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(Original post 10/22/08 — repost 11/8/083

As many of you know, Karen, Paris and I were recently in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania for six days.  I planned on taking a ton of pictures and video, but we got so wrapped up in the “enjoying” our company part that we didn’t really shoot much footage of any of them.  This is especially true with Kristin and Cameron (the two we should have shot most!).

I do have some video I’ll try to piece together, and Sami was busy firing away with his camera.  Maybe he’ll share?

In the meantime, I received a DVD in the mail today from USNA courtesy of the Parents’ fund.  It’s a video detailing the fun known as “Plebe Summer”.  This is a generic USNA piece…it is not the video I expect to receive soon that will feature more of Mark.  But!  At the very beginning of this Plebe Summer video, you’ll see footage of our young man humping that damn zodiac he thought was so funny (until he had to carry it, row it and carry it again).  He may appear a couple of more times as well, but any of you that have searched through thousands of photos (like I have) know that “they all start to look alike”…

This thing is 18 minutes long.  It’s “okay”…it’s not going to rock your world, but it does offer some insight into the USNA experience and Plebe Summer.  If you have a chunk of time and you’re in the mood to learn about the madness, hit the “play” button.

Enjoy –

I’m trying to get away from the need for a YouTube link. YouTube doesn’t play nice with videos over 10 minutes long, and I thought the quality was just so-so. Since I’m on a Mac, I picked Quicktime as my default video player. My website host also prefers Quicktime. For you Windows Mediaplayer freaks out there…sorry. You probably have Quicktime on your machines anyway. If not…it’s free to download.

Make sure the video loads a bit before you hit “play”.

We’re using flash video now courtesy of our friends at Bill Webb Studio (no relation…sorry).  We owe them our thanks!  And I owe them some money…

Okay! First off, some of you don’t wait for the infamous “Update!” email to arrive before checking in at Trunzo.com.  Normally this would bring tears of joy to my eyes.

But we live in an imperfect world, and I don’t claim to be an expert at this stuff.  So…some of you that checked in found a post that wasn’t behaving…

For those that don’t know, I tried like crazy to post a video of Plebe Summer courtesy of the Academy.  I had it working (well), and then it stopped cooperating.  I’ve taken the post down because it was preventing the entire site from loading in a timely fashion.  That’s the bad news…

But there’s good news!  I have an expert looking into our “issues”, and once the problem is resolved, I will get the post back up!  The video in question is “okay”, but we need to get this working.  Real videos are coming!  We want to make sure we’ve got all of our ducks in a row!

Let’s talk October!  As many of you know, Karen, Paris and I were in New York, New jersey and Pennsylvania earlier in the month.  Some of this is covered in the post that’s now down, but play along here, okay?  Anyway, one thing you can’t do in Florida is play in the autumn leaves.  Being a good Mom, Karen promised Paris that we’d go back “up North” this Fall to do just that!  And we got lucky!  We had some leaves, and we had some cousins, and we had neighbors, and we had fun!

Paris, Stephen and Troy after Poppop fired up the leaf blower!  But wait!  More leaf fun!

Unfortunately, I didn’t get any pictures of Grace!  There was a lot going on…maybe she was busy helping Grammy or something?  Grace!  We need pictures!

Oh!  Speaking of pictures…

We met Crissy and Kirk for brunch on Sunday morning. Kristin and Cameron joined us too…Nina’s!  Everyone’s favorite spot for brunch!  Karen and I pull up to the parking area, and what do we see?  We see someone dressed in the exact clothes Karen is wearing.  Karen is laughing hysterically…apparently this happens often whenever she and Crissy go anywhere together.  They swear there’s no planning involved…no phone calls…anyway, Kristin popped this on her cell phone –

Trust me.  Even the damn pants and shoes were the same.

