Sunday, August 24, 2008

The Marine

I swiped this from a friend of mine who happens to be a fellow Marine. He's an infantryman, which puts him in a special category. I just have to disagree with him on one count: This list applies to Marines in general, not just those fun-loving Grunts. I think we're all Grunts at heart...at least those of us that have had the distinct pleasure of serving in the same platoons as those crazy bastards! God bless 'em.

Marines come in all shapes, shades, weights, sizes, states of sobriety, misery, and confusion. They are sly as a fox, have the nerve of a dope addict, the sincerity of a politician, and the subtly of Mt. Saint Helen. They are extremely irresistible, totally irrational and completely indestructible.

A Marine is a warrior all his life even if only for a few years of that life. He is a magical creature. You can kick him out of your house but not out of your heart. You can take him off your mailing list but not off your mind. Soldiers and Marines are found everywhere... in love...in battle... in lust... in trouble...in debt...in bars and ... behind them. No one can write so seldom and yet think so much of you. No one else can get so much enjoyment out of a letter or clean clothes or a six pack.

A Marine is a genius with a deck of cards. A millionaire without a cent and brave without a grain of sense. HE IS THE PROTECTOR OF AMERICA! When he wants something, it's usually 30 days leave, music that hurts the ears, a five dollar bill...or a woman he can count on.

Girls love them, mothers tolerate them, fathers brag about them,
the government pays them, the police watch out for them and somehow they all work together.

You can beat their bodies, but not their minds. You can tame their hearts, but not their souls.

He likes girls, chow, females, guns, women, alcohol, ladies, did I say alcohol?, and the opposite sex.

Marines dislike small checks, working weekends, answering letters, waking up, maintaining a uniform, and the day before payday.

You may as well give in. A Marine is your long distance lover... they are your steely-eyed, warm-smiling, blank-minded, hyper-active, over-reacting, curious, passionate, talented, spontaneous, physically fit, good for nothing bundle of worry.....

And he will always be there for you, regardless of how long its been since you've last talked.

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