The Reserves Are No Longer Reserved

One of my best friends (lived with him twice in my time in B-tizzle, and that's definitely saying something) has decided he's finally hit rock bottom after moving out of Bloomington and is going nowhere. What does he do? At 38, he's joined the Army Reserves.

Had beers with him and some other old friends at Nick's last night. I tried to be supportive. In truth, he's been talking about doing this for a long time, 5+ years ... but that was before we were in Iraq indefinitely, before Reservists became fodder for that fire, before a lot of things. I think it'll be good for him; in another time I'd say it would be great for him, all around. But everyone was pretty grim last night, and I had to share that sentiment. Low wages, disconcerting urban environment, restlessness after a couple of failed serious relationships, general ADD-ish mindset -- all of these were pushing him toward this conclusion. And the recruiter loved him: He'd done his homework and knew exactly what to ask for and what he would get, which is a pretty sweet deal in exchange for 6 or so years of his life working on "light wheeled vehicles." Hopefully stateside.

Regardless, it's a done deal. He gets bused to NC for basic in January, where he will be humping it with kids half his age. Best of luck, Seann. Check your six, and let's hope it's a nice boring hitch.

EDIT: I just recalled the most shocking moment of the evening. As I was leaving, Seann was going to just shake my hand. I said, "You're joining the army. Stand up and fucking hug me, asshole." It was beautiful.