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howrv · 5 years

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Woodstock, 50 Years Later

Living in our HOW (Home on Wheels) for the past three years has been our ticket to amazing experiences. From rodeos to The Rose Parade, art museums to boat races, slot canyons to The Grand Canyon, we have done amazing things.

A year into our journey we planned to attend Woodstock 50, wherever it was to be. We reserved a spot for HOW at both Watkins Glen and the original location at Bethel Woods, knowing that eventually one would become the clear choice. As the event approached, everything went wrong for the Watkins Glen event. Michael Lang, who owned the Woodstock name, experienced withdrawals from promoters and artists, and never got ticket sales off the ground. Somehow, booking Jay Z, Chance the Rapper, Miley Cirus and hip-hop acts did not match our expectations of what a celebration of Woodstock should be. Rolling Stone quoted David Crosby’s take on Lang, “it had nothing to do with anyone feeling good about each other. It had to do with certain people making huge amounts of money.”

So, on the weekend marking the 50th anniversary of the greatest love-in music festival in history, we arrived at what seemed to be hallowed ground. The spot that was once Max Yasgur’s alfalfa field is now a beautiful venue for the arts and music, set in the pristine rolling meadows called Bethel Woods. Much has changed but the vibe was still there as an anticipated crowd of 100,000 passed through the gates in this four-day celebration, (far less than the 500,000 of ‘69.) Arriving early, we tail-gated for a while, had some wine and cheese and talked to folks who were adorned with tie-dye, beaded headbands, bell bottoms and peace-sign jewelry. Some arrived in their original restored VW buses. We met old hippies who were there a half century ago, as well as first timers. We were surprised how many young people there were. A blended mix of peace and love seekers of all ages. (pictures below)

The first night we rented lawn chairs and sat on the hillside right behind the covered amphitheater on immaculately manicured grass. As the sun was sinking over the fields behind us, the stage lights illuminated Earth, Wind, and Fire as they took to the the stage playing: “You Made Me So Very Happy, Spinnin Wheel , And When I Die, and God Bless The Child. The band spanned all genres of pop, rock, featuring a new kid from American Idol, Bo Bice as frontman.

Next to perform was the biggest surprise of the night. Edgar Winter Band rocked the planet (or at least Bethel Woods) playing Tobacco Road, Frankenstein, Free Ride, Rock-and-Roll Hoochie Koo, and Dying to Live. Winter is a multi-instrumentalist but is acclaimed as the first person ever to put a neck strap on a keyboard and dance the stage with a Moog Synthesizer. The most remarkable performance was his vocal ability. He mimicked complex riffs and was answered by the lead guitar, bass player, keyboards and drums to the amazement of everyone in attendance.

The stage fog increased, pounding bass notes vibrated and pulsed with intensity. Strobing, motion ellipsiodals, pars and dichroics traced through the sweet smelling, pot laced air, ushering in the headliner… Ringo Star and his All Star Band.

An extremely fit and young-looking Ringo Star danced to downstage center and the crowd responded in thunderous unison. Gobos painted peace symbols on the upstage scrims and familiar tunes echoed through the hills. The setlist was epic: It Don’t Come Easy, Boys, Hold The Line , Act Naturally, Matchbox, Down Under, The Weight, Anthem, You’re Sixteen You’re Beautiful and You’re Mine , Pick Up The Pieces, Work to Do, The No No Song, Photograph, and I Wanna Be Your Man.

Leaner and livelier than Ringo’s 79 years should allow, his message was peace and love, but his anthem was FUN. He did jumping jacks to Yellow Submarine that frenzied the crowd who responded by singing every word.

Ringo has surrounded himself with luminaries of Rock-and-Roll fame and his band reflects amazing talent. Colin Hay, the Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist and actor was lead singer for Men at Work. He displayed his talents on the keyboards, percussion, bass and lap steel.

Hamish Stuart of Average White Band has played with John Lennon, Chaka Khan, David Sanborn, Smokey Robinson and the list goes on. He led The All Star band with his signature hit Pickin’ Up The Pieces.

Vocalist, drummer Gregg Bisonnette who hailed from Van Halen, Santana and later Toto, joined Ringo to duet on the drums.

Guitar legend Steve Lukather was the original guitarist and vocalist for Toto and served in that capacity for the band’s entire existence. Steve demonstrated unbelievable licks throughout the entire set.