Speaking of “looks”, the beginning of October marks the Naval Academy’s changeover in the world of fashion.  Gone are the Summer Whites (that so many of us kinda don’t like) — in come the Dress Blues!  The blue is actually black, but who’s going to argue with the Navy?  Check out the look (another cell phone shot):

Mark on the left (could you tell?), Susie, Alyssa (Susie’s sister), and of course…Cameron (green shoes and all).  That was taken on Columbus Day weekend when the mids had TWO overnight liberties courtesy of the most incredible, most awesome-est, best-ever, coolest damn Commandant on the Face of the Planet…

Captain Klunder!  Here he is with Mark and friends –

In case you’re wondering, he’s the guy with all the gold on his hat…

Captain Klunder is a true leader.  He’s certified qualified to fly somewhere in the neighborhood of 41 aircraft, he’s done the whole carrier thing, and he’s even been filmed in “compromising” positions for YouTube videos just to boost morale.  The mids will throw themselves under a bus for this guy.  I, for one, will give him a bug hug and a kiss when I see him next.

[UPDATE} 11/3 3:48 AM  Mark sent this insight about Captain Klunder after reading the original post:

Dad — Really cool update about Capt. Klunder:

USNA had its Halloween concert in the chapel this weekend  It sold out within two hours of tickets being on sale.  It’s that good. Anyway, Captain Klunder went to the Friday showing.  Mr. Houck (my squad leader) stayed after on Saturday night to help clean up the miles of cables and the mess.  As he’s backing up blowing confetti up to the wall, he bumps into someone.  He turns around to apologize, and he sees Capt. Klunder on his hands and knees in sweatpants cleaning the floor.  Capt. Klunder didn’t even go to the Saturday night show.  After he put his kids to bed that night he headed over just to help clean up.  That man is awesome.  The Commandant of Midshipmen is on the ground cleaning the floor.  He is probably the best Commandant the Academy has ever had.  Mark

Halloween!

So, a lot of you think that Florida is full of “old” people that shuffle around and hit the early bird dinners.  Some of you even think we’re nuts for moving here.  Wellll…

Let me tell ya’.  Our sleepy little town of Venice was packed with kids trick-or-treating the local merchants on Halloween!  It was literally elbow-to-elbow on the sidewalks, and everyone was having a great time!  Here’s some afternoon downtown action:

That was the “slow” end of the street.  Paris was just tuning up.

So.  What was she?  C’mon!  She was a Monster Bride!  Here’s a better look:

And check this out!  These next two pictures Paris took herself.  She was “trying on” her costume a few days before Halloween, and she decided to help herself to my desk, my chair, and my computer.  Kids today are amazing, and she has no trouble firing up my Mac’s iSight camera and having some fun.  She did this all by herself…I found these on my computer two days later:

She did the effects by herself too.  Not bad, right?

Back to Halloween.  “Old” people need to stay young too, and I say this with only the utmost affection…but these two were older than dirt.  But they’re having fun!

Seriously…her costume made her look younger…

We had a great time!  Paris hit downtown, then she hit the neighborhood.  I followed her and a friend around in the limo (i.e. golf cart), and when they wanted to get soemwhere fast, they hopped in and I hit the gas.  Karen and the friend’s Mom even jumped in every once in awhile (with Karen riding the back like a caddy…priceless!).

Did I get it all in that title?

Yesterday was World Animal Day!  What’s that mean?  It means National Geographic gets to promote it’s magazine while also promoting wildlife and the need to protect much of it.  Tampa’s Lowrey Park Zoo was a part of the celebration, and Paris was there!  It was also Tamani’s 3rd birthday!  Cake!  (Yes, really…)

To help celebrate, Fisher Price was on hand to test a new kids’ camera line up.  They held a quick class on photography with the kids, and then they cut ‘em all loose in the zoo to take pictures with their test cameras.  This is how a budding photographer does her job:

And here is the birthday boy!  (At least I think Tamani is a boy…)

Who is this guy?

