Traditionally we have an all-day drill on the day before our AT. This year we shipped out all our large instruments, music, and other large cases on Wednesday. Thus we didn’t have any music scheduled AT ALL for the whole day. First order of business was getting me promoted. Rory was there but didn’t quite get the prompting from the Commander to rip the old rank off my uniform. He tried a couple of times to get her to just tear it off my shirt, but finally gave up and did it himself. That piece of Velcro went flying back into the crowd and almost hit the guy taking pictures of the event. “UP!”
After some pre-AT briefings, SFC Tuggy let the band know about the family situation of one of our members; his dad has been missing since last Sunday, and a full-on search-and-rescue operation was ongoing, including departments in two counties and a National Guard helicopter. “DOWN.” A prayer group was convened by some in the unit, asking for quick resolution to the situation and a positive outcome.
The rest of the morning was spent listening to our FABULOUS First Sergeant (who happens to be sitting next to me on the plane right now while I'm writing this and is looking over my shoulder every so often) give the traditional yearly medical briefings. It was more interesting this year because of his extreme lack of sleep. Many of us on the back row were asking things like, “Has he given the ‘gravity is your friend’ quote yet?” or "If they have an extra knee, wriest or elbow where it's not supposed to be, pretty sure it's a fracture." Adding that bit of comedy and clever wordsmithing sure helps the time pass quickly.
During the day I was approached by one of our members who had recently decided to fly his wife to San Antonio, but now found himself without a room by himself. Apparently he had assumed that someone assigned a room to himself would gladly join another room with two other junior members and let him have the room instead. Nope. Next he tried talking to several others assigned as singles (including myself) to see if we would bunk together so he and his wife could have a room. At first I thought that would be fine, but thinking about it later I realized that other Soldiers’ spouses were not coming on this trip precisely because they did not / could not get their plans arranged in time, nor make timely notification to the unit (various reasons), and therefore had not received a reserved room. Therefore I could not in good conscience treat this Soldier differently than anyone else and make it easy for him to bend the rules, when others could not. To make matters worse he decided to go straight to the Commander for relief, rather than communicate through the proper channels. Ultimately the Commander came to the decision that he would not order other Soldiers to change their arrangements to accommodate another’s inability to communicate his plans in a timely or appropriate manner. While I’m glad that was the decision, I am disappointed for this Soldier and his wife who might end up having to cancel her trip (therefore being treated the same as others who also could not make arrangements on time) or have to pay for their own room out-of-pocket (which would be the responsible way to live with his decision). “DOWN.”
After some building cleaning we grabbed a quick lunch and changed into more formal uniforms for the retirement ceremony of one of our senior sergeants. He served for 37 years and did everything from cook school to being a drill sergeant to serving in the band in many capacities. His influence was profound and lasting; he will be missed.
Between the end of drill and before dinner I got the phone call we had all been dreading: our unit member’s father had been found, but deceased. The speedy resolution to the situation was, I am sure, a small blessing. But I can only imagine how devastating losing a father must be. The proper phone calls were made, information exchanged, plans changed. Definite “DOWN.” I also heard that a Command decision regarding the lodging situation had been made, and not to this Soldier’s liking. While I agree with the decision, the whole situation has become another “DOWN.”
In the evening we met with some old friends (they’re not THAT old, actually) for dinner. She had recommended a few restaurants taken from someone’s online ranking list, and we decided to try the #1 place on the list: Andina (www.andinarestaurant.com). Rory called the Peruvian place to see about a reservation. “Sure, we take reservations! The earliest I can get you in is 10:00.” After choking a bit Rory instead asked whether there was ANY possibility they would take a walk-in. “Well, if you show up here on our door at 5:00 we probably won’t turn you away.” Deal ... "UP."
We found a teeny-tiny parking spot in a teeny-tiny parking lot off of a teeny-tiny road in downtown Portland. However, SCORE! Someone had paid for their parking but forgotten to take their ticket. Too bad we had also already paid for ours, but our friends made use of the extra receipt.
They seated us downstairs in the Courtyard. Yes, you read that right. The building has a skylight installed, and three floors down (in the basement level) it’s still open and they have set up some tables in a courtyard style. I think the waitress was native South American (maybe even Peruvian) and she talked about all the traditional dishes as if she had learned about them from her grandmother. Her accent in both Spanish and English was flawless, and she was certainly passionate about the menu. So much so that she talked me into ordering the special: hammered beef steak topped with mushroom pate and sunnyside-up (“UP”) duck egg, with a side of fried bananas. Rory ordered a traditional lamb dish, as well as a purple root and chicken salad appetizer. The food lived up to the billing of being #1 in the city.
The rest of the evening was spent getting ready for the following day, including packing, finalizing the Sacrament Meeting bulletin, emails and more. So many details … I’m sure I forgot something important!
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