The Hammond organ has always given that unmistakable “goin-to-church” feel to R&B, rock and jazz. Keyboardist Gregg Rolie who sang for Santana and Journey made me want to yell hallelujah!

Warren Ham came to the All Star Band from the Maranatha Praise Band and toured with Promise Keepers. He also toured with Kansas, Donna Summer, and Olivia Newton-John.

Ringo’s encore finale electrified the audience with A Little Help from My Friends. People held hands and waved their lit phones above their heads. We left that night feeling a little more peace and love and ready for the next day’s events.

The next day was special as we were able to share it with our daughter, Kirby and Phillip. We had incredible preferred seating. We arrived early and were able to enjoy the venders, people watch, and stand in line to buy Woodstock tee-shirts.

I had mild expectations for Santana’s opening band. The Doobie Brothers, surprised us with their tight, amazing sounds and vocals. The band’s ability to evolve and remain connected to multi generations of audiences is a testament to their craft. Only two originals remain, Patrick Simmons and Tom Johnston, but they have added young progressive talent to their roster to deliver their unmistakable style of pushing the beat.

Dancing erupted and continued throughout the whole set as the Doobs belted What a Fool Believes, Listen to the Music, Takin’ It To the Street, China Grove, Black Water, Jesus is Just Alright, and possibly the most recognizable opening guitar riffs of all times, Long Train Runnin’.

But the headliner of all headliners was about to emerge from the green room. Santana began his set with dramatic video of Woodstock ’69, a documentary set to music that took you back to the chaotic days of Vietnam, Martin Luther King, Bobby and John Kennedy and the emerging peace movement. Santana, dressed in a black original Woodstock t-shirt and played his signature red guitar. Evil Ways, Black Magic Woman, Gypsy Queen, Maria Maria, Oye Como Va, and of course, Smooth had the crowd memorized and dancing in the isles. Carlos paid tribute to Lennon, Caltrain and Hendrix. The stage production, set design, lighting and sound were masterful. The energy level peaked and stayed there for three-and-a-half hours resulting in sensory fatigue for most of us, but a high we will never forget.

We left with the message of peace and love, sharing and caring which, I believe, has diminished in the past 50 years, when the sounds of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Grateful Dead, Joe Cocker, and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young echoed across the soggy fields known as Bethel Woods, the real Woodstock.

#homeonwheels #jonandbecky #retireontheroad #bethelwoods #woodstock19 #homeiswhereyouparkit #nobodylivesbetter

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jaydcstories · 3 years

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Chapter 12

Sam was certain that he was going to get punished for having been caught with Paul's boy. The Sergeant had left him locked up in a tiny cell somewhere deep in the basement of the house. It was dark, cold and deathly quiet. He knelt on the floor shivering and cursing. How could he have been so stupid? And he wasn't just thinking of himself. He had got the boy into trouble as well, when all he had wanted to do was to save and protect him.

After what seemed like hours, the door to the cell was unlocked by an orderly — a handsome young man with blond hair, dressed casually in blue sweat pants, a white tee shirt and trainers. Expecting to be on his way to a beating, Sam followed his escort nervously up some stairs and along a corridor until, to his surprise and confusion, he found himself in a brightly lit, clean and airy shower room. There were mirrors everywhere and he was suddenly faced with his own reflection, something that he hadn't experienced in a very long time.

Once he'd got over the initial shock he was relieved to see that his body was still intact and that weeks of smashing bricks and being beaten and abused had if anything toughened him up. He was in good shape. His hair had grown and was, not surprisingly, a knotted mass of black curls, and the Sergeant's daily grooming routine had kept his body smooth and hairless with just a light shadow of stubble on his chin. What he saw didn't disappoint him.

He was told to step into the shower and clean up. He dithered for a moment not sure how to operate the taps — this was all so new to him. The young orderly had to show him how to do it. In fact he had to show him how to do a lot of things, including how to squeeze the liquid soap out of the dispenser and how to shampoo his hair. And the water was hot! Sam actually jumped out of the shower in surprise and the orderly had to hold him under until he got used to it.

While he was drying himself afterwards — again something he'd never been allowed to do before — and with a clean soft towel! — Sam began to wonder if his dream wasn't coming true after all and that perhaps he was being made ready to become a proper domestic servant with a uniform and everything. He began to imagine what he would look like dressed in blue sweat pants and a white tee shirt like the orderly.

Once he was thoroughly dry and his nails had been trimmed and his hair brushed and combed, the orderly gave him some scented ointment to rub into his body.