I gotta tell ya’, folks…giraffes have extremely long tongues.  Paris was feeding this guy…and she wasn’t happy.  I don’t think she’ll ever feed another zoo animal…ever…

Back to our photographer.  She took 139 pictures!  Fisher Price was happy happy!

And check this out: penguins in Florida?  These are actually African penguins…they don’t mind the heat at all:

Oh!  As a final surprise, Congress was in town for more meetings about the “economic crisis” they created.  It was supposed to be a secret, and as you can see, getting busted making back room deals isn’t pretty…but hey!  They should all be kicked out!  Check out this deal making:

Final note:

What makes life much easier for our favorite midshipman?  A Navy Football victory!  Navy beat Air Force yesterday 33-27.  Yeah baby!  (Pssst…Mark watched the game at his Sponsor Family’s house…Dad is a retired Air Force Colonel…Mark exercised a great deal of restraint in the Family Room…I think everything is going to be okay…)

Wow.  Long title…

Okay!  If you have not read the prior post (the one just below this one), please give it a quick read.  You’ll have a much better chance of understanding what’s happening in this video if you’re armed with some background first.

This is a YouTube linked video. The quality is just so-so as a result. I have a high res version if anyone falls in love with it…which I doubt. I do not claim to be good at this.  I will try to get better.  Bear with me…

Here it is Friday already  — I’m so late with this update that it borders on silly.

Last week I was invited by a client to appear on his weekly radio show in New York — Sayegh Advice.  His last name (Sayegh) is pronounced “sage”…so now you get the play on words.  According to Oma (Karen’s Mom), I’m now a legitimate radio star.  I have yet to hear the results of the broadcast, but I can assure all of you that live radio is not as intimidating as you might think.  I don’t think I wet myself once…

So!  What’s a hard-working guy and proud Dad supposed to do with his time in the Great Northeast?  See the kiddies of course!  Kristin, Cameron and I had a chance to relax together, eat good food, and visit close friends.  We enjoyed dinner on the first night with Mary Kate (who was also kind enough to pick me up at the airport), and we also gorged ourselves on Night Two at Angelo’s with Sami, Jacquie, Jack and Cemile (Jack’s Nene and Sami’s Mom).

I had a camera with me, but I didn’t take many pictures.  I also shot a lot of video, but my videography skills are poor at best…I can’t even edit the footage to make it presentable.  But Sami did get one great shot of Kristin and Jack:

C’mon now…is that a great shot?  Damn right it is…

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were NY days, and then it was off to Annapolis on Saturday.  The plan was to see Navy play Rutgers (football) and then have dinner with Mark.

Everyone is familiar with the Marine Corps. motto, right?  Semper Fidelis — always faithful.  Well, Naval Academy parents have their own motto: Semper Gumby — always flexible.  A Mid’s parents can plan all they want, but if the Academy decides it wants to change things, things get changed.  In this case, the changes were for the better!

I was lucky enough to catch a ride to Annapolis with the great guy that runs Sami’s BMW Service Department (Craig).  Sami and Craig made sure we traveled in style in a big-ass 750i that gobbled up the miles without a hiccup.  On the way, we got a text message from Mark suggesting we have lunch.  Lunch?  Lunch wasn’t in the plan, but as it turned out, he had liberty from noon to two before the game.  Wonderful!  Craig set the cruise control on warp speed, and we barreled into Annapolis with several million other people attending 1st and 2nd class parents’ weekends, homecoming, 8 bazillion class reunions (including John McCain’s complete with Secret Service), and a Rutger’s fan contingent that covered the area in red.

We had a quick lunch before Mark had to bail in order to form up for the march on.

If you’ve never seen a march on, you should.  4,000 plus midshipmen hit the streets of Annapolis between the Yard and Memorial Stadium to march into the stadium and on to the field.  The locals turn out to toss candy and drinks to the Mids (who are not supposed to look like they’re catching them).  It’s a serious but fun parade and at this time of year, a sea of white uniforms.

