the reason on line if you are curious.]
During the first class we had an "ice-breaker" exercise.  During that exercise, I knew I was in the the part of the Army where I belong.
We each took a Post-It poster-size sheet, stuck it on the wall, and divided it in fours quadrants: Bio, Likes, Dislikes, Goals

Our class student leader is Ben.  Here is some of his answers:

LIKES:
Norrin Radd
Clubber Lang
Vita Sackville West
The Saturn myth

DISLIKES:
Fox News
The Lord of the Rings movies
Crossfit (as religion)
Ideology, particularly American pragmatism
Wynton Marsalis as representing all of Jazz
 
BIO:
31 
from Connecticut
Grad student at Trinity College

GOALS:
fulfilling employment
personal writing
learning to play the upright bass or speak a new languauge
develop more capacity empathy

Ben is a tall quiet staff sergeant who lifts weights and is a very fast runner.  

I like being in the Army, but I like it a lot more in a room of soldiers like Ben.



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...