When he checked in the mirror one last time he was stunned at the transformation. He still had the powerful frame of a quarry slave but somehow he looked taller, prouder, his muscles more clearly defined, his skin smoother, almost translucent. It took his breath away and for a moment he wondered if it was really his own reflection and not some weird fantasy. He had to touch himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

Sam followed the orderly out of the shower room half expecting the next stop to be the place where they stored the clothes and uniforms, but they kept walking up flights of stairs and along corridors until Sam realised they must be well inside the main part of the house by now. Bare floorboards gave way to carpet, which Sam found strange and uncomfortable to walk on, and the corridors got wider with fancy wallpaper and small items of furniture.

The further they went the more nervous Sam became. He was not used to being "indoors" especially in a house this size and of such grandeur (for so it seemed to him). It was full of unidentifiable sounds and smells and there were voices coming and going in the background. Every now and again he'd be startled by the sudden appearance of an orderly, dressed in the same blue sweat pants, white tee shirt and trainers, who would glance at him as he passed by — because Sam was still totally naked.

At last they came to a door that was half open and Sam could see Master Jack sitting in an armchair waiting. His heart sank. He was going to be punished after all, he was sure of it. The orderly led him in and left the two alone.

Sam kept his eyes fixed on the patch of carpet in front of him not daring to look up. He began to shiver. Even though it was warm inside the house, the air was close and suffocating. It was difficult to breath. He was drowning. He tightened his muscles and tried not to phase out.

"Turn around. Let me look at you."

As he turned, Sam saw that he was in a large room with two sprawling red leather sofas and a scattering of matching armchairs. The curtains were drawn back to let in the last of the fading afternoon light and there was a lingering smell of coffee and tobacco that made Sam feel faintly sick.

At first he thought he was alone with his Master, but then he noticed a young boy standing quietly in a corner dressed in a tunic that exactly matched the colour of the furniture. This was Sam's first glimpse of a house slave and he wondered how a boy so young — he could only have been thirteen or fourteen — was able to stand so still and focussed without drawing attention to himself.

While Sam was thinking that this was most likely the way of life that lay ahead for him, and was imagining himself dressed like the house boy in a simple tunic rather than the orderlies' sweat pants and trainers, there was a commotion behind him. He recognised the voices of three of the men who had tormented him on that first harrowing day and who'd since been frequent visitors to the ruined cottage. He took a deep breath and steadied himself. They'd only ever brought him pain and misery. They'd either come to watch him get punished or to bully and humiliate him some more.

As it happens, they were in sombre mood. They planted themselves on a sofa and got the house boy to serve them drinks. All three were dressed formally in regimental uniform and hardly took any notice of the naked slave standing nervously to attention in the middle of the room. Sam tried not to show any reaction as he listened to them talk to Master Jack about the Brigadier. Apparently he was "on the warpath" and the pair he was after had only "brought it on themselves" and the Brigadier was just waiting for the right moment to make an example of "them both."

Sam thought they must be talking about him and Paul's boy and, knowing how cold and brutal the Brigadier could be when he was just amusing himself, the idea of him being on the "warpath" made him very uneasy. So it came as something of a relief when he heard Master Jack say, "Let's forget about those two idiots for a moment and concentrate on getting this slave dressed. I have a sales rep from Kerkermann coming. He'll have lots of ideas and suggestions. It'll take our minds off things till dinner."

So not only did it seem that, for the moment at least, the Brigadier's wrath was being directed elsewhere, it looked as if Sam was on the verge of becoming a fully fledged domestic slave after all. He tried to control a flutter of excitement as he wondered what kind of uniform he would be given — even he had heard of Kerkermann's élite reputation, so maybe Master Jack had something special in mind for him. Despite his Master's occasional cruelty, Sam was still determined to serve him loyally and to the best of his ability.

Relaxing a little now that he knew he was the centre of attention again, Sam held himself proudly, broadening his chest and flexing his muscles a little to show himself off to advantage, while Jack came over and inspected him more closely. All that was left of that morning's activities were a few feint whip marks, a slight redness around the nipples and a couple of small bruises along the edge of his stomach. All trace of the electrodes and the hot wax had been smoothed away. Jack was pleased. It meant he could take it a lot further next time.