The Mids form up on the field and do what they’re trained to do — look impressive.  Then…and this was so cool to a newcomer like me…the Mids all pivot as one to face the Visitor’s side of the field.  The Rutger’s fans may be supporting the “opposition”, but they’re Americans first and they know “cool” when they see it.  Everyone in those seats got their red-draped rear-ends up out of their seats and screamed their heads off as the Mids chanted “R-U-T-G-E-R-S….go Rutgers!”  Then, and again as one, the Mids all tipped their hats to the crowd in a professional manner…and the visiting crowd went bananas.

Cool, right?  It gets better.  The Mids pivot again as one and face the Navy side of the Stadium.  The place goes ape-shit.  This is a crowd that knows the drill, and in unison with the Mids (who are somehow much louder now than when they chanted the Rutgers cheer), the whole place erupts with “N-A-V-Y…GO NAVY…FIGHT!”  Directly beneath me, a freakin’ cannon goes off.  I kid you not.  The Mids who fire the damn thing are wearing ear plugs…couldn’t they warn the rest of us?  The Rutgers fans around me duck like they’re being bombed, and the stadium is a madhouse of screaming fans, flying cheerleaders, and blue and gold everywhere.  Two Osprey’s fly overhead for the flyover and blow every one’s minds as they stop, hover, and take off like UFO’s.  It is an incredible environment.

During the game, I roam around hoping to be able spend some time with Mark.  Normally, the Mids are restricted to “Brigade seating”, but because it was Parents’ weekend for two classes, the rules were a bit relaxed.  We ended up eating really messy food for a bit before he had to return to his seat about midway through the third quarter.

At halftime, I ran into Tony (our favorite pizza guy in Warwick!). Tony and I pulled a lot of hair out together during the Fall of 2007 while we both waited to hear if our sons earned their appointments.  Now we both get to smile and enjoy the experience (and what an experience it is…).

When Mark returned to his seat, I joined Craig and his Dad in their seats for the rest of the game.  Any of you that know Craig should become his best friend.  Those of you that don’t know Craig should call Orange County BMW and schedule your car for service…even if you drive a Nissan.  Craig’s seats are phenomenal!  We had a blast as Navy used the final two minutes to win a very tough game.  Yes!

When Navy Football emerges victorious, good things tend to happen.  First, as the game progressed, we learned that a plebe had bet the Commandant (Capt. Klunder) that Navy would win.  If it seems unusual that the Commandant would bet against his own team, please understand that plebes must bet the game if challenged by an upperclassman or officer, and the plebe must always take the Navy side of the bet.  In this case, the bet was made when Navy was down.  I don’t know what the plebe offered on her side of the bet, but the ‘Dant said “if you plebes can fire up the Brigade and help Navy win, I’ll grant you an overnight.”

Word spread like bird flu in China.  Plebes sit down in the front of the Brigade, and suddenly, it looked like somebody spiked their cokes with acid.  They went absolutely bat-shit trying to rally the Brigade into mass hysteria.  It worked!

The Navy side of the field was pandemonium, and Navy slowly worked it’s way back into position to ultimately and dramatically win the game!

But!  The bet stipulated that the overnight was to be awarded on Columbus Day weekend.  The ‘Dant decided the plebes deserved more, so he awarded the overnight on the spot!  Get out of Dodge, boys and girls!  Absolute insanity!

As a side note, I’ve since learned that the Commandant upheld his end of the bargain for Columbus Day as well…and then some.  Mark just told me that they’ll be awarded two nights of liberty for the long weekend!  Let me tell you…you have to be a plebe or a parent to really appreciate just how significant this is…

Okay…back to the football game…or the aftermath, anyway:

Mark and I grabbed a cab and hit one of his favorite dinner spots — Ruth’s Chris.  I’m wondering…have any of you ever seen a human being inhale about 12 ounces of steak?  This kid had a filet the size of a softball covered in crab meat…and it was gone in about six seconds.  He demolished an entire platter of au gratin potatoes, and he gnawed on onion rings while contemplating dessert (banana creme pie).  Wow.

