Fifty-one years ago today I enlisted in the army at the Federal Building in downtown Pittsburgh. The next eight weeks would be some of the best weeks of my life in that all the pretenses that can come along with being a teenager in the 60s were gone....along with my hair.
It did not matter how much money a man's family had....or how one did in high school....or how one looked. I had the discipline that I needed....and ate three square meals....and drank milk....and even ate liver.
I had to be in bed with the lights out at a certain time....and out of bed immediately after the lights came on in the morning. I couldn't quit this team like I had in high school. I didn't really have any time to dream about girls....and there was no alcohol."
I've posted on this topic before....always light-heartedly....and always with fond memories....but I don't think that I ever mentioned this one fellow recruit....although I may have. He was of a slight build and very shy. The very first night spent in the army.....in a bunk in the reception station....with all the lights out and most everyone sleeping....in the top bunk of the first set of bunk beds....right next to some light coming from a bulb outside the barracks door....I noticed that young man was sitting upright....reading a Bible.
It was almost like he wasn't even there for the first few weeks as he never said anything....but then the emphasis was put on the PT tests that would culminate our eight weeks....which was rather a big deal to all of us as we had bonded together as a platoon and wanted that PT prize. As it turned out he could run like the wind....forever....and we did win that competition.
I've wondered at times over the years where he was. Did he go to Vietnam....as most everyone had....and did he return? I've never been able to locate him. He didn't talk much so I didn't know much about him other than he had a faith in Jesus Christ. If I could locate him I would contact him and thank him for that witness....insignificant as it may seem....for seeing him read that Bible made some kind of impression on me.
There was another runner with a Bible that would grab my attention....Eric Liddel from the film Chariots Of Fire....and I was a runner myself by then....sort of. In just one of the many scenes that I've committed to memory....(I could probably reenact the entire film)....American Runner Jackson Schultz handed Liddell a personal note before the final race. Written on it was...."It says in the old book....he that honors me....I will honor." That it was really a fellow British team member who gave Liddell the note doesn't take away from the thought.
"Don't you know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. (1 Corinthians 9:24)
I ran only one marathon. There were thousands of runners....and I came in second to the last. I was sick in the motel the night before....and could not get any water down the last two-thirds of the race. I had an EMT rush up to me as I was on the last stretch....asking if I needed assistance....in the 86 degree summer sun. I'm probably running this race the same way....but I know that I will finish....as I know that that shy recruit in basic will or had finished.....and as Eric Liddel finished his race....as a missionary in an internet camp in China at the end of World War II....I know this because He has promised.
I'll add this post from September 19th....2009....on my 40th anniversary of joining the army. It was twice as long....with no paragraphs....for that is how I originally pecked out these posts. I bring it back because of the date....and because I mention 'pandemics' in it....and because it also mentions the swift passing of time....but also because I still hold these three views:
Three Views
This is a personal reflection on three arenas where I tend to view life in America. Maybe it will resonate with you...maybe not. The first of these views is as when I walk the neighborhoods or the Main Streets of small towns. Picture a lovely day, maybe 72 degrees with a slight breeze and the leaves gently rustling above. The smells are clean, as least as we have come to know clean. Maybe there is the scent of lilacs as I pass a garden or maybe just freshly cut grass. I pass another person walking and say hello, or see others puttering in their yard. A few cars pass and I detect a look of content or even a smile as they are talking on a cell phone. There is practically no noise save the purr of tires turning on pavement at only about 20 miles per hour. Possibly there is the sound of a lawnmower in the distance that disturbs the quiet and if I'm fortunate there are the chirps and calls of various small birds. I admit, there is little stress to discern on a walk like this. Walking Main street is a little bit different for there is a measure of hustle and bustle as I see housewives doing their grocery shopping, older folks stopping at the pharmacy for their prescriptions, kids of various ages laughing as they munch on some snack that they to came to town for....and men simply doing errands.
The second way to view life today, or lens to look through if you will, is through the news in every imaginable medium available to us. There are no fragrances, no breezes, no birds and the only smiles are in pictures of politicians and other notables, but those smiles are not convincing, or soothing. In the news I see a major confrontation brewing in the Middle East, different from the continuous ones of the past for there is uncertainty in this one. I see the Russian bear stirring up strife as if they considered themselves immune from the consequences. I see a Red China growing in power and influence, both financial and military, through nefarious schemes from Africa to Europe and in the Americas north and south. I see a world financial community that proved in the last year that it is truly winging it, its confidence being a facade. I see nervous looks....on those who should know....of possible pandemics. The stark contrast between these two world views is vivid and almost surreal.
The third view is one that only a Christian can see. Every person that I meet is subject to my concern for their salvation. The grocer, crossing guard, the janitors at work, the older people walking so slowly, the kids speeding by on their bikes, the news anchor, the people who serve me my McDonald's breakfast every morning, celebrities who waste their lives and the lives of those infatuated with them, the Pittsburgh Penguin, the person who sings the songs I at times sing along with in the car, the mailman and the numerous people in news reports who have suffered some sort of tragedy that put them in the news. At work I'll sit and laugh with others over the amusing little things that we all share...all the while knowing that this is a human soul that will one day stand before a God of perfect love but also a God of perfect justice who has clearly told us that we must be born again....born from above....and to look to His Son....who was lifted up on a Cross....for our salvation.
Forty years ago today....(fifty-one today)....I joined the United States Army at the Federal Building in Pittsburgh! Time passes quickly and in itself is a great mystery except in that it will never stop in its present form until we experience the vista of eternity. I am thankful for these views that I have for they are reassuring. That's right...reassuring....in that if it is clear enough to see the dangers then it is also clear enough to see the one that will see us through them. With great trepidation comes a knowledge of one who is greater! With the tears of a fallen world comes the joy in knowing Him who has overcome!