Relaxing into the spirit of things, the three fellows on the sofa offered their own suggestions what to do with the slave, some of which were frankly obscene, others merely impractical and they were about to get up and give some hands-on advice when the young orderly reappeared accompanied by the Kerkermann sales rep.

He was a toadish sweaty little man with a bushy moustache and an obsequious grin. Trailing behind him was a bare-footed boy, who couldn't have been more than thirteen. He was dressed in a bright red slave tunic emblazoned with the Kerkermann logo and was staggering under the burden of a giant suitcase, almost as big as he was, which he carried in a harness strapped to his back.

Sam's expectations were dampened a little when the barefoot boy set down the suitcase and took out a large rubber sheet which he spread out for Sam to stand on.

"We don't want to stain your beautiful carpet," the rep explained with a grin while he shook hands with Jack and greeted the three young gentlemen on the sofa with a nod.

"Now, have you had a chance to look through our catalogue?" he continued, taking a sideways glance at Sam. "I suggest we begin with a physical assessment and make some clear decisions about what we are aiming for, taking into account the object's intended function. I have to say, it already presents itself pretty well. Quite a specimen."

Sam's stomach began to quiver nervously as the sales rep leered at him with his big toad eyes.

Jack mentioned Sam's origins as a quarry slave and said that he wanted to retain a sense of the "tamed brute" about him.

"Set off those big muscles with some heavy steel cuffs, maybe?" suggested the toad, "Or keep it permanently locked in chains. We can work through some options. It's remarkably well hung too," he added, fingering Sam's balls with his greasy fingers. "You'll definitely want to make a feature of that."

It soon became clear to Sam that they weren't measuring him up for a uniform at all. There was to be no uniform. Not even a tunic. It was just him - naked him - that was all the uniform he was ever going to get.

With his sweaty probing fingers the toad examined every limb and muscle in turn, measuring and taking notes, while the barefoot boy busied himself with chains and rings and locks and all kinds of intimidating paraphernalia he'd drawn from the depths of the suitcase. After a lengthy discussion, involving Jack and the three fellows on the sofa, and the perusal of numerous leaflets and manuals, work on Sam's "dressing" began.

And a long, painful process it turned out to be.

[To be continued...]

JOHN DEE COOPER’S ALL-MALE SLAVE STORIES OBEDIENT SERVICE GOOGLE GROUP

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4evafitstore · 4 years

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Beats Wireless Earbuds PowerBeats Pro | True Bass Earbuds

Not only in price but also performance it's been quite some time and I'm sorry that's just the truth over the years Beats hasn't really said anything new that is in your audio department but today finally we got the Powerbeats Pro and the specs are quite impressive. Now it's a hefty $250 retail at the time. They're very much on the upper end with the Sennheiser and the Vino truly wireless earphones are priced slightly above and with let's say the bose sound sports the Jabra lineup and also the truly wireless earphones from jaybird those are a little bit below as always. I'll be going over both pros and cons also click on my affiliate links down below for the most updated prices in real time you never know when these things might go on sale.

Overview

Release Date May 2019 Price $249.95 Bluetooth 5.0 weight Earbuds: 21 grams Model Number PowerBeats Pro Waterproof IPX4 Check Price On Amazon

Physical Features

Going over the physical features first. I anticipated these were going to be bulky and they were going to stick out that the earphones would also bounce around during intense movements with my testing on all fronts. They don't, they're actually quite flush against my ear and for the first time I can run with a hoodie on and the earphones don't feel as though they'll fall out from gently rubbing against that fabric. Now with more intense movements simply demonstrate myself jump-roping here I'd never had any doubt that they would fall off and more importantly I don't feel that the ear tips will be lifting off my ears and losing sound quality. That's really impressive, these are truly wireless earphones. One of the issues that I've noticed when I had the Powerbeats 3 now of course cosmetically I think they look pretty damn good too. Now all of this praise off physically being stable it's because of these ears they are adjustable and does retain its shape. They do feel more competent than the Powerbeats 3 as it's a bit stiffer and the casing feels a little bit more durable. So, we'll see over time now I love the fit on my draw bars and my Samsung Galaxy buds more recently those who were great but I will admit the ear hooks do provide that extra level of stability.

water resistance

Now moving on beats are claiming these are water and sweat resistant spraying the crap out of these things right here they are still working perfectly fine. I was hoping for some sort of ingress rating or considering that we've had all this time to design these having it be submersible/ Although overkill would have given me more peace of mind there's a few other competitors out there that offers just that why not the Powerbeats Pro. You can't be in your shower listening songs under heavy water pressures. It's water protection rating IPX4 can't help you there, it has physical buttons and not touch buttons. 12 BEST NOISE CANCELING EARBUDS FOR WORKOUT IN 2020