Then…relaxation time.  We strolled over to DTA (Mid-speak for downtown Annapolis), we talked with a few friends of his (who were leaving town to do God knows what), we had more dessert (yes…more…a huge bowl of ice cream at his favorite place), we hit Bancroft Hall to grab a change of clothes, and then we crashed at my hotel.  Mids love “real beds” and Mark is no exception.

Unfortunately, there was no way to know that Mark would have a day of freedom on Sunday (normally Sunday liberty is restricted to the Yard), so I had a flight to catch.  Mark made arrangements with his wonderful sponsor family to spend the day kicking back at their place, and I flew back to Paradise.  All in all, it was a great surprise and a great weekend!

Now…as Columbus Day rolls near, Mark’s Mom, Susie, and Susie’s family will all be in Annapolis for the long weekend.  With two overnights scheduled, it’s sure to be a great time!

For us, we most likely won’t see Mark again until Christmas.  He’s coming off a week of mid term exams now, and he’ll be spending Thanksgiving in New Jersey.  Maybe if we’re lucky…

But we’re due back in New York in just a few short weeks!  Kristin and Cameron…get ready!

This past Saturday was a big day for Navy Cross Country!  The Varsity team traveled to our old stomping grounds to compete in the Fordham Invitational in the Bronx.  Navy’s team captain took third overall in the race, and Navy took five of the top 11 places to smash the 16 team field with a team score of 29.  (It’s like golf, folks, the lower score wins.)  Second place Quinnipiac scored 96 points.  Huge Navy win!

But if that was huge, the JV guys were humongous!  Navy’s younger men traveled to Ursinus College (Collegeville, PA) near another of our old stomping grounds!  In fact, Ursinus is right in Grammy and Herb’s backyard…so the proud grandparents showed up to say “hi” to their handsome grandson and take some pictures.  Let’s get to it!

That’s the start.  Eight teams competed, and the day was as hazy and humid as it looks in this photo.  100% humidity!  Tough, tough conditions.

Before we get to the results, let’s peek at some shots.  Grammy and Herb tried like crazy to tag-team this photo effort, but the camera didn’t cooperate.  Dead battery!  Damn!  For other XC families looking for a glimpse of your Mid, please look closely…

Hey!  That’s Midshipman Mark!

Anyone notice a pattern here?  The photos above are in sequence…finishers weren’t omitted (well…maybe two were…).  Navy took 10 of the top 12 places!  Huge!  Navy scores 15 points (a perfect score) while the second place team scored 69.  Competition crushed!

These Mids were so good that many of the spectators thought they were enlisted Navy personnel “sponsored” by the Navy.  When they learned the Mids were students, they complimented the talent on such a deep Varsity team…and then they found out the Varsity team was in New York.  Yeah…

This was Mark’s first collegiate level race and his first at five miles (8K).  He tells me he ran a great 5K (3.1 miles) — in fact, he ran a 5K PR (in the middle of a 5 mile race).  He says he started cramping up in mile 4 and had to back off a step.  He still finished strong, and he’s ready to run again this weekend at the Navy Invitational in Annapolis.

Okay!  A few more pix.  One Mid in particular asked Grammy to take his picture so he could send it to his family back home.  I hope he’s in here!

Is this handsome young man our guy?  Or is it one of these?

Mark, you look like you were on the wrong end of an argument.  Wow!

Congratulations guys!  Great race!

Labor Day weekend! I hope everyone is enjoying a safe and happy Holiday.

We have news on a few fronts. Youngest first, shall we?

Paris finished her second full week of kindergarten. She’s adjusting very well to her new school, her new teachers, and the new demands! So much responsibility!

