The Forgotten Soldier

You would think we had completely forgotten about Blake if all you saw was this website. The fact is we've been in touch with him a couple of times, and it's time to bring everyone up to date on what's going on with our favorite soldier.

Blake is studying to retake his ASVAB test. This is the test that everyone has to take in order to get into the military and your score on it pretty much determines what you are qualified to do when you're in. He's going to retake it in order to get a higher score in one of the areas so when he makes Staff Sergeant, he can apply to become a Warrant Officer. This is just about the best news we've gotten from him since he went in. He's really a completely different person now since he joined the Army, and we love the change. Not that we didn't like him before he went in, but he's a lot more responsible and sure of himself now. We've always told him that there's nothing he can't do, and now he believes it.

This week, we learned that there are over 250 varieties of snakes where he is. Of this number, 52 are poisonous. He did his own Google search to get this information. One wonders what caused this sudden interest in snakes, but we also learned that a cobra was found in a latrine there. Now if that doesn't cause you to lose bladder control, I don't know what would. He was quick to assure us that it wasn't him who found the snake, but Blake has NEVER liked snakes, and this is just one more reason he's counting the days until he can finally come home.

We still hear from him rarely, but it's always a great surprise when we do. He's keeping up with his exercise regimen and can now count two bumps in his quest for a "six pack" stomach. I reminded him that it was a different sort of six pack that would wipe out all that work, and he was adamant that after all the work he had put in to doing this, the last thing he was going to do was ruin it.

We're all looking forward to the end of June when we can see him again. The plan is not to fly into Dallas as we had expected, but rather to fly from Maine straight to Ft. Hood for the final stop. I'm guessing someone will let it slip where he will actually land in Texas and we'll pass on the info. No way we're not going to greet him when he gets off that plane.

Take care all and keep him in your prayers. More news when we know more.