Mic, Buttons & voice commands

But getting a closer look easily identifiable multi-function button. The actions are identical on either side which I really liked. Little volume rocker buttons are located at the very top and also are easily identifiable. Everything is there except for transparency mode. Maybe some people call it here through ambient to air whatever name these companies give them beats does not have the ability to turn on the internal microphones so you can hear your environmental noises nearly. Everyone else is offering it and I know a bunch of you use it for safety while running. Some uses these truly wireless earphones while working to hear if your boss sneaks up on you. We don't get that again with your Powerbeats Pro. Last test I confirm you can activate Siri with your voice as it seems to always be listening for that command. Awesome feature or of course you can always hold down the beats logo again on either side of these earbuds. Now with Android using my voice didn't work for me. You can only activate Google assistance with the button press or telling the button hold all right.

Bluetooth & Apple H1 Chip

Now moving on to the good stuff here. The technology there's this new Apple H1 Chip inside and it's working wonders. Yes, you do get amazing fast and seamless bluetooth pairing a very similar experience to those who had ear pods previously and with my iPhone I'm averaging about two seconds when the case opens to when the iPhone brings up this cool 3d spinning thing in battery life. In states definitely fast enough for me though but I love how seamless and more importantly how consistent it's been with Android, it's honestly not a slouch either. On screen is proof with my new pixel 3a I've been testing it connects on average in three seconds. Either scenario either phones by the time you put these earphones back into your ear. Adjust them, get them properly seated. It's already been paired. Now since we're on the topic of Bluetooth, yes, I can't connect to more than one device at a time. yes, after testing playing video on either Android or iPhone where the YouTuber Netflix, I had zero syncing issues. Now although I couldn't find if the Powerbeats Pro uses bluetooth 5.0 or not which is typically used to signify which version a device uses. Apple States instead on their websites this uses a class 1 signal instead which means the earphones should be good up to 150 to 200 linear feet and yes wireless range and stability it has been great. I've been able to walk my entire apartment here with several walls in between and had zero signal loss. Now I also couldn't find if beats use apdex HD to determine how high of a resolution audio file it can handle but again I usually don't as there's been some great headphone / earphones without that high-resolution designation.

Battery & charging case

In addition to that chip we get one of the best battery performances on any truly wireless earphones that I've tested. Fast fuel just 5 minutes on that charger gives you back an hour and a half. This is the fastest I've experienced on any pair of truly wireless earphones that I've tested. Not to mention beats claims up to nine hours of use with the case you're getting about an additional 15 hours of use for a total of up to 24 hours. Most truly wireless earphones I have tested, they've ranged from 12 hours to 15 hours give or take an hour for the extremes but the Powerbeats Pros, they're class leading with my testing at 50 percent volume like all my other truly wireless earphones. Since we're talking about the case or maybe you have seen that in the image here. I know some will say this case is quite large and it is but to be fair how else are you going to have these ear hooks attached to the earphones themselves. The case itself had more than one light to indicate battery life. I wish the case featured USBC versus lightning to have a truly wireless port for all my devices. I know Apple fans will be upset hearing that but the iPad pro has USB C there might be a USB C iPhone coming down the road so if that's the case no pun intended, here that's future proofing yourself that would be ideal unless I don't think there's any other company doing this just yet but if we can make this case dust proof in or water proof that would give me 100% peace of mind. But again, that's me being nitpicky right there and wishing for features at this point. And before I forget about this, there is audio pause and play when you take off your earphones the audio stops you put them back on and the audio plays again and this also works for video as well. Seconds, you can leave either one of these earphones out of your ear and the audio will still play. You can have the other earphone on the other side of the room if you want and the audio will still continue this signal is not dependent on the other earphone like traditional truly wireless earphones.