Cameron is playing soccer for his High School team. I haven’t been able to extract all of the details from him, but apparently the competition at this level is a little steeper than what’s he’s been faced with in the past. Maybe he can give us an update? Cameron?

Kristin is enjoying a weekend with Grammy and Herb in the Poconos. The boys had the pleasure of doing this a summer or so ago, and they had a blast — literally! Family friends Jeff and Anna Mae have a cabin on a beautiful lake complete with a private airstrip, shooting range, ATV’s and water sports. I doubt Kristin will be allowed to fly and shoot at the same time, but she’ll have fun nonetheless. Maybe she can give us an update? Kristin?

(Notice the subtle pressure to participate being applied to the kids…)

And finally, Midshipman Mark. It’s been a rough week for our oldest. He’s busy…so busy, that I won’t even go into the details. “Late night chits” (which grant permission to stay up late to study), early morning study sessions (keeping in mind that they already normally get up at 5:30), Company duties, Varsity Cross Country practice…he’s whipped. Liberty was suspended yesterday (much to his anger and disappointment), but he does have liberty today. What’s he doing first? Taking a nap…what’s that tell you?

But! Yesterday was the first Navy football game of the season! I’m not a big football fan, but you gotta love the Navy spirit and program. How many schools look like this just before a game?

Midshipmen taking their seats…think they have a few?

Yeah…there are even more!

So here’s the question of the day: can we tell where the USNA students sit?

Ahhhh…tradition! Whenever Navy scores, plebes do push ups. Did anyone catch the score yesterday? Um…the plebes did a lot of push ups. Navy won 41-13.

After the game, Mark enjoyed some fine tailgate food until about 9:30. Don’t laugh…any of you that have been to an Army or Navy game can attest that the tailgating is dead serious. Great food, and lots of it! The NJ Parents’ Club trucks down catering trailers (plural) for every home game…and they’re just one club! The various parents’ clubs and alumni associations treat the Mids incredibly well!

Here in Sunny Florida, we’re intermittently sunny. Hurricane Gustav is getting ready to slam the Louisiana coast, and we’re getting affected by some of the outer bands. That means periodic rain and gusty winds. Yesterday while on my regular bike route, I noticed the Gulf was smooth as glass. By comparison, we’re being warned of 7 to 10 foot waves today. By Gulf standards, that’s a freakin’ tsunami…

Tomorrow will be back to normal! We plan to relax today, relax tomorrow and recharge the batteries! Hope all of you do the same!

I’ve been waiting to post news from the Naval Academy front in the hopes that I’d have more news to share. Unfortunately, I don’t have much to report.

As most of you know, we monitor a ton of email lists made up of USNA parents. Over the past week or so, the theme in most emails is the same: limited or no contact with plebes. It’s worse than Plebe Summer!

Lots of parents are kicking and screaming, but the bottom line is simple — plebes are very, very busy. The academic year started on 8/20, “boards” need to be done, signature sheets completed, chow calls made, three formations a day, and ‘march on” practice for the upcoming Navy football home opener this weekend. (Yes, it takes practice to make 4,000 plus midshipmen look great when they march from the Yard into the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium). Add homework and cross country practice (in Mark’s case), and you’ve got a recipe for one hard-to-find kid.

Let’s take these in reverse order:

Mark is still running successfully with the cross country team. The coach is ruthless when it comes to performance and staying on the team. You either run well and come in strong every day, or your name shows up on “the list” in the morning — clean out your locker. A couple of weeks ago, Coach walked by Mark and said “Trunzo, right? Right…thought so…Trunzo, I want you to lose nine pounds.” Mark laughed when he related the story to me, but guess what? After last week’s practices, he lost seven pounds. Mark doesn’t have a whole lot of extra weight on him to lose…

He misses morning formation every day. Great, right? Well, he misses it to run the first of two daily cross country practices. He misses an evening formation too so he can run the afternoon practice. Sunday morning is sleep-in time for most midshipmen. Mark hits practice at 6:30 AM.

