MCWS 7 Journal Entry 2
032208
Easter weekend was so early
this year that I nearly missed it. Spring has arrived earlier than usual, too.
Trees are leafing out, grass is greening, and even the marsh is beginning to
green up. So, I was especially grateful that seven of eight MCWS7 participants
sacrificed two hours of their Easter Weekend time off by sitting in our
classroom for Lisa RentzÕs presentation. It was time well spent.
Lisa had quite an adventure
getting through the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort main gate. I arrived
early and attempted to get a pass for her from the gate guard. New rules had
just been given for guests. The host has to be present at the gate for the
guest to be allowed access onto the air station. I left my cell phone number
with the guard and drove to the classroom building, where David, our MCCS rep
and one of the Milspeak writers, was waiting. I explained the situation to him.
He called the gate guard and was told the same thing. David agreed to meet Lisa
because I needed to use the first thirty minutes of workshop to explain
critiquing.
The writers soon began
showing up. Between the first Saturday and the second Saturday, writers work on
first drafts of the manuscript they will workshop through the MCWS cycle. On
the Wednesday following second Saturday, first drafts are emailed to me for
critique distribution. To explain how to critique, IÕve adapted a handout from
one Rebecca McClanahan used during my workshops with her. I also have added
important elements to consider when critiquing nonfiction, taken from various
sources, including Bill RoorbachÕs The Art of Truth; Root and SteinbergÕs The Fourth Genre; and others. While explaining the handout and the
basics of critique during workshop, my cell phone rang. Lias had arrived at the
gate and David launched from the classroom to welcome her.
LisaÕs talk covered her
writing process, publishing tips, the role of the Arts Council of Beaufort
County in assisting emerging artists (including literary artists), and her
experience as a teaching artist of creative writing at public schools. Lisa
also introduced the group to the idea of self-publishing by talking about an
upcoming festival for self-published authors that will sponsored by the Arts
Council. LisaÕs talk was informative and inspiring.
WeÕve lost two writers from
the group. One was just too busy to participate; the other dropped off the
radar following our first meeting. Even her email address went defunct. That
always feels strange, to meet someone, to share their excitement for writing,
and then to have them disappear. The remaining writers, David, Jack, Fred,
Bernard, Charlotte, Nancy, and Stacy, are ready to roll. IÕm looking forward to
reading their first drafts next week. Five of the seven work full time. The time
they will spend writing is time they will spend apart from their family and
friends, a major sacrifice for military people.
There were so many Easters
I spent apart from family while I was on active duty. When I enlisted in the
Marine Corps in 1978, I never imagined that I would live apart from my family
of origin forever, or that I would never again live in my hometown. I thought
that I would spend my enlistment taking college courses and saving up money to
attend college after completing my contract.
In 1978, the education
benefits for marines had changed drastically from Vietnam Era G.I. Bill
benefits. I signed up for a program called Veterans Educational Assistance
Program or VEAP. I didnÕt know it when I enlisted, but VEAP is possibly one of
the worst education benefit programs the government ever dreamed up. The
government met 2 for 1 each dollar paid in by the military member up to a
maximum of $2700. So, max benefit was somewhere around $9000. The G.I. Bill had
paid out a monthly sum for up to 36 months, with payment based on criteria that
equaled about $16,000 total benefit Š enough to get a public college education.
By the time I retired in 1998, $9000 had little educational value. VEAPers like
me were allowed to buy into the Montgomery GI Bill or MGI Bill, a modified GI
Bill program, for $1200. The return was about $16,000. To get into the new
program, you had to have paid into VEAP and still have money in your account.
The new program wasnÕt well announced. I was reading quite a bit of message traffic
then, so I read the message direct from Headquarters Marine Corps and made sure
I was up to date with VEAP, and enrolled as soon as I could in the MGI BILL.
$1200 was a lot to give up
just when I was retiring and planning to start my own business, but I figured
the sacrifice would be worth it. During 20 years of active duty, IÕd been too
busy working weird hours and deploying to accumulate more than 17 semester
hours of college credit. Retirement pay for a gunnery sergeant is no great sum,
either. If I wanted to earn that degree IÕd always dreamed of, I was going to
need the GI Bill. So I paid the 1200 bucks. I also applied for a VA disability
determination.
After I injured my back
during a 1996 deployment, IÕd been unable to run and was in constant pain. An
Old Salt had told me to put down on the disability form every ache, pain, scar,
surgery, or injury IÕd received while on active duty. I was floored by the VAÕs
60% disability determination Š and thatÕs another story. To make an already too
long story shorter, IÕve sacrificed a great deal more than I ever expected to
when I enlisted. Thirty years later, that family and that hometown are the life
I left behind. Sure, I visit, but IÕm always a visitor. ItÕs like that for
every military person Š life unfolds and youÕre along for the ride; then, one
day, thirty years have gone by, and everything you ever thought you would be is
gone, too. Military life is a life of sacrifice and Easter always brings that
home.