Powerbeats Pro Check On Amazon

Audio Quality Noise Canceling

Alright, let's get into some of the audio features. First up, let's talk about the microphone get ready that is and the audio is completely unedited and it's a little bit of breeze. Only guys can tell us by here being all crazy or jacked up right now but let me know what you guys think down the review description below. There's no good sound bad sound to pick it up. Let's test out this audio. as nice and expensive as my microphones are audio recorded on my end and then played through your speakers are not the best depiction of audio accuracy. It's just a sample but it is better than nothing but hence my filing audio review here the Powerbeats Pro is loud enough for most people. Loud but still comfortable to me is at about 75 percent volume, there is some sound leaking occurring, So those sitting right next to me in a very quiet room, library whatever. Can hear what you're listening to so just be a little bit cautious about that. The ear tips do sit around the ear canal but they don't sit fully inside. Most people will find that more comfortable but keep in mind that it won't give you the best passive noise isolation as other truly wireless earphones and of course a little bit more sound leaking as well. These do let in some noise as much as it leaks out so if you're in a busy place you might have to turn it up to maybe 75 percent volume to encapsulate yourself here with your own audio and kind of drone out the outside noise. Again, that's only if you're in a very busy environment.

Powerbeats Pro True Bass

Now jumping into bass. it's deep at loud volumes its rumbling. It feels like I'm wearing wired earphones at times considering how deep these actually go. If you like bass no question the Powerbeats Pro is it the Jaybird X4 run ex tees were the next closest in bass for me but Jaybird X4 offers a punchy variation or more of a bass boosted audio signature. Versus offering deep bass like the Powerbeat Pros. Now going into the mid-range, the louder you go the more basses experience that's pretty obvious but I do notice the mid-range is just ever so slightly overshadowed by bass most. Having most average consumers, I think they'll be fine with this or the tolerance level is still within reason for most consumers. Now if you're more of a technical audio listener or if you don't like the bass then you might prefer something more has more emphasis on the vocals / mid-range something that may be a little bit more forward in that mid-range frequency. This is simply a matter of preference the high frequencies would never ear in your tingey in my opinion but if anything, that is clear or lacking actually in some resolution or detail on the top and especially that loud volumes at moderate listening levels. It's not a big deal, a little bit more detail a little bit more Sparkle up top would have been much better as for soundstage there isn't much of a wide soundstage either you get decent audio separation but nothing huge or class defining. powerbeats pro These are great with hip-hop and EDM most but not all pop songs will do well. Those favoring vocals, I would consider these. Powerbeats Pros are no question bass ear truly wireless earphones if you prefer a pair that's more so for jamming outs verses technical accuracy, the Powerbeats Pro are recommended to. At least give them a try if you highly value the better life connectivity, the ear hooks alone comfort instability. I'd go from recommended to highly recommend it as not many other are offering the core functionalities at this level. Again, I think the biggest thing for you as a consumer you have to consider if you like Basie audio or not. check on Amazon Read the full article

#bluethoothheadphones #earbuds #noisecancelingearbuds #powerbeatspro #wirelessearbuds

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legsbpedaling-blog · 7 years

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Chapter 5 Japan.

I'll admit the first group of Marines I interacted with at first weren't high up on the role model ladder. I did learn from their mistakes however. Not to drink too often, do what I'm told by my superiors and watch my attitude around people I did not know.

Base didn't have too many options for hobbies so I got into computers. Back when the Internet wasn't infiltrated with snot nosed script kiddies trying to look cool. Most of my evenings were spent pirating music and movies. My collection was becoming impressive. Marines knew who to go to if they wanted to fill a hard drive up.

Another guy in my unit was also into computers and we shared our knowledge. His name was Owens and he didn’t interact too much with people outside his computer and phone. Caught up in some long-distance relationship from a girl back home in Michigan. Completely whipped.

On one of the rare outings we found ourselves at the mall. No specific reason for being there, perhaps a much-needed escape from base. Oddly enough, we ended up standing in a jewelry store.

“Are you getting a new watch or something?” I asked Owens.

“Not exactly” He replied. He kept pacing back and forth, all while avoiding eye contact with any of the sales people.

“Buy me a new one then!” I laughed.

“I’m checking out some rings. I’ve been thinking a lot about my girl back home and I’m going to ask her to marry me.” He said.

“Don’t do it! It’s a trap and you know as soon as you deploy she’s just going to fuck some other guy. Then drain your bank account and force you to pay child support for two decades bro.” That reply was drilled into our minds by Marines who have watched it happen on numerous occasions.

“Nah man, she’s not like the skanks you see around base. She’s a smart girl. She will be visiting soon and you’ll get to meet her.”