How ’bout this for a practice session? It’s a five mile “must” for upperclassmen, but plebes can bail anytime after three miles: first mile at 5:40 pace, second at 5:30, third at 5:20, fourth at 5:10, and fifth is a race for the finish. Let me help some of you out with this pace thing. A 5:40 mile pace (the slowest part of this practice) is just a little bit faster than any of us can run if we run as fast as we can down our driveways. Mark characterized the workout as “hard”. Yeah…no kidding. No wonder he lost seven pounds.

Academics are going well so far. Classes don’t seem to be Mark’s concern for now — it’s the other stuff. He’s even doing well on his “Pro” knowledge tests. “Pro” tests happen every Sunday when upperclass (mainly first and second class, i.e. seniors and juniors) quiz plebes on their military knowledge. Please don’t assume that because one student is testing another that this material isn’t seen as being important. It is — vitally so. The grades earned on Pro tests are a part of each student’s cumulative, overall grades which determine order of merit (class rank). Order of merit is the key to everything anyone wants in the Navy or Marine Corps. The higher your order of merit, the more likely you are to go where you want to go and do what you want to do.

Upperclass handle many of the training and testing responsibilities as a part of their own training. It’s an amazing system designed to develop leadership and management skills in each of these kids.

So, what’s a chow call? If you want to see silly, go to YouTube and search for “USNA Chow Call”. You’ll find a handful of videos showing chow call in action. It’s hard to put into words, but plebes are tasked with the job of announcing the menu in the hall outside of King Hall (the HUGE dining room for all mids). Announcing the menu isn’t so hard, right? Well, right…except it must be done at the top of your lungs and faster than an auctioneer. Oh, and be clear in your speech so everyone can understand you, okay? Oh, and do it every minute on the minute. Oh, and have an upperclassman circle you like a shark circling dinner so said upperclassman can “evaluate” your performance. Not fun.

What’s a signature sheet? In the most basic form, it is what it sounds like — a sheet of signatures. In this case, it’s a sheet with all of the Company upperclass signatures. Plebes need every “non-plebe” signature from their company. Easy, right? C’mon…

3rd class (i.e. sophomores) remember what it was like to be plebes. They sign the sheets right away. 1st and 2nd class extract payment. Most payment comes in the form of a task or a quiz-like Pro question. Some payment is a little more involved. Signature sheets are due Sunday, but this weekend is a long weekend, so many of the 1st and 2nd class will disappear (as is their right). So essentially, the signature sheet must be done by tomorrow (Friday). When I last spoke to Mark, he had 70 signatures to go. Hmmm…let’s hope he makes it.

And last on our list…what’s a “board”? “Boards” are Company area bulletin boards that do all the normal bulletin board stuff and then some. Most of the bonus material on these bulletin boards is motivational…or a tribute to the 1st class. Put on your cynical cap for a moment and ask yourself…”would these college seniors really make the freshman suck up to them in a huge way?” The answer is obviously “yes”.

Company boards are designed and maintained by small groups of plebes. Boards must be original, artistic, and perfect. For example, what’s the blue box with white stars on the US flag called? All of you answered “Union Jack”, and all of you are correct. Now, how far down the flag does the Union Jack go? No cheating…let’s rephrase the question: how many red and white stripes are made shorter by the placement of the Union Jack on the flag?

Mark’s group invested a lot of time and effort into designing a beautiful flag and placing it smack-dab in the middle of their board. The board sucked up to the upperclass in an approproate manner while also being motiviational and patriotic at the same time! Wonderful! Job well done!

Well…almost. The flag on his group’s board was drawn with a Union Jack occupying six stripes of corner space. In other words, six red and white stripes were made shorter on the flag. The correct answer to our earlier question is “seven”. Just how painful do you think it is to watch your entire board be torn down because of this oversight? And worse yet, how painful do you think it might be to be told that the board still must be done right and be done on time or “no liberty this weekend”. Remember those comments above about a long weekend? Plebes actually get Saturday and Sunday Town Liberty this weekend…but not if their boards aren’t done. Mark had a few choice words for this incident when we last spoke.

