You're in the
Army Now
Part Three – "Now Y’all Watch Out
For My Rat Snake, Y’all Hear?"
by Don Drewniak
Another Army E-4
and his wife lived in a trailer about thirty
yards from ours. Both were from Massachusetts.
Their friendship made life much easier that
summer, especially for Dolores.
The owner of
the trailer park was a woman who was probably in
her forties. She collected rent once a week and
did it riding bareback on a beautiful white
stallion. After making her first rent collection
from Dolores, she said (you guessed it), “Now,
y’all watch out for my rat snake, y’all
hear? He won’t do you no harm.” And off
she went.
There was no
snake, no matter how small or how harmless, that
Dolores could think of as being harmless.
I walked into
the house after the day’s duty and was
greeted by a frantic-looking wife who screamed,
“There is a giant snake near the
clotheslines.”
Indeed, it was
long. However, the “snake” was a black
water hose partially concealed by grass and weeds.
I resisted the urge to mock her and instead chose
to tell her how I could see the hose could be
mistaken for a snake.
We passed the
first two months by hanging out with our
neighbors, eating out on Friday nights and taking
in a movie every other Saturday night or Sunday
afternoon. The highlight was a weekend spent in
the coastal city of Savannah.
Then came a
miracle in early August, a few days before our
third wedding anniversary. I received an order
during the noon formation to report to company
headquarters. After a moment of panic, I realized
that this was not how Vietnam orders were handled.
Nevertheless, I was quite nervous as I entered
headquarters where I was greeted by a lieutenant
colonel and two high-ranking sergeants.
After
reviewing my educational background and my
communications training, I was offered a
guaranteed tour of duty in Taipei, Taiwan if I
would extend my time in the Army by three months.
I didn’t hesitate to accept the offer.
I thought that
would mean fifteen months away from Dolores, but
it turned out that we were apart for only five
months. That is another story for another day.
My first day
in Taipei was one of my most memorable.
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