Day LII

Swimming butts

     Our barracks wasn’t far from the comm room. It really wasn’t a barracks, we lived in a long two story building with a right wing, a left wing, and a huge room in the middle of each floor. Airmen’s rooms were on the second floor. The right wing on the first floor was the single noncom’s, sergeants, living quarters.

     The middle room was the administrative office, the left wing had the colonel, captain’s, and first shirt’s office, our first sergeant. The basement had a laundry, and a TV room. I remember seeing Jack Ruby shoot Oswald on that television. The middle room on our floor was like our living room, and later became our day room, our pool room just before I left, when the colonel had the pool table brought over.

     Before that, all it had were a couple of wrought iron sofas, end tales between them with ash trays...with butts swimming in overflowing ashes, and a few chairs. I remember a heavy mirror on one wall. We needed to check ourselves out before leaving for work. To make sure our uniforms were up to snuff, all buttons buttoned up, zippers zippered, and hat on straight.

     On our off days we got the hell out of there as fast we could, before they found something for us to do. As a result of that incompetence at the comm room. I especially got the hell out of there. I did not not want the first shirt or anybody else finding me loitering around the barracks. Not in my room, playing pool or doing anything else, because for sure I would have gotten the daily shit detail. There was always something, if there wasn’t, I’m sure the first shirt would have made something up.