All in all, life at the Academy now is tougher than it was during Plebe Summer…more responsibility but also added “silliness”. Boards, signature sheets, chow calls…all of these things have a purpose. As outsiders looking in, and after a little thought, all of us know why plebes are forced to do something that otherwise seems stupid. Attention to detail, success under pressure…those are just two things that come to mind. But plebes don’t see it this way. To them, this is “dumb”, it’s “a pain”, and they “hate it”. I can’t say I blame them…

All of this adds up to a busy, harried and grumpy kid. I’m hoping to see him in the next couple of weeks, so maybe we can do something to take his mind off of “life” for awhile. I’ll keep you posted.

Just got off the phone with Mark…

Classes start tomorrow, so yesterday and today are spent mostly in briefing sessions.  It sounds like there are a ton of them.

Since Plebe Summer is over, the plebes are allowed to “walk themselves around”.  It’s the first time they’ve been able to do anything unescorted for over six weeks.  Mark laughs and says “it’s weird”.

HELL-o night was “pretty funny”.  Lots of yelling and screaming, lights out, loud music, strobe lights to further confuse things…if it weren’t the Academy, it might have been a rave.

He sounds good.  The phone call lasted all of three minutes.  He’s busy, and it was great to hear from him!

Continuing in convoluted chronological fashion, let’s take a look at Paris’ 6th birthday! Most of it was celebrated in Annapolis so that Mark, Kristin and Cameron could join in, and we had a blast!

Unfortunately, most of the great pictures (of the birthday and of Plebe Parent Weekend) can’t be posted. Most are set to self-destruct if ever opened again! Yes! It’s true! That’s how serious Mark is about making sure nothing gets posted, seen, or otherwise hinted at that might be used against him by upperclassmen.

Let’s just say he spent a lot of time doing his favorite things over the weekend: eating, texting, and being online. I even have a picture of him with birthday cake jammed in his mouth, a piece the size of a Volkswagen in front of him, and his cell phone in his hand (texting away). Oh…wait…was that a hint? Sorry Mark. Refer all upperclassmen to me…

Let’s start with a peek at Parents’ Weekend. As you might imagine, parents everywhere wanted pictures with their newly-minted plebes in uniform. The newly-minted plebes weren’t thrilled. Initial worries centered on getting bright white uniforms dirty (which would cause all Hell to break loose upon the plebe’s return to “deck”); later objections sounded a lot like “please! No more pictures!” I don’t really have anything “official” showing off Mark and his new duds — nothing posed, nothing that captures the starch and gig line precision…

So here’s a look at a happy plebe hanging with his family for the first time in five plus weeks:

He insists the hat “fits perfectly”.

Just to be sure, Paris decided to give it a try:

Birthday! Check out this cake!

You might be asking yourself “why post a picture of the damn cake?” Excellent question.

We ordered the cake from a baker in Annapolis a few days before leaving Florida. The baker was closed on Sunday (the day of the celebration), so we picked up the cake on Saturday. The cake is one of those “some assembly required” types, so the animal cookies were in their own container awaiting precise placement on the cake. Our newly-minted plebe is raiding the refrigerator for the 9,00th time on Saturday and sees the cookies…”Hey Karen! Can I have some of these?” Even the detailers couldn’t kill the locust in him…the kid is a walking freakin’ plague when it comes to food.

Fast forward to the Birthday Girl! She wore this crown all day on Monday — the flight crew on our trip home loved it (as did most of our fellow travelers):

And finally, Karen’s favorite of the entire weekend:

Those are four of Paris’ favorite people in the whole world. They mean everything to her, and they are happy to give it! We can’t really ask for much more.