“Yeah considering all I know about her now, is she exists inside your damn phone. You’re whipped.” I laughed. I wasn’t trying to make him feel bad for asking his girl to marry him. I don’t know, to me it was a bad move this early in the Marines and all of us were too young. There was no persuading him. A few weeks after he bought the ring, they were engaged.

Time to gather up all the gear and board a plane for Japan! A paid vacation to a country a lot of people wish they could visit. Relieved in a way my first deployment wasn't going to be in an area where bombs were going off, then again all of this training and nothing to use it on was irritating. I was growing up in an artillery unit. It was in our nature to want to blow something up.

The trip seemed to take forever. Each time we were told to pick up our bags someone else would appear and tell us we had to standby. Owens and I entertained a small group of Marines by showing movies on small laptop screens. Movies or porn, depending on the wall space we could plug into.

We finally arrived at our new home, Okinawa, Japan. The building was bland with an empty parking lot in front of it. The company commander delivered our welcome briefing after we off loaded all our bags from the seven ton trucks.

The barracks were six stories high, the sixth floor being our new home. Each of our bags weighed anywhere from fifty to eighty pounds, and oh yeah, we weren't allowed to use the elevators.

One hundred and twelve Marines all crammed towards the doors trying to get to the stairs first, it was a mess. I noticed on the left side that it also had stairwells on the ends of the building. Picked up my bags and took the simple way to my room. Turns out the side doors were locked. Designed to be exit only in case of an emergency. I walked my happy ass back down the stairs and waited for the bottle neck of Marines to dissipate.

The hallway floors looked to be polished. So much so that we could look into it and see our reflections. They didn't always look that way, many of us took turns sweeping, mopping and buffing the floors. We tried to be slick and disable the buffer. Not a good plan. Our corporal made us get the same shiny results using tee shirts to polish the floors.

Living on a base in another country was like living in a bubble. Everything outside the gate was foreign and interesting. Everywhere we went we had to go on foot. I missed the speed of my bike.

During the first month, we made every effort to get out and explore. For some of the marines this was there second or third deployment. I didn't fully trust the advice given by them, because I wasn't sure if they were trying to keep us away from all the good spots.

We went out and trained often when we weren't losing our minds over boredom on base. We all hated our jobs, but continued to do them to not fuck over the other guy. I suppose that's how it is with any unit in the military. We knew when it came down to it, if we were to ever deploy to a combat zone we would be there to have each other’s backs.

In the coming months, we were privileged enough to visit some pretty amazing places. Spent a week, due to shitty sea weather that grounded us, in Nagasaki. It was interesting to stand on the landmark to the epicenter where the atomic bomb dropped. The atmosphere was still spooky in parts of the city. The trees grew at the same length which made sense.

Throughout the city, we could sense that the citizens didn't approve of our presence. To make matters worse, one of my friends kept making a whistling noise mimicking a bomb dropping. He was hilarious, but a sick bastard at heart.

“And you wonder why they still hate us.” I sighed.

“Did you see the look on their faces though?” He laughed. Still unable to control his inner asshole.

When the weather cleared up, we drifted over to Fuji. Such a beautiful part of earth. Aside from all the training we did blowing shit up, we had the opportunity to climb Mount Fuji. If you've never been let me describe it from a dumb Marines perspective. Owens, my friend Ski and I took off from the group to try to run up the side of the mountain. In our minds, we were going to be the first ones that day to the top. The damn mountain was a lot larger than we originally thought. The rocks were a mix of reds and browns. Rarely did we come across any vegetation, other than the base of the mountain.

We slowed down once reality caught up with us and continued to walk as fast as we could. Old women and children native to Japan started passing us. Each time we thought we were almost to the top a new section would appear. Took hours to reach the top. I made Mount Fuji my bitch.

The top was breathtaking! Some smart businessman put a gift shop at the top, full of merchandise covered in Mount Fuji advertising. Not sure what they make in sales, but I'd hate to be the guy making the deliveries.

Getting our second wind, we ran around taking pictures because when you can stand on top of the world you want to remember it. The excitement prevented me from wanting to sit and rest. I collected up several volcanic rocks and stuffed them into my back pack. Free souvenirs!

The Marines behind us made it up to the top, and with more energy left over. One of them told me that at the bottom of the other side there was a place to get ice cream. Time to head back down! The side of the mountain was made up of tiny loose rocks. Almost like stepping into a pile of sand with a little larger grain sizes. Going down was easier than the trip up, obviously.

We started lengthening our strides to make good time. Before long we were jogging down the side of Mount Fuji. Not the best idea we ever came up with, but it was exhilarating. As the speed increased so did our awareness it was impossible to slow ourselves down.

In the distance, I noticed a couple of large boulders in my direct path! I wasn't going to have enough time to dodge them so I did the next best thing, I jumped. The stupidest stunt ever performed on that mountain I'm sure.

My body left the earth and I became airborne. My head tilted forward until I was in a superman pose flying passed other climbers. I was in the air for about twenty feet before finally coming back down. My head landed first sending me into several somersaults. By the time I was able to stop I had traveled about one hundred feet from the damn large boulder. Needless to say, I took home a three-day headache along with my volcanic rocks.

Another guy from our unit opted not to climb the mountain. He went the group who hung out in Tokyo. He was our token alcoholic and ended up getting lost by himself somewhere in the city. Hell, it was rare to see him sober. Tales were told of a day or two among the unit. The commanding officer chewed all of our asses for losing him. The police eventually found him sitting on a sidewalk holding his arrive alive card. (Card with unit contact information) Got to hand it to him, even sloshed he knew how to get back to us.

We returned to Okinawa after our series of training operations. My birthday was fast approaching in November. No longer would I have to beg others to pick up alcohol for me. I would be able to go to the local bars without fear of being caught by my superiors. The week or so before turning twenty-one I would drink with a few friends in my barracks room. I guess you could say, we were prepping my body for a large amount of poisoning.

Happy Birthday! The entire day seemed to drag on forever. Some of my friends took out extra cash to make sure we had enough to properly reach a fucked-up stage. We left the base around eight, venturing into an area called Kinville. Or Sinville for those of you who know what I'm talking about. We walked into a tiny bar with two or three people and I ordered my first legal drink. A jack and coke.

Marines are assholes. Plain and simple. The next bar was packed and upon entering my friend yelled, "this Marine just turned twenty-one!" The drinks started appearing out of nowhere. Beer, shots, jack and cokes, rum and cokes and whatever else, I can't honestly remember.

“I’m going to regret all of this in the morning!” I yelled across the bar.

The last stop was in a bar called East Coast. Located on the second floor of a rundown building across from base. We didn't slow down. My last memory was being handed something called a rainbow shot. It was said to be so potent that it wasn't allowed to leave the bar once they lit it on fire. Step one, blow out the shot; step two, blackout.

The rest of the night was retold by my friends in the days to come. I'll share the adventure with you. I blew out the rainbow shot and downed the contents. From there I turned into the crowd grabbing other people's drinks and chugging them. The inevitable trip to the bathroom sent me hopping over a table, slapping a girl in the ass and tripping over a bar stool. Inside the bathroom was a shower stall, not sure why. I proceeded to throw up in the stall while people in the bathroom laughed at me.

Left the bathroom and told Owens it was time to leave. He followed behind me as I literally rolled my way down the stairs to the main street below. Stumbling the entire way up to the cross walk, my friends thought I was going to be put on restriction for being so intoxicated.

We approached the road directly across from the base main gate. I took a few deep breaths, remembered every James Bond movie ever made and reached for my military ID. Miraculously I went from trashed to seemingly sober in the time it took me to cross the road. I walked up to the gate without a stumble in my step, said good evening to the guard as he checked my ID and let me pass.

Forty or so feet after the gate I switched back to drunk. Fell into a bush and my friends had to walk me the remaining tenth of a mile to the barracks. Half hour later I was found lying down in the hallway with my key in the door and my hand still attached to it. Somewhere there exists a picture of the hallway scene. I have since lost track of it.

The next morning, I woke up in my bed, without a hangover. Not sure exactly how the hell I escaped fate, but I was appreciative. The following night was just as fun. More alcohol!

One of my best friends wanted to drink a few in the barracks because he wasn't able to join us for my birthday. Turns out he had a magical ability to get completely shit faced off four beers. This was back when Budweiser was releasing their four packs of aluminum bottles. Being the caring Marines as we always are, we took care of him.

First, we placed him in the bath tub and shaved one of his legs. Moot point to shave both of them. We then decorated him in sharpie art and followed him back into his room. Didn't take much to convince him of an impending dust storm. We put his goggles on him and tucked him into bed.

He kept mumbling something about being sick. We put great effort into getting him to throw up in his own Kevlar. (Helmet, for the nonmilitary folk.) Few months went by and it was time to pack up our shit and wait in line for another plane.